The Silence of the Lambs, the 1991 film by Jonathan Demme, and the only pure horror film in history to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, will hit a streaming platform this week. The movie that started the Hannibal Lecter craze in the early ‘90s will be added to Peacock’s library of movies starting November 1, via Comic Book.
While it’s not the first time it’ll be available on streaming, The Silence of the Lambs arrives just in time to creep out horror fans as the spooky season ends and the industry enters its holiday stages of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Regardless, this one fits any season because it hasn’t lost a bit of its power to make an impact beyond the tropes of the horror genre. It is an unsettling piece, but at the same time, there are no arguments against its ability to engage the audience on all sides.
In The Silence of the Lambs, FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is assigned a job that will change her career. A serial killer known as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) has been causing havoc, and the FBI has no clues as to who he could be or where he could strike next. Starling gets assigned to interview a former psychiatrist by the name of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) who could help solve the mystery. Lecter is imprisoned because of a horrific crime he committed, and he’s clever enough to cast a spell over Starling while he convinces the good guys that he can help.
Written by Ted Tally, who based the script on Thomas Harris’ novel of the same name, The Silence of the Lambs is one of the most celebrated movies of its time. Time had passed since a film had been able to stay within the horror space and feel like a big studio film. The ‘90s were an effect of the ‘80s, which was known for its plethora of slasher films, campy productions and repetitive settings. Not even 1980’s The Shining had survived the industry’s discrediting of horror, as Stanley Kubrick’s classic was not well-received at first. But then Jonathan Demme made a powerful and relevant horror statement and laughed at Hollywood’s conservative attitude.
The film competed at the 64th Academy Awards against high-profile productions like JFK, Bugsy and even Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Nominated in seven categories, The Silence of the Lambs would end up taking five of those awards, being one of the few and the last to win the Big Five: which include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay (Adapted). Not only was it the first time a horror film got the top prize, but it was the first film to be released on home video prior to its win.
Hollywood Scorn for Horror is Proven by the Lack of Recognition
The discussion about horror recognition at the Oscars is everlasting. Everyone provides arguments from their side, but it’s undeniable that the industry, the Academy, and most of the studios, look down on scary movies. Only a few have managed to grab a few awards, and the most recent Oscar win was when Jordan Peele got the award for Best Original Screenplay for Get Out.
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19 Best Horror Movies on Peacock to Watch Right Now
Peacock has plenty of spooky favorites for viewers to either rewatch or get acquainted with on the NBCUniversal streaming service.
However, too many were left out of the competition even after FYC campaigns were made and some of the performers in those movies made the shortlists of best performances of the year. We’re talking Toni Collette in Hereditary, Lupita Nyong’o in Us, and Mia Goth in Pearl. And these are the ones people cried out loud about. Sure, the Academy could argue that they gave awards to genre films like Parasite, Black Swan and The Shape of Water, but no pure horror film has ever been able to snatch the Best Picture award again. In the meantime, we’ll just have The Silence of the Lambs as the official winner.
