What makes ventriloquist dummies so incredibly creepy? There is a certain undefinable eeriness to the inanimate wooden dolls, and when their handlers bring them to life, they become a fantastic horror movie device. In 1978, over a decade before he would deliver one of his most penetrating performances as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Jonathan Demme‘s The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins starred as an unhinged magician/ventriloquist in director Richard Attenborough‘s Magic. In the late 70s, Hopkins was a British actor in Hollywood trying to find his footing. Classically trained, he had shown promise in the epic war film A Bridge Too Far but had yet to really take off in the States. In Magic, he stars opposite an impressive ensemble that includes a stunning Ann-Margret, a curmudgeonly Burgess Meredith, and Ed Lauter in a bizarre tale of a psychologically fragile comedian who takes to ventriloquism to save his fledgling career. It is a very early indicator that Hopkins had enormous range and that he would make for a perfect cannibalistic killer years later.
About admin
