Step Aside, Vincent Price! Anthony Hopkins Is King of the Creepshow

Sir Anthony Hopkins, esteemed master of the British stage, Oscar winner, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, horror star… yes, you read that right. Horror star. The Welsh-born Hopkins may not have the intimidating genre resume of fellow Brits Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, but his creepshow cred was formidable long before he made a cultural touchstone of Dr. Lecter’s slyly chilling account of eating that pesky census taker’s liver with “some fava beans and a nice chianti.”

And here’s the kicker: In a movie career littered with forgettable TV pictures, ill-advised remakes and bills-to-pay junk like Shortcut to Happiness (you know, the notorious Devil and Daniel Webster reimagining that starred living blow-up doll Jennifer Love Hewitt as Ms. Satan) and the scifi thriller Freejack, Hopkins’ horror movies have been a pretty classy bunch.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Why beat around the bush? Hopkins gave the genre a new icon with psycho shrink Hannibal “the cannibal” Lecter. Yeah, it’s a meaty role, but an old-school frightmeister like Vincent Price would have delivered lines like, “Good evening, Clarice” with campy relish, while Hopkins’ dry, whispery tones make it the sound of pure evil. No matter that fellow-Celt Brian Cox originated the role in Michael Mann’s Manhunter (1986): Hopkins owned it. The Silence of the Lambs was a perfect storm of A-list talent, but would it have scooped up five top-tier Oscars — including best picture, best director for Jonathan Demme and best actress for Jodie Foster — without Hopkins’ insinuatingly malevolent performance? Well, the last horror movie to rack up comparable nominations was The Exorcist — ten to Lambs’ seven — and it only won two.

Back-to-back follow ups Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002), a remake of Manhunter, were little more than showcases for the bad doctor’s devilish appeal, but no matter. Dr. Lecter’s place in the monster pantheon is secure. Read more …

The Wolfman (2010) Poster, Synopsis, Cast, Theatrical Trailer, Review - Upcoming Horror Movie

Plot: Upon his return to his ancestral homeland, an American man (Del Toro) is bitten, and subsequently cursed by, a werewolf.

Director: Joe Johnston
Writers (WGA): Andrew Kevin Walker (screenplay) and David Self (screenplay)
Release Date: 10 February 2010 (USA)
Genre: Horror | Thriller

Also Known As: The Wolfman (USA) (alternative spelling)
Country: UK | USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Filming Locations: Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Company: Universal Pictures

SYNOPSIS

Universal Studios resurrects the classic lycanthrope with this tale of an American who experiences an unsettling transformation after returning to his ancestral home in Victorian-era Great Britain and being attacked by a rampaging werewolf. His brother having recently vanished without a trace, haunted nobleman Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to his family estate to investigate. What he discovers upon reuniting with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins), however, is a destiny far darker than his blackest nightmares. As a young boy, the untimely death of his mother caused Talbot to grow up before his time. Though Talbot would attempt to bury his pain in the past by leaving the quiet Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor behind, the past returns with a vengeance when his brother’s fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), convinces him to return home and aid the search for his missing brother. But something monstrous has been stalking the residents of Blackmoor from the nighttime shadows, something not quite human. Not even recently arrived Scotland Yard inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving) can dream up a rational explanation for the gruesome spell that has been cast over Blackmoor, yet rumors of an ancient curse persist to this very day. Read more …