Manhunter

Released in 1986 Manhunter initially had a respectable critical response though lukewarm box office. Over the years the stature of the film has grown. Not only as the first appearance of Hannibal Lecktor (later Lector) but as an influence with its innovative use of music and highly stylised filming. Michael Mann was an executive producer on Miami Vice (1984-1989) so there’s no surprise that Manhunter shares some of that programme’s visual and audio flare, in turn dating it, a little.

Based on Thomas Harris’s novel Red Dragon the basic story is fairly straightforward. Two families have been slaughtered in their homes, and the police/FBI have little to go on and now fear a third attack.

Will Graham (William Petersen) who retired from the FBI after narrowly avoiding death capturing Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox) is requested to return, on a consultancy basis by Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina). Graham a seasoned profiler soon picks up where he left off and predicts the date that the killer will strike again.

However for detailed insight into the motives of the murderer, played by Tom Noonan, he consults Lecktor. An enigmatic maniac psychiatrist with a huge intellect, Lecktor is happy to help though has his own motives.

What then proceeds is a stylish and stylised detective story that is intersected with some solid character development, including Noonan’s killer ‘The Toothfairy’ who for a short time understands affection with Reba (Joan Allen).
As with the later Silence of the Lambs, Lecktor is used sparingly. But his conversations with Grahame are key to their character developments with Lecktor taunting Graham that if he wants to get the smell of the trail, he should smell himself.

Manhunter is visually striking switching from Graham’s idyll by the beach, the ultra-high tech and gleam of the FBI’s offices and laboratories. These are perfectly matched by the sparse score by Michel Rubini and The Reds, interspersed with other songs most notably an eight minute edit of Iron Butterfly’s In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.

For this 40th anniversary release Manhunter, Mann has supervised the reedit and remaster. It is the final director’s cut, and it looks and sounds exquisite.

It remains an eerily unsettling film the hazy opening scenes with the killer entering the house and later on when Graham visits and sees the blood spatters in the bedrooms. Then the horrific murder of journalist Freddy Lounds (Stephen Lang) leading to an almost surreal shoot out at end.

Manhunter will be in UK cinemas from 25 September 2026.