The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The Silence of the Lambs parents guide

No surprises for an R: real scares and a jolt or two.

Scare

Properly scary

Frightening, not just tense.

Jump scares

A couple

One or two sudden jolts.

Gore

Graphic gore

Blood and wounds shown clearly.

Violence

Strong violence

Violence is frequent or intense.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.

Language

Moderate

Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The Silence of the Lambs scary?

Yes, properly. The Silence of the Lambs is the real thing without being an endurance test.

How gory is The Silence of the Lambs?

Graphic gore and strong violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.

What is The Silence of the Lambs rated, and is it OK for kids?

Rated R, and it earns it: real scares, moderate sex and nudity, and strong violence. Not one for kids.

What is The Silence of the Lambs about?

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

Cast and crew

More like The Silence of the Lambs

• Prisoners (2013)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA father's desperate search for his missing daughter descends into a bleak, gritty, and atmospheric nightmare.
• The Usual Suspects (1995)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA low-level con man's intricate tale of a mythic crime lord unravels with gritty, suspenseful precision.
• Joker (2019)Bleak · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingA measured descent into madness unfolds as a comedian's dark satire fuels Gotham's gritty, bleak chaos.
• The Godfather (1972)Gritty · full attention · brutal violence · graphic goreA crime family saga unfolds with measured, gritty suspense, building an epic and melancholy atmosphere.
• Se7en (1995)Properly scary · extreme gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingTwo detectives hunt a serial killer whose gruesome crimes are meticulously based on the seven deadly sins.
• The Night of the Hunter (1955)Properly scary · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA chilling Depression-era fable unfolds as children flee a murderous preacher obsessed with their dark secret.
• Hannibal (2013)Properly scary · extreme gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingA brilliant profiler enters the mind of a killer, unaware his new partner has a taste for the macabre.
• Fight Club (1999)Gritty · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingAn insomniac and a soap salesman unleash primal aggression, igniting a darkly comic, surreal spiral toward oblivion.

The Silence of the Lambs is on our Halloween, Tearjerkers, Prison, Noir and neo-noir and Based on books lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”
• “a movie that will make me cry”
• “scary but not gory”