'Silence Of The Lambs' tops thriller poll

Rex Features

Silence Of The Lambs has claimed first place in a new poll to find the best thriller film.

The 1991 movie, which turned Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster into household names, held off competition from David Fincher's Seven and Stanley Kubrick's The Shining to top the survey conducted by Yahoo! Movies.

"It's no surprise to see that Silence Of The Lambs comes up as Yahoo! Movies audience's most terrifying thriller," said the site's Movies Editor Kimberly Smith. "The film is iconic with Anthony Hopkins' frightful performance as the psychotic Dr Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster's vulnerable and naive turn as the FBI agent who must win the criminal's trust."

Silence Of The Lambs won five Oscars, including acting gongs for Foster and Hopkins, who reprised his role as Lecter in Hannibal and Red Dragon.

The results of ther survey - conducted to mark the UK release of French thriller Anything For Her - in full:

  • Silence Of The Lambs - 25% of votes

  • Seven - 20%

  • The Shining - 11%

  • LA Confidential - 10%

  • Basic Instinct - 8%

  • Cape Fear - 7%

  • Taxi Driver - 7%

  • Fatal Attraction - 5%

  • Falling Down - 4%

  • Memento - 3%