The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Hannibal Lecter spends almost this entire movie locked behind glass or bars, and he’s still the most dangerous person in every room. That’s the trick, and it’s also the weak spot: once Anthony Hopkins has stared through the screen at you, every scene without him feels like killing time. Buffalo Bill is the other weak spot. He’s a pile of creepy tics, and the way the movie frames him has aged badly. Now the reasons it’s a classic. Jodie Foster plays Clarice as smart, scared and stubborn all at once, a trainee walking into rooms full of men who keep underestimating her. Demme shoots their conversations straight into the lens, so Lecter is talking to you, and it’s deeply uncomfortable. The last stretch in the dark is as tense as anything in the genre. It pulled $273.1 million worldwide on a reported $19 million budget. A 9.2 because it’s a thriller that respects its hero and never wastes a scene. $749 says you catch yourself not blinking on your next video call and someone asks if you’re okay.

What works: Jodie Foster’s tough, scared, stubborn Clarice and Anthony Hopkins’ unblinking Lecter, shot face to face straight into the lens.

What doesn’t: Buffalo Bill is written as a set of creepy tics, and the way the film frames him has aged badly.

Who it’s for: Thriller fans who like tension built on conversation, and anyone who has been the one person in the room nobody took seriously.