"Manhunter" is a 1986 movie by the creator of Miami Vice. It has the same colors and music as "Miami Vice" but the topic is lot more grim.

The protagonist, Will Graham, has the unique ability to study the crimes of a serial killer and start thinking like him. This turns out of be a very self destructive behavior so he has retired. His ex boss appeals to him since the country is gripped by a serial killer who has no pattern in his attacks.

I found the movie holds the viewer under a trace while we are following Graham's pov. The FBI has a vast array of technical tools to solve case and there is hope they will not need Grahams talent. Unfortunately, this is not the case and Graham has to sacrifice himself for the greater good. I always found this heroic.

This movie along with Bogart's "The Enforcer" are the only two movies I know of that give you the clue to finding the killer half way through the movie.

Compare this "Silence of the Lambs" which is the more popular movie by the same author. I saw "Silence of the Lambs" in a preview without any expectations. I found it to be a violent and bloody mediocre thriller.

The movie's main character is the serial killer, Hannibal Lector, who played a minor role in "Manhunter". He is asked to find another serial killer by an inexperience female FBI Agent. I found this movie to be like a supper villain movie. The villain is smarter and more violent than anyone else so the movie is al about him tricking in killing victims for the movie with any real challenge or conflict. It is obvious that Lector is more dangerous than the weak serial killer they are trying to track down so there is no sympathy or empathy with anyone who makes a deal with him.

The female FBI agent is picked by her boss since he figures Lector would prefer to harass a female over a male. She panders to Lector and begs for his help. This weak female character is embarrassing chauvinistic. The audience forgives her weakness because at the end, she acts like man and guns down the other serial killer.

The success of this simple movie lead to other movies and TV shows as the main character. This includes a remake of ManHunter, which I have not seen. The ones that I have seen continue with the same idea of Lector aimless wondering around killing people. There is no humanity, characters are only introduced to the story to be killed. Very grim. I much prefer the original.