The Silence of the Lambs Quotes

Context

This misquote is attributed to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, in the movie The Silence of the Lambs, directed by Jonathan Demme (1991).

Dr. Hannibal Lecter is one of the freakiest, most terrifying villains ever to grace the silver screen. Apologies to Norman Bates and Darth Vader, but even the American Film Institute thinks the good doctor is the absolute best. Or worst, we should say. So, you can imagine how chilling it would be to hear him say his signature line, "Hello, Clarice."

Trouble is, Dr. Lecter never actually says this during the entire run time of The Silence of the Lambs. The closest he gets is saying, "Good evening, Clarice," but for some reason that doesn't scare us nearly as much. Why do we love imagining Hannibal the Cannibal saying this line? Maybe it's the simplicity of it. A simple greeting masking all kinds of sinister thoughts. Oh, it's giving us chills just thinking about it.

Where you've heard it

You might have heard this misquote anytime someone wants to sound a little bit freaky or scary. Hey, it definitely works.

Additional Notable References:

 Rudolph and Clarice make this quote one jolly meme.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Yeah, this quote isn't super pretentious, but it is super scary.