96. "Buffalo Bill" Jame Gumb
Silence of the Lambs
The mind of a killer is mysterious. What drives them to feel the need to commit an atrocity like murder? Sometimes the less we know, the more scary someone can be. Such is the case with Jame Gumb, a serial murderer who murders and skins overweight women to make a skin suit, as he's too disturbed to get a sex change.
The only information behind Bill's psyche comes from noted psychologist/cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter describing how "Billy was not born a criminal, but made one of systematic abuse." The only other things we know is that he has a dog, raises Death's Head Moths and keeps captured women in holes.
So, how are we able to fully realize a person, a character, if they have no backstory? Well, this has almost nothing to do with Gumb, really. He has almost no backstory and he doesn't need it. If we learn more about his abusive life, we may begin to feel sorry for him, and we're not supposed to. Villains are at their best when we fear them, not psychoanalyzing them.
Defining moment: Hey Q Lazarus, thanks for licensing "Goodbye Horses" to this movie and Grand Theft Auto IV. Now when I'm being chased by the police in Liberty City and this song comes on, I can reminisce about Buffalo Bill dancing to this song and tucking his dick between his legs. Fun times!
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