This week the Jameson Cult Film Club returned to Dublin, with a double bill of Jonathan Demme’s Oscar winning psychological thriller The Silence of the Lambs. Scannain went along to see Dublin’s Mansion House transformed into Baltimore State Forensic Hospital , Buffalo Bill’s lair and other key locations from the film. And with their biggest audience to date in attendance the scene was definitely set for cinematic magic.
After entering the Hospital’s Maximum Security Ward, guests were quarantined as hospital staff briefed them about the safety protocols, before following in the footsteps of Clarice Starling through a corridor of patients and finally coming face to face with Hannibal Lecter in his windowless cell. Buffalo Bill’s workshop was recreated for guests to walk around before loud crescendos of one of the film’s main scores – Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ – called everyone to their seats. Live theatre and special effects timed perfectly with on-screen action helped to create an electric atmosphere throughout the screening, including the ‘Catherine Martin kidnap scene’, the night vision gun fight in Buffalo Bill’s house and fluttering moths landing in the laps of unsuspecting viewers.
The Jameson Cult Film Club is all about watching your favourite cult films at spectacular screenings, staged to transport you into the film’s universe. This is a free event for movie fans and you can find out more at www.jamesoncultfilmclub.ie.