10 Movies To Watch If You Love The Silence Of The Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs is rightfully considered one of the greatest films of all time with amazing performances by Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Ted Levine. At the time of its release, the film became a sleeper hit, gradually garnering critical acclaim and winning five Academy Awards.

The only problem is that it is hard to come by such great films, so fans of the film looking for more will probably find it difficult to discover movies similar to The Silence of the Lambs. Difficult, but not impossible. Here are 10 movies that stack up to this seminal horror film’s quality.

10 Zodiac (2007)

David Fincher’s Zodiac is an unusual detective film. As its name suggests, it tells the story of the Zodiac killings with Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Jake Gyllenhaal playing the three main roles. But unlike most detective stories, it doesn’t end with the killer being found.

In a way, Zodiac is about obsession. Gyllenhaal’s character is constantly looking for an answer: who is Zodiac? But he can never find the definitive answer to this question. He can only suspect some people to be the criminal behind the horrible killings, but the evidence he finds doesn’t support his claims.

9 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Films (2009-2018)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was first adapted in 2009 in its home country – Sweden. In fact, the three films are based on the first three novels of the Millennium series. Two years later, David Fincher’s adaptation was released, which was just as successful as the Swedish films. A sequel followed in 2018 which was a soft reboot, but it wasn’t successful.

Both the Swedish trilogy and Fincher’s adaptation are worthy of at least a single viewing. The story is gripping and the actors deliver brilliant performances. Besides, there’s also the source material that viewers can read to get immersed into the world of Millennium even more.

8 Prisoners (2013)

Prisoners is the film that was Denis Villeneuve’s international breakthrough. It has such big stars as Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as prestige actors like Viola Davis and Paul Dano, all of whom deliver powerful performances.

The story begins with a kidnapping. Jackman’s character is a father, and his two daughters get abducted. Though the local detective (Gyllenhaal) does everything he can to find the girls, the situation gets more serious when the father decides to take the matter into his own hands.

7 Memories of Murder (2003)

Memories of Murder has been compared to Zodiac numerous times (or rather, Zodiac has been compared to Memories of Murder) because both films are based on real events and never reveal who the murderer is. Bong Joon-ho’s film focuses on the first serial murders in Korea’s history that took place between 1986 and 1991.

With Bong’s Parasite winning Best Picture, his past films are getting more attention, and this one might just be one of the best. In fact, it is considered one of South Korea’s best films of all time by some. And it was just Bong’s second feature film!

6 Gone Girl (2014)

Another David Fincher film, Gone Girl manages to be just as good as its source material, if not better. Perhaps that was the consequence of the book author, Gillian Flynn, also working on the screenplay. In any case, the film was a commercial success, with awards and nominations to go along with critical praise.

The story starts with Rosamund Pike’s character disappearing. Her husband (played by Ben Affleck) is obviously upset by this, but he finds himself in a tricky situation when the strange details of her disappearance make him look like he is the bad guy.

5 Fargo (1996)

Coen Brothers’ Fargo is probably one of their most well-known films. It even got adapted into a TV series. The film was a significant work in their careers, as it earned multiple nominations at the Academy Awards, and a win for Frances McDormand as Best Actress as well as a win for them for Best Original Screenplay.

The film has several storylines that intersect at different points, focusing on a desperate car salesman who hires two criminals to kidnap his wife and get a ransom from her father, and the pregnant police chief (played by McDormand) who investigates the roadside homicides committed by the two criminals.

4 Shutter Island (2010)

Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island is a wildly underrated film among critics – and a beloved classic among regular viewers. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, and Michelle Williams, all of whom are perfect in their respective roles.

The story begins with a U.S. Marshal and his partner officer (DiCaprio and Ruffalo) arriving at Shutter Island, where they must investigate the case of a missing patient from the local psychiatric facility. But the more they find out, the stranger the case becomes.

3 Memento (2000)

Christopher Nolan’s Memento was ultimately his breakthrough film. In a way, the themes Nolan touched upon in this movie – such as non-linear narrative structure, memory and time, perception and self-deception, and grief – would be heavily featured in his later works.

The main character (played by Guy Pearce) suffers from anterograde amnesia, which means he can’t form new memories and experiences short-term memory loss every fifteen minutes. To manage his life in this state, he tattoos himself with important pieces of information and takes photographs, writing messages on them to himself. His goal is to find the person who murdered his wife.

2 The Departed (2006)

Another Martin Scorsese classic, this is the film that finally got the director his long-overdue Academy Award. The Departed is a remake of a 2002 Hong Kong film and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, and more.

Set in Boston, the story centers on two storylines. An Irish Mob boss (played by Nicholson) plants Damon’s character as a mole in the Massachusetts State Police. At the same time, the police assign an undercover state trooper (played by DiCaprio) to infiltrate the Mob. Both sides eventually realize what’s up and try to figure out who the mole is in each other’s groups.

1 Se7en (1995)

David Fincher really enjoys making suspenseful films that have at least some kind of detective element in them. Se7en didn’t receive many awards at the time of its release, but it has since become a classic with its strong performances, dark atmosphere, engaging story, and pretty much everything else about it is nearly perfect.

An old detective who is about to retire (played by Morgan Freeman) gets a new partner (played by Brad Pitt) who recently moved to the city with his wife (played by Gwyneth Paltrow). The two detectives are investigating a series of murders where the killer uses the seven deadly sins as a motif.

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