[Review] Hannibal (2001)

The Hannibal Fan Podcast on Horror News TV

“Now you’re being rude, and I hate rude people.” Surprise, Fannibals! The Hannibal Fan Podcast has been mostly dormant since the series Hannibal ended in 2015. The Grue Crew hasn’t been totally silent about the titular cannibal in some form or another. After doing Manhunter on the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast and Silence of the Lambs on the 90s, we just couldn’t stay away. Unfortunately, maybe we should have. Our topic for this special bonus episode – in honor of Alien Covenant being recently released -  is Ridley Scott’s Hannibal (2001). Featuring the return of Anthony Hopkins to the role that won him an Oscar, Hannibal came out to be a major box office success. But how well does it hold up? Listen as Doc Rotten, Dave Dreher, Christopher G. Moore and Thomas Mariani discuss!

Hannibal Fan Podcast
Bonus Episode 1 – Hannibal (2001)

After a decade’s worth of varying production attempts to get a Lambs sequel off the ground, Hannibal had a lot going against it on the way in. Lambs director Jonathan Demme and Hopkins’ co-star Jodie Foster both declined to be involved due to their issues with the Thomas Harris novel. One can’t really blame them, given the story of Hannibal centers on Clarice Starling (now played by Julianne Moore) sulking around dwelling on her past with the genius cannibal. She’s offered a chance to find Hannibal – now in exile abroad – thanks to an investigation sparked by Mason Verger (Gary Oldman). He’s a wealthy handicapped man with a grudge against the man who severely scarred his face. That man (Anthony Hopkins) is in Italy trying to lay low, impersonating a librarian and eating where he can. That is until a corrupt Italian detective (Giancarlo Giannini) attempts to spoil his peaceful life to bring him to Verger. Nothing a game of “bowels in, bowels out” can’t fix.

The Hannibal Fan Podcast crew is happy to be back together discussing another product of Thomas Harris’ universe. Unfortunately, they wished it was under better circumstances. No, the Crew isn’t the hugest fan of Hannibal. Especially with how well Bryan Fuller integrated many of these elements into the TV show they mutually loved. There’s a lot of comparing and contrasting of the Mason Vergers, the Clarice/Will Graham role and of course Hopkins vs. Mads in similar scenarios. One can guess which one wins out. There’s also much discussion of Ridley Scott’s style, the prosthetics used to show us Ray Liotta’s inner workings and how much Anthony Hopkins actually cared. Mileage may vary, but one thing is for certain; Hannibal made this group appreciate their beloved departed TV show even more.

As always we want your feedback so drop us a line at [e-mail] and weâ€ll talk next time as we continue to bring you our recipe for fear with HORROR NEWS TV HANNIBAL FAN PODCAST. Tell us if you want to see us cover Red Dragon (2002), Hannibal Rising (2007) or even the first season of the show! Send in your impressions today at https://horrornewstv.com/feedback/ or send an email to [e-mail]!