I originally saw this one back when it first came out (on VHS after it had won all the awards), and was unimpressed at the time. I recently revisited it (well, most of it, I ended up turning it off after 3/4 of the movie out of frustration and disbelief), and it seems even more contrived and over-the-top than it did to me the first time I saw it. Anthony Hopkins performance not only chews the scenery, but defecates it out and then chews it up again. The inner workings of the serial killer's mind may be fascinating to some I suppose, but I don't for a minute believe that this movie brings you any closer to understanding them with its cardboard cut out characters with A to B motivations, and I really resent what movies like this have done for these psychopaths, elevate them to the level of cult boogie men. I think the scariest thing about killers like these, would be the sheer ordinariness of their public behaviour and demeanor, but with a spark of humanity missing from their eye (check out the movie 'Funny Games' for a truly frightening experience) - but these anagram spouting, death's head beetle collecting, liver eating (ssffffftttt!) cartoon characters don't do anything for believability. I'm frankly still amazed that this won any awards, let along swept the major categories.