The Silence of the Lambs was a novel written by Anthony Hopkins.
Hannibal (film) . It is the sequel to the 1991 Academy Award -- winning film The Silence of the Lambs in which Anthony Hopkins returns to his role as the iconic serial killer , Hannibal Lecter . The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American horror-thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster , Anthony Hopkins , and Scott Glenn . Adapted by Ted Tally from the 1988 novel of the same name by Thomas Harris , his second to feature the character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter ; a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer , the film was the second adaptation of a Harris novel featuring Lecter , preceded by the Michael Mann-directed Manhunter in 1986 . It is also the first ( and so far only ) Best Picture winner widely considered to be a horror film , and only the third such film to be nominated in the category , after The Exorcist in 1973 and Jaws in 1975 .