What Makes A Movie "A Horror Movie"?

Is Silence of the Lambs a horror movie? Was having a discussion about this with “Paul” on FB and he seemed to think that because we never actually see Hannibal Lecter skin his victims it’s not a true horror film. I think he may have meant Buffalo Bill. Hannibal Lecter of course eats his victims. But I digress…. What do you think? Is Silence of the Lambs a horror movie?

Incidentally, this came up as a result of a little bit of trivia. Did you know that Silence of the Lambs is one of only three movies to win the Big 5 awards at the Oscars?

Best Picture

Best Directing

Best Actor

Best Actress

Best screenplay

Do you know the other two to pull off this feat? Here’s a hint: it hasn’t been done since Silence.