Granted, Red Dragon is more faithful to the novel than Manhunter. But trying to force Lecter, a peripheral character in the book, further into the narrative doesn't work. Sixteen years on, Manhunter retains a resonance that this film cannot hope to compete with. This is supposed to be disturbing stuff but we get more of the panto villain of Hannibal than the monster of The Silence Of The Lambs and Manhunter. The scariest thing about Lecter here is the Steven Seagal-style pigtail he sports.