Hopkins' insinuating performance puts him right up there with the screen's great bogymen. [13 February 1991, Calendar, p.F-1}
A mesmerizing thriller that will grip audiences from first scene to last.
A movie with this kind of haunting power comes along only once every decade or so. [20 February 1991, Life, p.11D]
The superbly crafted suspense thriller…slams you like a sudden blast of bone-chilling, pulse-pounding terror.
Delicious with foreboding, a masterly suspense thriller that toys with our anticipation like a well-fed cat.
The interplay between Starling and Lector as they share an indefinable, dark understanding gives the film its unforgettable and unsettling power. [14 February 1991, Daily Notebook, p.E1]
