Years after capturing the elusive Dr. Hannibal Lecter, former FBI agent Will Graham is forced out of early retirement to hunt down a new, terrifying serial killer known as "The Tooth Fairy," who slaughters entire families during the full moon. Struggling to understand the twisted psyche of the murderer, Graham must confront his own demons and once again seek the counsel of the brilliant but dangerous Lecter from behind bars—risking his sanity and his family's safety in the process.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States Germany |
Premiere date |
October 4, 2002 |
Running time |
124 minutes |
Genre |
Crime Drama Thriller Horror |
Budget |
$78,000,000 |
Box Office |
$209,196,298 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Brett Ratner |
Produced by |
Dino De Laurentiis Martha De Laurentiis |
Written by |
Ted Tally |
Music by |
Danny Elfman |
Cinematography |
Dante Spinotti |
Edited by |
Mark Helfrich |
Production Co. |
Universal Pictures Dino De Laurentiis Company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Distributed by |
Universal Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #04 in The Hannibal Lecter Collection
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The Plot
The Gourmet of Chandler Square
In 1980, the cultural elite of Baltimore gather for a symphony orchestral performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Among the audience is Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a renowned Lithuanian-American forensic psychiatrist. His sophisticated veneer cracks momentarily when he winces in pain at several off-key notes played by a flutist on stage. Later that evening, inside his elegant townhouse at 5 Chandler Square, Lecter hosts a lavish dinner party for the symphony board. The primary topic of whispered conversation is the sudden disappearance of that very flutist. Lecter, playing the consummate host, serves a meticulously prepared meal. When a guest inquires about the ingredients of the amuse-bouche, Lecter replies with a charming yet sinister smile, "If I tell you, I'm afraid you won't even try it," provoking amusement rather than suspicion among his guests.
Once the dinner guests depart, Lecter receives a late-night visit from Will Graham, a gifted young FBI agent. The two have been collaborating on a psychological profile of a local serial killer dubbed "the Chesapeake Ripper," notorious for surgically removing body parts from his victims. While the FBI assumes these parts are kept as trophies, Graham shares a disturbing revelation with Lecter. He explains that his father-in-law mentioned that the succulent flesh from the back of a roasted chicken is culinarily known as "oysters." This trivia triggered a memory for Graham: the Ripper’s third victim, Darcy Taylor, was missing specifically that piece of flesh from her back. Graham is now convinced the "trophies" are actually ingredients, and the killer is a cannibal. Lecter observes Graham with fascination, labeling him an "eidektor"—a person possessing extreme imagination and visual memory coupled with pure empathy—but seems agitated that Graham deduced the cannibalism without his help.
The Revelation and the Attack
Graham apologizes for his perceived lack of faith in Lecter's expertise, and they arrange to review the profile again the following day. As Lecter steps away to retrieve Graham’s coat, the agent begins to scan the doctor's impressive curios and bookshelves. He opens a copy of the Larousse Gastronomique and notices a handwritten notation next to an entry for Ris de Veau. The note reads "sweetbreads," the culinary term for the thymus or pancreas—organs common to both animals and humans. A terrifying realization strikes Graham, but before he can react, Lecter attacks from behind, stabbing him in the abdomen with a curved linoleum knife. Lecter apologizes, stating that the game must end, and declares his intention to eat Graham's heart as a tribute to his courage.
Despite his severe injury, Graham manages to fight back, stabbing Lecter in the abdomen with several arrows from a display collection before shooting the doctor with his service weapon. Both men survive the bloody confrontation. Lecter is arrested, ruled insane in court, and sentenced to nine consecutive life terms at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Graham, physically recovered but mentally shattered by the trauma, retires from the FBI to a mental institution before eventually retreating from the world.
The Tooth Fairy
Several years pass. Graham has built a quiet, self-imposed exile in a beachfront house in Marathon, Florida, living with his wife Molly and their son Josh while repairing boat motors. This peace is interrupted one day in April by the arrival of his former boss, Special Agent Jack Crawford. Crawford presents a grim new case involving a serial killer nicknamed "the Tooth Fairy." This predator has stalked and slaughtered two seemingly random families of five during sequential full moons. The first incident involved the Jacobi family in Birmingham on February 25th, followed by the Leeds family in Atlanta on March 28th. The killer's MO includes smashing bathroom mirrors, wearing latex gloves, and leaving impressions of size-11 shoes. Crawford pleads for Graham’s unique perspective to catch the killer before the next full moon in three weeks. Although initially reluctant, Graham reviews the crime scene photos. Overwhelmed by the tragedy and the thought of another family perishing, he accepts the freelance assignment, promising a worried Molly, "This one will never see me or know my name... The cops will have to take him down, not me."
Through the Eyes of the Dead
Graham travels to the Leeds house in Atlanta to walk the crime scene. He discovers the killer gained entry through the back porch using a glass cutter. He notes a dog bed, deducing that the family dog failed to bark, a detail missing from the files. Upstairs in the blood-splattered master bedroom, Graham reconstructs the horror: the intruder cut Charles Leeds’ throat, shot his wife Valerie in the stomach, and then executed the children in their beds before dragging their bodies into the parents' room. The killer paid "extra attention" to Mrs. Leeds. Most disturbingly, shards from the smashed bathroom mirror were inserted into the victims' orbital sockets. Later, in his hotel room, Graham experiences a flash of insight. He realizes the mirror shards were placed to make the dead eyes look alive, forcing the victims to serve as an audience while the killer touched the mother. He deduces the killer removed his gloves to feel her skin and requests the forensics team check Mrs. Leeds' corneas for prints.
At the Atlanta Police Department briefing, forensics confirm the killer’s unique bite signature on Mrs. Leeds. Graham presents his profile: the attacks were highly organized, and the women—Mrs. Leeds and Samantha Jacobi—were specific targets, not random victims. He posits that the killings empower the murderer, asking, "It makes him God. Would you give that up?" Graham also learns the Leeds' dog had been injured the night before the attack, prompting a search of the Jacobi residence where a buried cat is subsequently found. As Graham and Crawford leave, they are accosted by Freddy Lounds, a sleazy reporter for the National Tattler who previously capitalized on Lecter’s trial. Graham, furious at Lounds for past intrusions, warns him to back off.
The Dragon and the Man
Graham realizes that to catch this monster, he must re-enter the mindset that nearly destroyed him. He admits to Crawford that his previous success with the "Minnesota Shrike" was actually due to Lecter’s guidance. Desperate for a shortcut, Graham visits Dr. Frederick Chilton at the Maryland State Hospital and then confronts Lecter himself. In the high-security cell, Lecter unnerves Graham by commenting on his aftershave and asserting, "The reason you caught me is that we are just alike." However, Lecter provides a crucial insight: the killer likely perceives himself as disfigured (hence the smashed mirrors) and is driven by the lunar cycle.
The audience is then introduced to the killer: Francis Dolarhyde, a technical services manager at Chromalux in St. Louis. Suffering from a split personality born of severe childhood abuse, Dolarhyde calls his alter ego "The Great Red Dragon," obsessed with William Blake’s painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun. He worships Lecter and initiates a secret correspondence with him. Lecter, realizing the FBI is monitoring, uses a coded message in the National Tattler to give Dolarhyde Graham's home address. Crawford intercepts the message, evacuating Molly and Josh to a safe house. Lecter is caught and punished, but not before he negotiates a first-class meal and book privileges in exchange for help, raising a mocking toast to the surveillance cameras.
A Trap Gone Wrong
In a risky gambit to flush Dolarhyde out, Graham gives an interview to Freddy Lounds, disparaging the "Tooth Fairy" as an impotent, pathetic homosexual. The insult enrages Dolarhyde, but instead of attacking Graham, he kidnaps Lounds. In a terrifying sequence at his lair, Dolarhyde forces Lounds to recant the allegations on tape. He then bites off Lounds' lips, sets him on fire in a wheelchair, and rolls him down the street to his death.
Amidst his brutality, Dolarhyde begins a romance with a blind co-worker, Reba McClane. Her presence quiets the "Dragon" inside him. After a night together, he wakes in a panic, fearing she has discovered his shrine to the Dragon. Torn between his love for Reba and the Dragon’s demand to "change" her through death, Dolarhyde attempts to suppress his alter ego. He travels to the Brooklyn Museum and consumes the original watercolor of the Blake painting, hoping to dominate the Dragon by eating it. However, the urge remains.
The Final Deception
Graham makes a breakthrough, realizing the killer knew the layout of the victims' homes because he viewed their home videos. This leads the FBI to Chromalux, where the manager identifies Dolarhyde. Dolarhyde spots Graham at his office and flees. He rushes to Reba’s house, finds her saying goodnight to a co-worker, Ralph Mandy, and murders Ralph in a jealous rage. He kidnaps Reba, taking her to his burning house. Unable to kill her, he appears to shoot himself. Reba escapes as the house explodes. The police find a body, and the nightmare seems over.
The Wrath of the Dragon
Graham returns home to his family, believing Dolarhyde is dead. However, autopsy results reveal the body in the fire was Ralph Mandy; Dolarhyde is alive. Crawford calls Graham with the warning, but it is too late—Dolarhyde is already inside the house. Graham finds a broken mirror and arms himself. He enters his son Josh’s bedroom to find Dolarhyde holding the boy hostage with a shard of glass. Thinking quickly, Graham berates his son for wetting the bed, using the cruelty to provoke Dolarhyde into attacking him instead.
Dolarhyde throws the boy aside and slashes Graham across the stomach. Graham stabs Dolarhyde in the leg and retreats, locking himself and Josh in the master bedroom. Dolarhyde prepares to break down the door when he sees Molly appearing in the hallway. Graham shouts for her to get down and fires through the door. A chaotic shootout ensues. Molly, seeing Dolarhyde rising to kill her husband, grabs Graham's gun and shoots the killer through the head, finally ending his reign of terror.
Epilogue
Sometime later, a recovering Graham is out on his sailboat when he receives a letter from Dr. Lecter. The doctor bids him well, mocking him slightly by hoping he isn't too "disfigured" by their shared experiences. Graham reads the note, then crumbles it up and tosses it into the ocean, choosing to leave the darkness behind. Meanwhile, at the asylum, Dr. Chilton informs Lecter that a young woman from the FBI has arrived to speak with him. Lecter pauses, looks up with interest, and asks, "What is her name?"
