HANNIBAL
RISING
With
Gaspard
Ulliel,
Li
Gong,
Rhys
Ifans
,
Kevin
McKidd,
Dominic
West,
Richard
Leaf
,
Ingeborga
Dapkunaite
,
Aaran
Thomas,
Helena
Lia
Tachovska
Directed
by
Peter
Webber
It
is
Halloween
period
again
(October
2007),
and
what
better
time
to
explore
the
origin
of
everyone’s
favourite
cannibalistic
genius
-
depicted
here
with
great
flair,
but
no
less
severity.
The
phenomenon
created
by
Thomas
Harris
with
his
highly
successful
psychological
serial
killer
novels
first
made
it
to
the
screen
via
Michael
Mann’s
Manhunter
(later
remade
under
its
original
title
Red
Dragon).
Anthony
Hopkins
literally
sunk
his
teeth
into
the
role
of
the
twisted
psychologist,
Dr.
Hannibal
Lecter,
who
playfully
assisted
agent
Starling
in
catching
an
elusive
killer
(from
behind
bars
in
Silence
Of
The
Lambs)
and
continuing
their
flirtation
in
Hannibal.
With
Hannibal
Rising,
Hopkins
may
be
noticeably
absent,
but
Lecter’s
dark
spirit
(and
its
genesis)
is
revealed.
The
viewer
is
taken
through
his
hard
upbringing
in
Eastern
Europe
during
WWII
and
how
he
became
the
complex
animal
we
grew
to
love
and
hate.
Director
Peter
Webber
(Girl
With
A
Pearl
Earring)
has
crafted
a
fine
film
which
may
get
less
attention
due
to
the
audience’s
expectation
of
Hopkins.
In
many
respects
this
feels
like
an
art
film,
but
has
enough
lashings
of
blood
and
brutality
to
satisfy
cinematic
thrill
seekers
and
gorehounds
alike.
This
makes
for
a
fine
opening
chapter
to
this
fascinating
character’s
legacy.
Both
Hannibal
and
Hannibal
Rising
are
some
of
the
many
DVDs
up
for
grabs
at
the
2007
South
African
HORRORFEST
film
festival
running
from
25
October
to
1
November
at
the
Labia
Theatre
(Cape
Town)
–
www.HORRORFEST.info
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