Clarice embarrasses itself right away. The
Silence of the Lambs sequel series (premiering Feb. 11 at 10 p.m. on CBS) begins with Clarice Starling (Rebecca Breeds) in a therapy session that doubles as a "Previously On" sequence. It's one year since the FBI rookie hunted the skinsuited maniac Buffalo Bill. Their showdown provided the fearsome climax of 1991's
Lambs movie, with director Jonathan Demme staging their darkened duel inside Bill's hellish mancave.
Clarice substitutes quick-cut flashbacks that look like bad cosplay. It's a clip reel of fan serviced trauma. Goodbye horses, hello reboot.
Starting from 1986's
Red Dragon, Thomas Harris' blood-opera-of-the-mind literature has made for splendid cinema, cash-in sequel-prequels, camp silliness, and a couple projects representing all of the above.