For me, Silence of the Lambs is the best of the series. Anthony Hopkins is chilling as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. His performance will haunt you for days after your first time watching it.
Even after subsequent viewings, I still get chills. He came EXTREMELY close to capturing that same persona in Red Dragon....but Silence gets the nod from me.
It was a toss up for me between Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon but I gave Red Dragon the nod because I remember walking into the theater expecting a great movie, and I was not disappointed in the least. But a case can be made for both films I think.
