The Ultimate Bad Boy

Your favourite movie says a lot about who you are. You can glean a lot of information from someone based on the one movie they keep coming back to, that they can watch a hundred times and never tire of.

For most people, it’s something comforting. The Princess Bride. The NeverEnding Story. The Notebook.

For me?

The Silence of the Lambs.

I know, I know. I’m a weirdo.

I’d first watched the movie as a teenager, when the DVD was gifted to me by my step-dad. Weird choice, Dad. I can’t thank you enough! I became obsessed. There were days where I watched that movie twice within a twenty-four hour time period.

I couldn’t get enough of those steely blue, unblinking eyes as they bored into Jodie Foster’s soul, delving into her deepest secrets, her darkest fears. I never tired of watching the glimmer of humanity within his psychopathic gaze as he thanked her for sharing the story of her father’s death, the loss of the lamb she’d tried to save, and how it had propelled her into her career with the FBI. It was as if he subsisted solely on her inner turmoil, like vampire. Or a dementor.

Anthony Hopkins is, to this day, my celebrity free pass.

For a long while, just like Hannibal, I wanted to— not murder people, don’t get too freaked out— I wanted to be a psychologist. There’s something intriguing about people opening up to you, sharing their pains and their fears, unleashing their emotions on you. That’s riveting stuff. It’s a common phenomenon, I think, which is why projects like Post Secret are still thriving. I went to university to study psychology in hopes of gleaning some secret to the human psyche. Maybe learn telepathy. Or hypnosis.

Turns out I had no idea what psychology was actually about, or what psychologists actually do. Three years into my psychology program and I was no closer to learning the secrets of how people’s brains worked, or how to hack into them like Hannibal Lector seemed to be able to do.


Instead of becoming a psychologist, I grew up to be a yoga teacher. Go figure. Even though my career trajectory took a one-eighty, I’ll always enjoy a good thriller and harbour a not-so-secret love for intelligent, dangerous bad-boys. And girls. Those, too.

As it turns out, I’m not alone. There’s tons of weirdos like me out there who love the idea of a dangerous genius psychopath who, for one reason or another, is willing to spare your life while he cooks everyone else’s livers with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

Read on if you enjoy entertainment that is more thriller than horror, mysteries with twists and turns that keep you guessing til the end, and a scary/sexy villain that will excite you in more ways than one... if you know what I mean ;)

Of course, there’s the obvious additions to The Silence of the Lambs universe:

- Red Dragon (dare I say, just as good as the first)

- Hannibal (avoid this at all costs)

- Hannibal Rising (young Hannibal? Hawt.)

Your thirst for sexy murderers has yet to be quenched? Here’s some more movies you’ll love:

- Seven

- The Invisible Man

- Gone Girl

- Split

- The Girl on the Train

- Hereditary

- Fight Club

- V for Vendetta

- American Psycho

- Psycho (1998, trust me)

Perhaps you enjoy the type of binge-watching only a television series can provide. Not to worry, there’s plenty of intriguing options:

- Hannibal (the TV series based on the movie, obviously)

- American Horror Story

- The Bates Motel

- Prodigal Son

- The Sinner

- True Detectives (just the first season)

Maybe you’re into that True Crime stuff. Too creepy for me, but you do you.

- The Confession Tapes

- Making a Murderer (have you not seen this yet?!)

- The Keepers

- Evil Lives Here

- The Ted Bundy Tapes

So there you have it! No more sitting in front of your TV, remote in hand, paralyzed by the plethora of choices before you. You now have a huge list of incredible media to watch, thanks to me. You’re welcome.