Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins is one of Hollywood’s greatest legends. Hopkins was born on December 31, 1937, in West Glamorgan, Wales. Acting was not his first dream, as he wanted to become a concert pianist. However, the lonely and isolated childhood of Hopkins led him to the idea that he must change his life, become famous, and leave his birthplace.
It wasn’t long before he enrolled in the YMCA dramatic club, followed by a scholarship to Cardiff College for Music and Drama. In 1961, Hopkins was officially a silver medalist graduate from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after two years of study.
His first appearance was on the London stage in Julius Ceasar in 1964, followed by his appearance in The White Bus film in 1964. Although he played many historical character roles, Hopkins is at his best acting level when playing the role of a psychopath or a killer!
Anthony Hopkins Horror Movies
Among his significant roles, there are some that are terrifying enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. In today’s article, we are going to discuss eight of Hopkins’ horror movies that cannot be forgotten.
1. The Silence of The Lambs (1991)
Hannibal (The Cannibal) Lecter is an iconic and horrific serial killer psychiatrist that will stick in our heads till the end of times! This character was introduced and played by Hopkins in this movie and another two movies that we will discuss later.
In The Silence of The Lambs, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is a young FBI agent seeking help from psychiatrist and cannibal serial killer Hannibal Lecter to catch a serial killer on the loose. The later serial killer known as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) used to kidnap women with specific body features only to skin them later and create his own body suit using their skin.
The movie is considered a cultural icon for so many reasons. For example, Judie Foster’s role as an FBI agent struggling to prove her potential in a male-dominating career paved the road for many female officers and FBI agents to follow her steps and join the field.
Moreover, Ted Levine’s role as Buffalo Bill was extremely controversial, as it tackled the topic of gender identity. Levine’s character was struggling with his body due to many factors that go back to his abusive childhood, which led him to kidnap those girls, skin them, and create a body of his own.
2. The Rite (2011)
This horror movie follows the journey of a young man who wants to become a priest. However, his inner conflict is that he doesn’t completely believe in what he does, especially when it comes to demons and exorcism. He wants to convince the church to believe that mental illness is the reason behind people’s strange behaviour and that it has nothing to do with them being haunted by demonic entities.
However, he is obliged to question his beliefs when his mentor, played by Anthony Hopkins, introduces him to the world of exorcism and gets him to confront these demons by himself. Although it may sound like a cliche exorcism movie, Hopkins adds a good dramatic performance to the plot and church-related information on how this whole process is being handled.
3. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula comes this big movie starring top Hollywood stars. Hopkins plays the character of Professor Abraham Van Helsing, well known for being a scientist, philosopher, and vampire hunter.
Alongside Hopkins are Gary Oldman (Count Dracula), Winona Ryder (Mina Harker), Keanu Reeves (Johnathan Harker), Sadie Frost (Lucy Westerna), and Monica Bellucci (Dracula’s Bride Vampire).
Although the movie adaptation of the novel is greatly produced and directed, it comes with major differences from the novel. For instance, in the movie, Johnathan Harker is kidnapped and held as a prisoner in Count Dracula’s castle, and Dracula’s vampire brides keep drinking his blood until he finally escapes. On the other hand, Bram’s novel mentions that Harker escapes Dracula’s castle when the count reaches England.
One of the other differences between the novel and the movie is that in the novel, Bram states the resemblance between Dracula and Vlad the Impaler without a direct declaration of them being the same person. However, in the movie, we see Professor Van Helsing connecting the dots to finally reach the conclusion that Dracula is, in fact, Vlad the Impaler.
4. Hannibal (2001)
In this one, we follow The Silence of The Lamb’s star, Hannibal Lecter, on a new bloody journey under his new identity. However, this time, we have Julianne Moore as Clarice Starling, and it is only fair to say that she has mastered her role.
Hannibal Lecter returns to the United States and plans to make contact with FBI agent Clarice Starling. However, one of his victims, Mason Verger (Gary Oldman), puts a revenge plan to make Lecter pay for what he did to him.
5. The Wolfman (2010)
When Lawrence’s brother disappears, Lawrence returns to his hometown to investigate his brother’s disappearance upon the request of his fiance, Gwen. However, the case takes a dark turn when Lawrence is bitten by a werewolf and is faced with a twisted family heritage.
Hopkins plays the character of Lawrence’s father, Sir John Talbot, alongside top stars, such as Benicio del Toro (Lawrence Talbot) and Gwen Conliff (Emily Blunt).
6. Audrey Rose (1977)
Although it is put in the horror movies category, Audrey Rose is not the type of terrifying movie you would expect to watch. However, being a lost soul trapped in a girl’s body is probably a nightmare no one wants to get.
This movie follows a grieving father (Anthony Hopkins) after losing his 11-year-old daughter in a fire. The thriller begins when Hopkins’ character follows a family in New York City, believing his daughter reincarnated in their 11-year-old daughter’s body.
The movie raises many questions regarding reincarnation, communicating with the dead, and the number of lines you are ready to cross to hold on to your loved ones. Needless to say, Anthony Hopkins’ performance was beyond perfect and added much-needed emotions and sympathy to the role.
While watching the movie, you will get to feel the little girl’s struggle and pain and the conflict between the two souls trapped in her young body. You will sympathise with her and her family, but you also won’t be able to stop yourself from sympathising with Hopkins, the broken-hearted father.
7. Red Dragon (2002)
Once again, we meet Hannibal Lecter in yet another chilling and bloody story. Former FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) had a painful past with Lecter, as he almost lost his life trying to catch him. Now, Graham has to cooperate with Lecter to get inside a serial killer’s brain, known as the Tooth Fairy (Ralph Fiennes).
The Tooth Fairy’s real name in the movie is Francis Dolarhyde. Dolahyde suffered from a painful past of abuse and disfigurement, resulting in him becoming one of the most horrific serial killers out there. Moreover, he had another personality called The Great Red Dragon, which controlled all of his killing urges and fantasies. Worth mentioning that he was named the Tooth Fairy because he used to bite his victims, although he did not eat them.
He used to pick his victims while working on their family videos. He always starts by killing the family’s pet, followed by the mother, the father, and then the children. His murders were terrifying enough to leave you sleep-deprived for days once you imagine what his victims had to endure.
8. Magic (1978)
Do you remember the feeling you got while watching Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, thinking that this was the best role he had ever played? You should probably watch Magic and think again.
Corky (Anthony Hopkins), a shy, failed magician, invents a puppet called Fats and starts performing with it. His performance with Fats was really good, and it got him a chance to have his own TV show. However, when Corky learns that he must go through a complete medical examination before the show is approved, he freaks out, believing that his mental condition might ruin his future.
As a result, Corky took Fats and fled to his home town, where he met his now-married high school colleague, Peggy. Corky fell in love with Peggy, who was suffering from an abusive marriage, which led her to fall in love with him for his sensitive and caring personality.
On the other hand, Fats was the exact opposite of Corky. He was rude, aggressive, and abusive, more like the other side of Corky’s personality that would not have surfaced without Fats’ existence.
The plot takes a dark and frightening turn when Fats refuses Corky’s and Peggy’s relationship, leading Corky to lose control over his actions.
Anthony Hopkins, without a doubt, is one of the lead actors with multiple successes and heritage to the upcoming generations. So, don’t hesitate to watch any of these movies and let us know which one is your favourite.