In Grim Celebration (Of Hannibal Lecter)

In 1991, on Valentines Day no less, the Academy Award winning Best Picture "The Silence Of The Lambs" was released. It ushered in a new era in horror and solidified the monster Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter in the halls of horror. The award winning performance by Sir Anthony Hopkins was reprised in the sequel "Hannibal" and the prequel "Red Dragon." He was earlier played by the fantastic Brian Cox in the now celebrated "Manhunter" ("Red Dragon" earlier adaptation) and was played one last time theatrically by Gaspard Ulliel in "Hannibal Rising," to little fanfare. After those later films, the saga was resurrected brilliantly in the television adaptation "Hannibal" and the legendary Dr. Lecter was portrayed with brilliance by Mads Mikkelsen.
Now as we enter another Oscar awards show this upcoming Sunday the 24th, let us remember when horror conquered Academy Awards. We as horror fans never needed the accolades. There have been plenty of legendary, iconic, and influential horror masterpieces that have come and gone over the years. And plenty after "Silence"s victory. But this was horror at it's mainstream peak.
Whether it's all the rage or whether it's creeping it up in the underground, horror not long ago shocked the Oscar viewers and conquered cinema.