Hannibal Rising
By Cory Peynado, Blockbuster.co.uk

“What he is now… there’s no word for it”

Director Peter Webber rolls up his sleeves and takes on the monumental task of carrying on the Hannibal franchise with the dark thriller “Hannibal Rising” A story that will take us back to the end of the second world war and show us some of the horrific events that took place when Hannibal Lecter was just a young boy.

I felt very excited when I first heard that another chapter was to be added to the Hannibal saga, and the excitement level raised another seven hundred notches when I learned that it would cover this meticulously evil character’s past. Another treat was to learn that for the first time the actual creator of Doctor Lecter, Thomas Harris – author of all the Hannibal books, was actually going to write the movie script himself.

The film starts at Lecter Castle in Lithuania (1944) and we get to see how the Lecter family were forced to flee their home due to fear of the Germans closing in. Hannibal watches as both of his parents are killed in the cross fire of a gun battle leaving him and his younger sister, Mischa, to fight for themselves. Despite their efforts to hide, a group of German mercenaries take Hannibal and his sister Mischa captive. What they do to him and his sister in this period will provide some of the fuel for the evil that we have seen in Hannibal in his later years.

“Good evening, Inspector”

French actor Gaspard Ulliel plays Lecter as a young man obsessed with medical science, art, and of course good wine. He moves to Paris to study medicine and lives with his Japanese aunt, Lady Shikibu (Li Gong). He also manages to discover the identities of those who held him and his sister captive when he was young. He sets out to pay them a visit, one by one, and inflict some of the damage that he has had to suffer all these years.

The film itself is extremely methodical suggesting that the motives for telling Lecters back-story are not merely to brush over some horror stories in his past and then use this to explain his current mental state. I think they really wanted to give an accurate depiction of what could have been the reason for him to become what he is. Despite the absence of Hopkins the essence of Hannibal is still felt throughout the film. This is due in part to Gaspard Ulliel’s exceptionally dark and slithery performance immediately convincing you about his appetite for flesh, fava beans and a nice Chianti.

I am and always will be a huge fan of the Lecter story and I’m glad that the legacy has not been ruined by a mediocre money making prequel. Not much could ever justify the things the Hannibal has done in his life-time but after watching this film we may at least be able to understand what lead him down that path. Even if your not a fan, this is a just a great psychological chiller to be enjoyed by all fans of the genre.

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