By NADYA SULAIMAN
Watch in horrified fascination as human meat is cleaved gracefully from the bone in cannibalistic delight to make the most appetising-looking meals that leave audiences feeling conflicted.
In soft dulcet tones, Hannibal Lecter states matter-of-factly, “I must confess to you, I’m giving serious thought...to eating your wife.”
Peculiar culinary tastes aside, he has charmed his way into the hearts and minds of fans throughout the world. Sophisticated, intelligent and cultured, he is a character that the audience have always found engaging.
But what makes this twisted character so appealing?
University student Mabel Huang Xin Lei, 23, an avid fan, said, “He is more than just a murderer, he nurtures relationships with the people around him. We can’t help but wonder at his amazing abilities and his knack at manipulating people into believing his stories. He’s not mindless, he always has something planned and we can’t help but be curious about what he’ll do.”
Besides questionable morals that shake the foundations of the human psyche, he is undoubtedly a present day enigma.
Psychopaths were once viewed as emotionless and icy cold. However, psychologists have discovered that there is more to it than meets the eye. Lecter has shattered preconceptions to what makes a person the way they are.
“It’s not just about being a murderer. He’s also being human in a twisted sense. He has his little moments and needs to be a complete perfectionist in everything he does,” Huang said. “You never know what he will do next. He is just so unpredictable.”
A researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Aina Gullhaugen believes that Lecter was portrayed accurately in the franchise.
“Hannibal Lecter is perhaps the most famous psychopath from the fictional world,” Gullhaugen said. “His character in the books and movies is an excellent illustration of the cold mask some have thought that psychopaths have. Because it is a mask. Inside the head of the cannibal and serial killer were tenderness and pain, deep emotions and empathy.”
Perhaps Lecter’s lasting impression was due to his creator, Thomas Harris’ efforts of imitating real-life serial killers in every detail of Lecter’s character.
With a tragic childhood sparking his frenzy of insanity, Lecter’s history of being forced fed his own little sister at a tender age shows how moral degradation captures audiences’ interest in a way normal horror flicks do not.
Jump scares and random bursts of ghosts cannot compare to the cold indifference to the sanctity of human life.
Lecter continues to baffle people with the mystery of psychopathy.
In soft dulcet tones, Hannibal Lecter states matter-of-factly, “I must confess to you, I’m giving serious thought...to eating your wife.”
Peculiar culinary tastes aside, he has charmed his way into the hearts and minds of fans throughout the world. Sophisticated, intelligent and cultured, he is a character that the audience have always found engaging.
But what makes this twisted character so appealing?
University student Mabel Huang Xin Lei, 23, an avid fan, said, “He is more than just a murderer, he nurtures relationships with the people around him. We can’t help but wonder at his amazing abilities and his knack at manipulating people into believing his stories. He’s not mindless, he always has something planned and we can’t help but be curious about what he’ll do.”
Besides questionable morals that shake the foundations of the human psyche, he is undoubtedly a present day enigma.
Psychopaths were once viewed as emotionless and icy cold. However, psychologists have discovered that there is more to it than meets the eye. Lecter has shattered preconceptions to what makes a person the way they are.
“It’s not just about being a murderer. He’s also being human in a twisted sense. He has his little moments and needs to be a complete perfectionist in everything he does,” Huang said. “You never know what he will do next. He is just so unpredictable.”
A researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Aina Gullhaugen believes that Lecter was portrayed accurately in the franchise.
“Hannibal Lecter is perhaps the most famous psychopath from the fictional world,” Gullhaugen said. “His character in the books and movies is an excellent illustration of the cold mask some have thought that psychopaths have. Because it is a mask. Inside the head of the cannibal and serial killer were tenderness and pain, deep emotions and empathy.”
Perhaps Lecter’s lasting impression was due to his creator, Thomas Harris’ efforts of imitating real-life serial killers in every detail of Lecter’s character.
With a tragic childhood sparking his frenzy of insanity, Lecter’s history of being forced fed his own little sister at a tender age shows how moral degradation captures audiences’ interest in a way normal horror flicks do not.
Jump scares and random bursts of ghosts cannot compare to the cold indifference to the sanctity of human life.
Lecter continues to baffle people with the mystery of psychopathy.