Dr. Hannibal Lecter debuted in Thomas Harris' novel Red Dragon and quickly became one of fiction's most famous serial killers. Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning performance as the cannibalistic psychopath in The Silence of the Lambs made him a cinematic icon in earnest and he would reprise the role in movie adaptations of the sequel novel, Hannibal, in 2001 and Red Dragon the following year.
The novel also formed the foundation of the Hannibal TV show that would appear just over a decade later and give fans of the story a new source of fun. But what about movies beyond those adaptations? Fans may be surprised by how much there is out there that's similar to Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs.
Manhunter (1986)
Though many believe that The Silence of the Lambs was the original Hannibal Lecter movie, master filmmaker Michael Mann debuted the infamous serial killer on the silver screen years earlier with his own adaptation of Red Dragon.
Brian Cox proved himself as worthy for the role of Hannibal Lecter (spelled "Lecktor" this time around) as Anthony Hopkins or Mads Mikkelsen and William Petersen was brilliantly cast as Will Graham, providing a stark precursor to his role as Gil Grissom on CSI.
Prisoners (2013)
Denis Villeneuve's chilling thriller stars Hugh Jackman as a desperate father searching for his missing child and Jake Gyllenhaal is the cop trying to unpack the wider mystery surrounding the abduction.
Both men take very different approaches to their investigations and it puts them at odds, but the labyrinthian puzzle requires both a light touch and a heavy hand. Red Dragon fans are sure to be kept on the edge of their seats by the plot, right up until the final moments.
Fracture (2007)
Anthony Hopkins takes on a clearly Hannibal-Lecter-inspired role in this legal thriller as a highly intelligent psychopath who concocts a perfect plan to murder his unfaithful wife and get away with it.
Ryan Gosling stars as the hotshot young lawyer who becomes obsessed with taking him down and the two are more than a match for one another in their high stakes battle of wits.
Se7en (1995)
David Fincher's classic serial killer thriller quickly became a byword for greatness in manhunter movies and lives on thanks to its incredible performances and its unforgettable ending.
Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are the detectives on the trail of a sadistic murderer who kills his victims in an elaborate fashion that revolves around one of the seven deadly sins and Red Dragon fans are guaranteed any and all bloodlust totally satiated.
Copycat (1995)
When a new psycho in San Francisco begins to restage famous murders from serial killer history, Sigourney Weaver's agoraphobic expert must team up with Holly Hunter's determined cop to stop them.
Though not adapted from a novel, Copycat could easily fool you into thinking that it was. Its main characters are shockingly well-defined and rich with the kind of details that Hannibal fans will surely appreciate.
Kiss the Girls (1997)
Morgan Freeman brought James Patterson's long-running literary detective, Alex Cross, to life in the character's first movie with this adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name.
Cross is on the hunt for a psychopath who has abducted several women, including his niece, and the war of brains over brawn will be appreciated by fans of Harris' novels and their movie adaptations.
The Bone Collector (1999)
Another popular detective, Lincoln Rhyme, was brought to the big screen with this adaptation of the character's introductory novel of the same name. Denzel Washington plays Rhyme alongside Angelina Jolie as his partner as they try to unravel the clues left by a sadistic murderer in New York City.
Though Rhyme's movie career didn't take off with The Bone Collector, the character and the novel were adapted for the screen again in the NBC series Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Though it starts at the end and works backward, this infamous crime story keeps the audience in the dark and on tenterhooks right up until the end in its search for the elusive mastermind Keyser Söze.
Next to The Silence of the Lambs, it's arguably the most famous thriller of the 90s and, if you've somehow managed to avoid one of the biggest spoilers in cinematic history, unforeseeable twists and turns are guaranteed.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
David Fincher's adaptation of the first novel of author Stieg Larsson's globally popular Millennium trilogy brought a lot of Hollywood flair to the distinct intrigue of Scandinavian crime fiction but lost little of the unique cultural charm.
Daniel Craig plays a beleaguered journalist tasked with uncovering the truth about an old crime with Rooney Mara on Oscar-nominated form as the enigmatic hacker, Lisbeth Salander, who helps him.
Antibodies (2005)
A remarkably similar story to Red Dragon in many respects, Antibodies begins with the capture of a truly demented serial killer who proceeds to taunt law enforcement from his jail cell and attempt to play one final twisted game with a naive small-town cop who needs his help to close an old murder case.
The prison chats between the two are clearly inspired by the famous Hannibal dynamic but actor André Hennicke creates his own fearlessly sickening psycho with his own horrific quirks.