Hannibal; Empathy For The Devil
With a TV 14 rating and strong content warning, Hannibal might tickle the fancy of a typical run of the mill horror fanatic. This series is based on one of American cinema’s most iconic characters Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lectre. It is heavily based on the Red Dragon Novel by Thomas Harris and just so you know, mild spoilers ahead.
Hannibal is a world renown psychologist who becomes enlisted by the FBI to help stabilize their top serial killing profiler Will Graham. During his sessions with Will, Hannibal is able to witness his profound imagination and exceeding ability to empathize with the psychopathic killers he is helping to catch firsthand. Hannibal becomes intrigued with this and here his darker nature begins to reveal itself as his intrigue eventually transforms into obsession. Case by case, Will Graham’s mind begins to open up more and more to the depraved psychology of the narcissistic sociopaths he is forced to hound. And what takes place is a siege of trust, where the watcher becomes uncertain of Will’s motives. This siege lasts for the entire series as he continues to be othered by both those with functional and dysfunctional psyches.
The gore is excessive and the constant death can feel suffocating if one decides to binge, which is why it’s taken me so long to start and finish. It’s recommended that readers watch responsibly and take the time out to cleanse their mental and visual palette in between watching. This really helped to ease my discomfort, because as the story went on, it began to feel like a platform to observe the deranged and very ill serial killers. A showcase of monsters if you will. And yet the story is not sacrificed for the sake of the showcase because the story progresses.
As I reached the end, I was able to get a good look at the entire plot and realize exactly what was happening. Will Graham was a bright and dangerous mind, that two forces were struggling to possess. Those forces are; the evil he was seeking to lock away from society and the hand of justice that put him in the place to do so. Will takes sympathy for the devil to the max, and then somehow transcends it with empathy. But then it is as Neitzsche said when you stare into the abyss, the abyss also stares into you. The great mental warfare for this one man’s mind spirals into a sprawling tale of blood, death and a whole lot of crazy. It was truly intriguing, but at times I felt it went overboard and became to serious about itself. This is perfect for what it was. It is a drama and not a comedy. So for those looking to brush up on their serial killer genre, this comes highly recommended. Cheers
