'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIH/8QAHhAAAQQCAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQACAxEFEwQSYbH/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/8QAGREAAQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAyEx/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDE8HzdGKyTHdzFNQLQfK+kKoJoHQRnTVtBq/ERC1KGl0//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs hit theaters in 1991 and redefined psychological horror and crime thrillers alike. While Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter surely stole the show, the film's other antagonist, Buffalo Bill, became an unforgettable villain in the history of cinema, making him a terrifying mix of invention, true crime inspiration, and cultural controversy.
More than three decades later, Bill has become somewhat of an icon when it comes to Halloween costumes, creepastas, and listicles of dangerous villains in Hollywood's history. Here's everything you need to know about the character's origins and why he remains a legendary one in cinema.
Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs introduced Buffalo Bill for the first time. Brought to screens by Ted Levine in the film adaptation, he quickly became one of the most disturbing characters on screen. Gumb is depicted as a deeply disturbed man who kidnaps women to murder them and then peels their skin off to fashion what he calls a "woman suit." His obsession with this transformation is accompanied by the moths he breeds, creatures that undergo metamorphosis, which is where his twisted desire to shed his identity comes from.
The film positions him as the central case FBI trainee Clarice Starling must solve, with Hannibal Lecter serving as both a guide and a manipulative obstacle. While Lecter is cool, intelligent, and chilling in his refinement, Gumb embodies a raw, chaotic violence. His home, complete with a pit where victims are imprisoned, feels like a descent into a pure nightmare.
Who is Buffalo Bill inspired by in The Silence of the Lambs?
Bill is inspired by three high-profile criminals. Ed Gein, the Wisconsin murderer who infamously exhumed corpses and crafted items from human skin, gave Bill his characteristic of peeling women's skin. Ted Bundy's manipulative tactic of asking women for help to lure victims in inspired Bill's abduction method. On the other hand, Gary Heidnik, known for capturing women in his basement, helped shape Gumb's practice of keeping his victims captive before killing them.
Ted Levine’s portrayal gave Buffalo Bill an unsettling physicality and psychological edge. Levine researched heavily, even immersing himself in aspects of gender performance and mannerisms to craft a villain who was at once human and utterly alien. His voice, deep, unsettling, and almost detached, became one of the character’s most recognizable features.
However, Bill's character did get some negative feedback from fans who accused The Silence of the Lambs of wrongly portraying a queer character on screen. Talking about that, Levine told The Hollywood Reporter,
Trending
“There was a lot of concern that came up about a negative portrayal of homosexuality. I never thought that Bill was gay. He was psychotic. And critics were all over it for this, and others took offense about the characterization of it. But the fact of the matter is he was not interested in people of his own gender. So, there was a little bit of fear from Jon concerning that, but he was very supportive, and let me do what I did.”
The Silence of the Lambs is available to stream on Prime Video.
Love movies? Try our Box Office Game and Movie Grid Game to test your film knowledge and have some fun!
Reply
