Red Dragon

Released 2002
Stars Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Directed by Brett Ratner

This prequel to the horrific thriller The Silence of the Lambs stars Ed Norton as former FBI agent Will Graham, who was once nearly killed by Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Graham must face the imprisoned killer again when he asks Lecter for help in tracking down a new serial killer, Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes). The star-studded cast also includes Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel, Mary-Louise Parker and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Summary from www.netflix.com

I haven't seen the original "Manhunter" so I can't compare the two, but this version is pretty good. There are several sickening moments regarding the gruesome crimes, which you must expect from a Hannibal Lecter movie, but I don't handle them too well. I prefer the psychological thrillers to the gruesome serial killer thrillers, which is why I haven't watched the second installment of the Lecter trilogy, "Hannibal." I hadn't planned to watch this one either, but I decided to rent it on a return flight from Spring Break. It was a good way to pass the time, but I was a little self-conscious of some of the images on my portable DVD screen. Fortunately there were no children behind me! The movie does a very good job of humanizing Dolarhyde and showing the child abuse that turned him into a monster, and it does a decent job of showing his inner demons as an adult. The most disturbing thing about this movie to me is the piece of trivia I read on the imdb, which is

The character of Francis Dolarhyde is loosely based on an uncaught serial killer from Wichita who called himself "Bind, Torture, Kill".

It's one thing to watch a movie about horrific fictional crimes, but it really sickens me to think something like this may have actually happened without the bastard ever being caught.  --Bill Alward, April 6, 2003