 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Silence of the Lambs
- Review Date: July 11, 2005
- R
- Genre: Horror
- 1991
Common Sense Media says
Thriller that made the serial killer a superstar.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this Best Picture Oscar winner got condemned by both sides. Family-values advocates like Michael Medved called it too gruesome and disgusting (albeit well made) to deserve the Academy Award. Gay-rights activists said it stereotyped transgendered people as freakish monsters. Still, kids may be curious. The movie concerns extreme psychopaths and the graphic atrocities they commit, including references to twisted sexual urges and perversities. Much of the worst violence is offscreen, in autopsy photos or just discussed -- but that's close enough, and we witness some representative brutality and horror near the climax. The murderous psychologist-serial killer Hannibal Lecter is something of a "gentleman" killer, contrasted with the grotesque "Buffalo Bill," who is shown at one point fully nude. There is an oppressive atmosphere of menace, especially towards women.
What's the story?
(Jodie Foster) plays Clarice Starling, a young, idealistic FBI trainee sent in to consult on a case with Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant but diabolical therapist who's been caged for eight years. Clarice's quarry is a mystery slayer tagged with the nickname "Buffalo Bill," because the victims -- all plus-sized women -- turn up partially skinned. Lecter won't cooperate with the veteran FBI agents on using his Sherlock Holmes-like powers (and some insider info) on figuring out Buffalo Bill's whereabouts. But Clarice appeals to the deadly doctor, who feeds the young woman vital clues in trade for personal details about the wounds in her own past.
Is it any good?
Anthony Hopkins plays Lecter with magisterial authority and aplomb, resulting in a box-office smash that won the Best Picture Oscar and made Hannibal Lecter a much-imitated screen icon. Apart from the visceral suspense and grisly police antics, this film's strength is its girl power; a very sympathetic heroine interacts with the serpentine Lecter and then goes out to fight another human monster, in environments heavy with male-oriented threat and authority (indeed, you can say that the horrendous Lecter treats Clarice with more courtesy and respect than the so-called "normal" men around her). Silence of the Lambs thus has a complicated sense of virtue and evil coming to bargain with each other.
While the unfortunate consequence glorified a villain in the public mind, the narrative does indeed possess a moral center. Too bad you have to go through the autopsy scenes to reach it.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about the heroine Clarise Starling, whose plight is actually the core of the film's drama and humanity (Hannibal Lecter just steals every scene and subplot he's in). She's an ambitious but vulnerable orphan, a young woman trying to persevere in an often- grisly career fighting the worst kind of crime, in an environment dominated by men -- even the "normal" ones are pretty creepy. Why do you think Clarice fascinates Lecter so much? Does the movie glamorize violence and glorify a villain?
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Kid, 12 years old
June 5, 2010
AGE
are you kidding me people? half of the reviews rated it ok for kids 12+? it is gorey, violent, lots of sexual behavior. (it's about a cannibal and a guy who is making a suit of human skins!!!!) NOT ok for any kids under 15 or so.
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Kid, 10 years old
May 30, 2010
AGE
Watch It!
Great movie.Some violence,sexual talk and the word cun*,gay nudity,and some use of language.
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Adult
March 21, 2010
AGE
must see:)
awesome movie!
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Teen, 14 years old
July 18, 2010
AGE
Not worth seeing if you were given one R-rated movie to watch, but still good, especially the climax.
I was looking for a good scare when I watched this movie. The first half of the movie wasn't R-rated whatsoever. They had negative moments in it, but it was just boring. The second half dealt with a drag queen (naked at one point, full frontal nudity of a half man half woman) and there was a lot more swearing in the second half. Many violent attacks with creepy blood when Hannibal eats someone. Praises murderers works throughout the movie. There is a cannibal who talks about eating people constantly. One lady is tortured and stuck in a well and swears.
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Kid, 11 years old
April 12, 2010
AGE
good movie
A good movie, but it was not scary at all.
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Teen, 14 years old
March 17, 2010
AGE
Great movie know one under the age of 13 should see it
Great movie, very interesting, not to graphic compared to what i thought it was going to be, but when the prisoner through his "bodily fluids" ie. his sperm at clarice, it was a little over the top
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Kid, 12 years old
April 8, 2010
AGE
Not Scary
An excellent movie, but it was not scary what so ever.
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Teen, 14 years old
June 25, 2010
AGE
The greatest villain of all time?
Maybe. That was AFI's and EW's reaction. It struck me funny Hopkins got a Best Actor win instead of Supporting Actor because of his low screen time. Anyways it was fully merited, he's so creepy it's sometimes uncomfortable to watch. Catch the version on TV to avoid any disturbing stuff listed in CSM's review. I probably would've ended up seeing this even if it wasn't on my list of Best Pictures to see.
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Teen, 16 years old
August 11, 2009
AGE
awsome
this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat most of the time.its not as gory hannabal or the sequal.
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Teen, 13 years old
April 30, 2010
AGE
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| Studio: | MGM/UA |
| Director: | Jonathan Demme |
| Cast: | Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 118 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | February 13, 1991 |
| DVD release date: | August 24, 2004 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | restricted |
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