I don't know exactly why, but I never found the 1990's movies with Hannibal Lecter played by Anthony Hopkins that scary. Perhaps that's because my mother had read the books and told me what the character was suppose to be like. Then as I got older and read the book myself I can actually say the TV series is considerably more loyal to the characters original personalities and even evolves them. Hannibal Lecter is certainly a cannibal and a murderer but he's more logical, complicated, and very sophisticated- unlike in the movies which portray him as the stereotypical very physiologically messed up and barely contained raging killer. Dare I say it, but the true Hannibal is a lot more like Dexter (another TV series)- focused on killing those he deems unworthy of life. Now I do admit I'm biased because I loved Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy as actors even before this series so I about died when I saw they were in this. But they both do exceptionally well. This series is definitely not for the faint of heart or mind. It's very physiological and intelligent with dark themes and imagery wrapping all in a blood stained bow. There is also copious subtext and tension that finally pays off in the third, and hopefully not last, season. To which I can only say it is completely refreshing to find a TV series that was not born of Netflix that does not pull its punches and actually 'goes there' as someone people may put it. It's 2015, its time our programming reflected that.