Quentin Tarantino says he directed a scene more terrifying than the end of Silence of the Lambs
'It's one of the best things I've ever accomplished,' he said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Quentin Tarantino thinks he directed a scene more terrifying than the ending of The Silence of the Lambs.
The director made the audacious claim during the recording of a new podcast.
Participating in a three-hour chat with Edgar Wright as part ofEmpire’s podcast, the pair started talking about scary scenes in cinema when Tarantino name-checked the Spahn ranch sequence in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The tense scene sees Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth arrive at the location of a disused movie set that’s now being occupied by the Manson family.
While there, and to the anger of the cult, he decides to check on elderly ranch owner George Spahn (Bruce Dern), whom he believes is being held captive.
Tarantino described it as “one of the best things that me and my team have ever accomplished”, and stated that he thinks it has more “terror” than Clarice Starling’s showdown with Buffalo Bill at the end of Jonathan Demme's 1991 horror.
RELATED: Anthony Hopkins reveals how he made iconic Silence of the Lambs prison scene even scarier
”There’s a difference between suspense and terror,” the director said. "Suspense is what’s going to happen. Terror is [when] you’re afraid you know exactly what’s going to happen and you don’t want to see it. You think the worst.”
He said that, while the aforementioned Silence of the Lambs sequence is “magnificent”, he “would push back on one aspect of it”.
“I did not think Jodie Foster was going to die. At that point in the movie, I would have been surprised if it ended with Buffalo Bill killing Jodie Foster. I’ve seen too many movies to think that that was going to happen. I got caught up in the moment, but I still had a movie brain going on.”
RELATED: Quentin Tarantino: The director's 30 best characters, from Cliff Booth to Mia Wallace
He continued: “One of the reasons the [Spahn ranch] scene works so effectively is Cliff could die. Narratively, movie wise, in every way shape and form, not only could he die in that sequence, dramatically it might even make sense that he dies.”
He said: “When you watch the movie with an audience [for] the first time, it achieves something that I think is very difficult to achieve in a movie. It achieves terror; the audience is terrified for Cliff. The air in the theatre changes. Everyone becomes riveted and they’re genuinely afraid.”
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was released in 2019, and became the director's most successful film to date at the box office.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments