Das Schweigen der Hammel

I can't think of another movie in which an actor replayed his most famous role...for laughs. Millions of people over several decades saw Martin Balsam as the Detective who Gets Killed on the Stairs in "Psycho" (1960). And here he was, 34 years later, playing his every scene from the original as a gag.

Unlike "Psycho" shower murder victim Janet Leigh, Balsam always refused to give interviews on his scenes in "Psycho," feeling it was given too much notice over his other films (he won the 1965 Oscar for "A Thousand Clowns.") I guess he was finally willing to revisit the detective -- for pay. Maybe it was revenge for Balsam to play the role in so bad a movie this time.

Yeah, "Silence of the Hams" is terrible, but as a film artifact, I find Balsam's appearance amazing. His physical appearance, too. He's a fair sight more elderly and frail in "Silence of the Hams" than he was in "Psycho," but he takes his staircase fall ("Again??!!") yet again with grace and humor. Intriguing: this was made by its star, Italian comedian Ezio Greggio, and Martin Balsam died in Italy about a year later. Balsam had appeared in many other Italian-made films. Was this film made in Italy?

It is an true art form to make a good parody, an art form that Mel Brooks perfected. And even if Mel Brooks has a brief cameo, it is Ezio Greggio that is the mastermind of this one. And though he don't reach the heights of Brooks, he and the rest of the cast and crew delivers a good parody. The base for the parody is Silence of the Lambs and Psycho, but some other movies get spoofed along the way.

In a movie as this it is the jokes that is the essence of it all. One can't really talk of a coherent plot nor is the cast performance the major part. Note however that the performance is not bad, but it is more fun to try to recognize each actor/actress instead, as it is used in some jokes. Now, the joke part, I think that the major part of the jokes and spoofs was very funny. Some didn't work, and some too predictable to produce much laughter. However, all in all, the jokes were good and well worth the time spent watching the movie.

7/10

This movies cover leads you to believe that it is a spoof of Silence of the Lambs, but the movie itself is more of a spoof of Psycho. It has a few good jokes here and there, but for the most part it is the same old gags. That is the case with most spoofs though, dumb joke after dumb joke with a gem scattered here and there. Dom Deleuise plays the Hannibal type character and that is one of the mistakes of the movie. This may be a spoof, but you still need someone with a Hopkins like demeanor. The guy who did Hannibal in "Loaded Weapon 1" was much better. Billy Zane is okay in his role as Joe Dee Foster and there are some others who do all right as well. Though it seems that every spoof has to have a cameo by someone who isn't and never has been a real star. Usually, it is Hulk Hogan or Dr. Joyce Brothers...in this one it is Rip Taylor and Bubba Smith. Is there some rule that says you have to have a cameo from one of these people if you are making a spoof? Though I thought the one scene with John Astin running up behind Billy in the bowling alley was funny...I don't know why.

This parody of several movies packs some amusing moments, such as Billy Zane flipping open his wallet to reveal a waffle and saying, "FBI have an appointment", and a humourous turn by Dom Deluise as a cannibal, which overall make this movie a decent turn worth a look. How long a look will depend on how much you enjoy slapstick comedy and one-liners. There are times it drags, and some of the jokes are corny, but overall the funny moments outweigh the not funny ones, so give this one a look if you're in the mood for a light laugh.

Ezio Greggio is trying hard to make us laugh. The film is full of gags but you can not have fun at all of them, many are downright infantile. I smiled at the scene with that huge coffin, that's all. Massive inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" and Jonathan Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs", the film is lost somewhere in the "purgatory" of these two masterpieces. The result is a mediocre parody. Not even the presence of Martin Balsam, the original detective in "Psycho" doesn't save the film. Not even the beauty of Joanna Pacula. Neither the sexy forms of the little Charlene Tilton. Not even Mel Brooks in his short scene. Not even those 3 cameos of John Landis, Joe Dante and John Carpenter. Ezio Greggio is OK, he has a lot of imagination but, it's not funny. Dom DeLuise(very funny comic actor in other movies) and Billy Zane are both commonplace. You will need someone to tickle you in your sensitive areas, or to tickle yourself, to succeed to laugh...