Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Manhunter’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When you look at the horror genre from beginning to end, it is a veritable tapestry of nightmares when it comes to the monsters that have emerged to terrorize our imagination. We've met creatures that suck blood to survive, eat our flesh to survive, or transform into unholy creatures that roam the darkness and we’ve even seen spirits that haunt our every waking move.  

But there is one monster that has always been far more terrifying than any zombie or vampire on screen... man himself. But one man in particular has managed to terrify audiences simply by way of his presence alone and through our knowledge of his disturbing actions. Specifically the fact he enjoys feasting upon his fellow man. And that makes Doctor Hannibal Lecter, a character that fascinates and revolts all at once, and his legacy in film began by way of an incredibly unique take on his first adventure, in the 1986 film, Manhunter.

Now the word unique comes into play.... simply because this particular motion picture is structured in quite the fascinating manner. Because at times, this story is a perfect recreation of the Thomas Harris novel, Red Dragon. For the scenes where FBI Special Agent Will Graham, interacts with Lecter are as tense and as powerful as they are in print. Plus Francis Dollarhyde is as frightening here as he is in the book and several of his scenes do a wonderful job of bringing his storied and painful existence to light. But outside of a handful of familiar moments, Director Michael Mann opted to really make this motion picture his own and inject all kinds of storytelling and structuring surprises into his screenplay.

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For not only is it incredibly 1980s in its style and look, but it is also a slow cooking horror film. While the book moves at a breakneck pace, featuring a race against time to stop Francis before he kills again, Manhunter takes its time with everything and it works quite well for the film. With highly stylized sequences, rife with bright colors and synthesizer riffs or an 80s pop rock song playing, this motion picture uses the power of that decade and its slow burn style to make you uncomfortable. Because many of the images and musical stings are accompanied by disturbing visuals and unwholesome moments that seemingly go on forever, and this manipulation is so effective, that even to this day, I still get chills when I hear Iron Butterfly’s ‘Inna Gadda Da Vida’ because of how it was used in this movie.

Sadly, the only complaints I have for this film is that Lecter is not featured as prominently here as he is in the other films in this saga, and that this story greatly downplays the importance of Graham and Lecter’s past. After all Graham brought down this legendary murderer and that seems extremely glossed over in order to focus on the Dollarhyde storyline. But even with that particular road block being present, Brian Cox manages to make every second count when playing this iconic killer and steals every scene when he’s on screen by portraying Lecter as a cool and collected man. One that only lets nuggets of his insanity slip through either by way of a particularly disturbing look, or when he gets overly excited talking about death, as he does in the scene late in the film when he and Graham discuss power and how it relates to becoming a God.

That subtle performance and the visceral experience the film provides make this an essential horror film to own and enjoy if you haven't had the chance to see it. Just make sure to ignore the fact that Anthony Hopkins isn't in it and go into this motion picture with an open mind and you'll come out of it not only terrified but pleased with such a unique telling of this Lecter tale. 
 
If you’d like to dive deeper into Michael Mann’s ‘Manhunter’, check out what the Movie Mumble Podcast team had to say about this motion picture, by clicking… here.

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