The Silence of the Lambs continues to be one of the most influential and startling horror films ever made twenty years after its release. Even if the continuous exposure to violence in culture has created high degrees of callousness in society, this film has tapped into raw and instinctual human fears. Jonathan Demme explores in the film the land of psychology and its terrifying effects, attaining a strong primal bond between the audience and the characters.
The cinematographic choices made in The Silence of the Lambs allow the audience to connect on an instinctual level with the protagonist of the film, Clarice. It is shot from her point of view in such a deliberate way that this connection becomes unavoidable from the opening scenes. The camera follows her closely, revealing no more than what Clarice’s eyes reach and touch. Therefore, we take on the protagonist role, and Clarice becomes only a shell that embodies our actions. The technique used to make such an effective bond between protagonist and audience is the use of shot-reverse-shots from Clarice’s point of view. It is startling when characters talk directly into the camera. Their steady stare is uncomfortable to maintain not only because of the rareness of this kind of shot in mainstream films, but also because they are combined with extreme close-ups, tight framing, and steady eye-level camera angle, making the dialogue even more intruding and direct.
It was clever of Demme to use these techniques to intensify the horror emanated by The Silence of the Lambs. The forth wall is completely removed, and the mortifying story, that is supposed to take place only within the movie screen, trespasses into the real life of the dim theaters. Once Dr. Hannibal Lecter is introduced, the audience realizes that their sheltered role as spectators is completely disrupted. At that point, it becomes evident that the continuous and repetitive warnings of “do not touch the glass, do not approach the glass” were directed not only to Clarice but also to the audience. The glass symbolizes the theater’s screen, a theoretically isolating and safeguarding entity meant to maintain Dr. Lecter at a safe distance from them. Therefore, it is especially gripping and petrifying when Dr. Lecter first talks to Clarice, who is able to identify the lotion she was wearing by simply smelling the air that leaked through the glass. “You use Evian skin cream, and sometimes you wear L’Air du Temps, but not today.” Not only is such an action conceived as almost impossible, but it also demands a certain proximity and contact that have not taken place between them. Could he also be able to discern the lotion that the viewer is wearing? This scene becomes the first sign of Dr. Lecter’s ability to reach out from his dividing wall. Combined with such an unsettling banter, Dr. Lecter looks directly into Clarice’s eyes, and in concordance into the our eyes while stepping closer to the camera as he talks, making the comforting space between him and the audience thinner with every minor movement.
It is interesting to notice that the only occasion in which Dr. Lecter does not stare into the camera is when giving away valuable information about the killer, Buffalo Bill. The dividing glass rematerializes as thick as ever, and we are only able to see his ghost-like blurry reflection on it. This sequence might be the only one in which the viewer whishes to have Dr. Lecter’s penetrating stare focused on them. However, we are completely alienated and reminded of our impotence as spectators, preventing us from actively scrutinize Dr. Lecter’s facial expression to determine, along with Clarice, the truthfulness behind his words. Dr. Lecter explains that the moth found in the last victim’s throat signifies change: “caterpillar into cocoon into beauty.” Such clue signals not only the nature of the killer as a transsexual, but it also indicates the change in the relationship between Dr. Lecter and us, the audience. He has metamorphosed from a frightening figure to a trustworthy one, and therefore, the previously longed dividing glass has gowned to be an obstacle.
Because Clarice feels lost without the guidance of Dr. Lecter, we are lead to place complete trust in him, which is fortified by the editing technique. For the most part of the film, questions posed in one scene are immediately answered by the following one. Such cause-effect editing style is mostly evident when Dr. Lecter adverts Clarice that the killer “must already be looking for his next special lady.” This scene cuts to a close up of a young lady driving back home. Even though there has been no prior indication of her role, there is no doubt that she is the next victim and that the killer will soon be introduced. Thus, the editing transforms distant realities into reactionary events. It embodies a tacit understanding that Dr. Lecter is the narrator of the story; the only one with the abilities to find and show the correct relationship between the scattered clues that Clarice has collected.
The editing style is enhanced by the extensive use of bridges of sound. Dialogues trespass their original scenes to become non-diagetic sounds that fuse two different shots. In addition, the mise en scène is organized with the underlying purpose of promoting the association of apparently scattered and arbitrary elements. Written signs are used extensively as both establishing and foreshadowing elements. For instance, during the opening sequence, the camera pans down from the sky to a wooden sign attached to a tree that reads the words “Hurt, Agony, Pain, Love-it.” This sign sets the tone for the entire film. It could not spell out more clearly the nature of the case that is about to be unwrapped; a case involving serial killers and psychopaths who enjoy and love inflicting pain and agony unto others.
Demme is particularly sharp at teasing the audience after he meticulously creates an environment in which they completely trust on the cause-effect editing and mise en scène. Such implicit understanding of the sequence of effects is used to destabilize the audience and create a significant climax towards the end of the film. As the police prepare to break into the killer’s house, the rapid editing between the killer and the police creates the illusion that they are in the same place. Such illusion is maximized by the use of the house bell as a sound bridge. As the audience believes that the police have finally gotten the killer, they are completely shocked to realize that the person knocking Buffalo Bill’s door is Clarice instead of the S.W.A.P. team. In addition to this startling scene, the use of off-screen space is crucial to intensify the thrilling sensation that has built up to this moment. As Clarice realizes that the man in front of her is Buffalo Bill, she stumbles around the house, trying to catch him. The camera follows her closely through the hallways of the confusing maze that is the house, disorienting the viewers who were already somewhat familiar with this space. Such chase is claustrophobic and frightening because neither the audience nor Clarice get a glance of the killer’s location. However, such feeling is maximized when, after having found a bathtub filled with decomposed body parts, the lights go off and a few seconds of complete darkness invade the theater. At such point, it is obvious that the killer knows where Clarice is, making the dark off-screen space become even more absolute and terrifying.
It is precisely these kind of cinematic elements that make The Silence of the Lambs penetrating and frightening. Jonathan Demme demonstrated that seconds of darkness can create a much petrifying effect than explicit violence. In addition, the perpetual use of point of view shots causes the story and their characters to slowly but steadily enter into the psyche of the audiences. In fact, they are not able to follow Crawford’s initial advice: “you're to tell him nothing personal. Believe me, you don't want Hannibal Lecter inside your head.” Precisely the opposite takes place. Dr. Lecter infiltrates into the audience’s heads in such a way that an inevitable smirk of complicity crosses their faces as he points out that he is “having an old friend for dinner.”
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