The Silence of the Lambs

Movie • 1991 • Crime  

Report
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
This movie contains 66 potentially triggering events.
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Your Triggers
Does the dog die?
168 supporters
Yes
17
No
154
19
user15694
precious breaks her paw falling into the well but is otherwise unharmed and catherine is seen leaving the house with precious in her arms (i think she adopted her)
8 comments | Add comment
Unanswered Triggers
Abandonment
Yes
0
No
8
Yes
1
No
26
3
No, but there are flashbacks of the death of a female character's father who is killed when she was still young. She later mentions how her uncle, who she was under the care of, sent her to live in an orphanage.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
9
No
4
3
Unhinged.but.handsome
The cat. But it's not intentional
1 comment | Add comment
Abuse
Are there abusive parents?
25 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
12
Yes
0
No
14
Is someone stalked?
12 supporters
Yes
102
No
1
3
A serial killer stalks his victims prior to their kidnap and murder, but this is not seen.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there domestic violence?
44 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
79
Is a woman brutalized for spectacle?
37 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
10
3
A female character, who is abused while being held prisoner, threatens to hurt/kill a small dog and is verbally abusive (mildly) towards another female character who shows up to help her, but first must find the bad guy.
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone gaslighted?
22 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
72
Is someone abused with a belt?
7 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
12
Is a child abused?
59 supporters
Yes
65
No
15
4
Sid
A teenager is kept in a well and sprayed with a hose for misbehaving. Others were killed before the events of the film. There’s also a disturbing scene where Hannibal asks Clarice if she was sexually abused as a child - “did the rancher force you to perform fellatio? Did he sodomise you?” - and she says no but it’s still not a nice thing to hear
1 comment | Add comment
Addiction
Yes
7
No
72
Is there addiction?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
76
Does someone abuse alcohol?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
78
Animal
Were animals harmed in the making?
61 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
15
Does a horse die?
49 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
103
Does an animal die?
(besides a dog, cat or horse)
87 supporters
Yes
137
No
9
18
Ravesti
In one scene, Clarice describes to Dr. Lecter seeing and hearing lambs being slaughtered during her childhood.
3 comments | Add comment
Are animals abused?
101 supporters
Yes
120
No
12
18
Nekrotikk
Buffalo Bill's dog, Precious, yelps because Catherine pinches her leg to make Bill think she's hurt. Catherine is seen holding Precious. In the book this is because Precious is not actually hurt and I think holding her in the film would also be to stop her running round and showing that she's not really hurt. Catherine is otherwise affectionate to Precious in both the film and the book. Spoilers: Catherine threatens to hurt Precious but no indication is given that she would actually go through with it, she sees the threat as a way to potentially escape Buffalo Bill. At the end Catherine seems to adopt Precious so the dog probably saw a vet and went on to live a happy life with Catherine. We don't see this but that's the impression I got.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
3
No
102
Yes
92
No
9
1
areyouciarious
Specifically, a cocoon containing a dead moth and, later, other specimens of insects are seen displayed. The death of lambs via slaughtering on a ranch is discussed, but not shown on screen.
1 comment | Add comment
Is an animal sad?
39 supporters
Yes
16
No
2
3
sadanimegirlpng
A dog cries out in pain. A cat is seen waiting at a window waiting for its owner who has been kidnapped.
1 comment | Add comment
Are rabbits harmed?
35 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
13
Does a cat die?
0 supporters
Yes
1
No
119
5
SofieWasTaken
There’s a cat seen sitting in a window but nothing happens to it
1 comment | Add comment
Does a pet die?
79 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
34
Does a dragon die?
16 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
106
Are there spiders?
26 supporters
Yes
24
No
74
9
FishMan
Don’t remember any live ones, there are multiple scenes with insects/arachnids in terrariums and display cases.
5 comments | Add comment
Are there alligators/crocodiles??
2 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
15
Are there snakes?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
94
Are there sharks?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
12
Are there bugs?
0 supporters
Yes
143
No
0
11
madliv
Yes. First a moth in a cocoon in found in the throat of a dead woman. It is then dissected. Later, in a home, many live moths are seen flying in large cages. At one point a man allows one to climb over his face. At the end of the movie, a fly is crawling on a man’s face. There are images of moths and butterflies throughout the movie.
3 comments | Add comment
Assault
Does a woman get slapped?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
13
No
0
Is someone drugged?
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
20
Is there pedophilia?
57 supporters
Yes
0
No
18
2
sadanimegirlpng
Pedophilia is mentioned as a hypothetical scenario, but doesn't actually happen.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
19
1
HarrietEC1
However there is a very blink and you’ll miss it scene where you see a decomposing corpse in a bathtub
1 comment | Add comment
Is rape mentioned?
39 supporters
Yes
19
No
1
3
Unhinged.but.handsome
Anal and oral. So, yes. It's hypothetical though
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone beaten up by a bully?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
15
Yes
48
No
0
4
hannibal is restrained several times throughout the movie
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
102
No
6
21
MakWitt
Clarice starling had s***n thrown into her face
3 comments | Add comment
Is someone's mouth covered?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
12
No
0
Yes
0
No
14
Bodily Harm
Yes
87
No
4
1
areyouciarious
The character "Buffalo Bill" skins his victims, though this is not shown on-screen.
1 comment | Add comment
Are any hands damaged?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
9
Are there dislocations?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
10
Is there throat mutilation?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
7
Yes
6
No
47
1
Anonymous
Catherine when she was held in the pit
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
14
No
2
4
HarrietEC1
We see a head in a jar however you don’t see it being decapitated

1 comment | Add comment
Is there cannibalism?
21 supporters
Yes
125
No
1
44
Moolder
Hannibal is a cannibal.
6 comments | Add comment
Is someone crushed to death?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
27
Is someone choked?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
12
Is someone burned alive?
20 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
87
Yes
0
No
66
10
cassandrasaurusrdr
No but someone is held captive in a deep pit and it’s pretty claustrophobic.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there body horror?
25 supporters
Yes
33
No
2
2
A severed head is shown in a large jar.

A multilated dead body is shown in a coroner's office.
3 comments | Add comment
Is there amputation?
11 supporters
Yes
5
No
56
2
There us a severed head in a jar, but you don't see this happen. A character just discovers it after the fact.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
81
6
cassandrasaurusrdr
Not but someone’s face is removed.
1 comment | Add comment
Is there Achilles Tendon injury?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
33
Is there a hanging?
18 supporters
Yes
2
No
68
2
Not exactly. A body is hung from the cage bars of a lone prison cell in the middle of a room, but the person is not hung by the neck. Just hung up in some manner for display after it was multilated.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone asphyxiate?
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
22
Yes
0
No
82
9
Calliopehoop
No, but there is a coroner scene of using tweezers to extract an object from a corpse’s mouth
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone become unconscious?
2 supporters
Add comment
Yes
21
No
2
Yes
72
No
10
9
Allandrel
A character claims that a dog has broken its leg, but may have been lying.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
29
No
48
11
deadgrlwalkin
*spoilers* When Hannibal pretends to be an injured police officer in order to escape, he begins to shake aggressively on the stretcher. We don't know if it is an actual seizure or if Hannibal is faking it.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there genital trauma/mutilation?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
41
Yes
95
No
0
8
FishMan
(Warning- Description of nail/finger trauma)
Some victims clawed at the walls and damaged their hands and broke/lost entire finger nails.
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone tortured?
52 supporters
Yes
113
No
0
3
Sid
Buffalo Bill tortures the girls he kidnaps physically and Hannibal tortures Clarice mentally by forcing her to relive traumatic memories
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone fall down stairs?
2 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
25
Does someone fall to their death?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
71
Yes
4
No
79
2
At the beginning while they are describing Hannibal's crimes, he mentioned the fact he ate someone's eye.
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone stabbed?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
8
No
0
Yes
36
No
3
4
Sid
The scene where Hannibal kills the guards is a little gratuitous
1 comment | Add comment
Children
Is an infant abducted?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
25
Does a kid die?
0 supporters
Yes
20
No
66
7
cassandrasaurusrdr
A minor’s corpse is shown but she is a teenager. She does not die on camera, it’s just referred to and aftermath is shown.
1 comment | Add comment
Is a minor sexualized?
56 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
21
Creepy Crawly
Are there bedbugs?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
10
Death
Does someone sacrifice themselves?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
19
Does a major character die?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
5
No
6
Yes
5
No
11
2
Sort of- in Clarice's childhood memories, she recounts an incident where she woke up to the sound of screaming lambs on the night they were sent to slaughter. It isn't shown, and the slaughter is not described.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone die?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
15
No
0
Disability
Is the r-slur used?
19 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
28
Yes
0
No
8
Drugs/Alcohol
Does someone overdose?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
29
Family
Yes
99
No
0
5
TFMD
A serial killer holds a live victim against her will
2 comments | Add comment
Does a parent die?
6 supporters
Yes
67
No
29
13
Ravesti
Clarice's father dies before the beginning of the film's events; there is a flashback scene of young Clarice at her father's funeral/looking at his body.
3 comments | Add comment
Does someone cheat?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
73
Is a child's toy destroyed?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
57
Does a family member die?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
13
No
1
Fear
Are there jumpscares?
27 supporters
Yes
81
No
17
8
Sid
When the body falls through the hatch on the roof of the lift and when Clarice sees the corpse in the bathtub and then the lights go off
1 comment | Add comment
Is someone possessed?
7 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
74
Are there ghosts?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
78
Are there clowns?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
85
Are there natural bodies of water?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
11
No
1
Is trypophobic content shown?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
12
Are there razors?
S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® (1-800-DONTCUT)
4 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
17
Yes
0
No
81
7
cassandrasaurus
A character who is being held hostage is threatened with getting hosed down “again” and is shown soaking wet.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
25
No
1
0
clownish
when buffalo bill is dancing around theres mannequins in the background dressed up completely
2 comments | Add comment
Gross
Yes
20
No
8
0
YourLocalINTJ
I’ve seen this movie at least twenty times and don’t remember this trigger ever happening
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone vomit?
54 supporters
Yes
4
No
91
7
Sid
It’s definitely coughing and not vomiting. He stiffens, then coughs a little blood and dies
4 comments | Add comment
Is someone eaten?
15 supporters
Add comment
Yes
15
No
1
Is there on-screen pooping?
19 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Does someone spit?
7 supporters
Yes
72
No
8
13
Not in this category, but Clarice gets jizz thrown on her face walking back from talking to Dr lector by another patient at the facility. It is gross and may affect you
2 comments | Add comment
Is there audio gore?
26 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
43
Is there farting?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
13
Large-scale Violence
Are there 9/11 depictions?
3 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
26
Law Enforcement
Is there copaganda?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
51
No
16
Is there incarceration?
3 supporters
Add comment
Yes
13
No
0
LGBTQ+
3
! Spoiler kinda! One of Hannibal Lecters victims is hinted towards being a trans person, Hannibal goes on to misgender them and say their legal name, calling them mentally ill.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
9
No
7
7
Frappuccino
Not necessarily a slur, but “transvestite” is used to refer to Buffalo Bill
2 comments | Add comment
15
jdpamv
Buffalo Bill isn’t trans but, yes, a character who could be easily mistaken for trans and was probably trans-coded is predatory and this portrayal is harmful to trans people. (And especially to GNC people, who can overlap and also aren’t inherently predatory, seeing as the character is GNC rather than trans canonically. More on that in the Man in a Dress category, though)

@kiki10 Agreed
2 comments | Add comment
Is an LGBT+ person outed?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
12
Is there bisexual cheating?
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
22
Loss
Is a priceless artifact destroyed?
2 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
10
Medical
Is electro-therapy used?
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
81
Are needles/syringes used?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
71
16
eyesinthehills
Many key scenes take place in the institution in which Dr. Lecter is housed. There are a number of patients in the cells surrounding his.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there a hospital scene?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
78
No
5
Is there menstruation?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
10
Does someone have cancer?
9 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
78
Mental Health
Yes
28
No
2
1
The main character discusses traumatic memories. Some flashbacks are shown.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone have a mental illness?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
14
No
0
Yes
21
No
50
4
xxlivlovesmusicxx
miggs pretends he’s harmed himself, saying ‘look at the blood’ but we don’t see anytime as he hasn’t
2 comments | Add comment
Is autism misrepresented?
16 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
9
Yes
55
No
2
4
Sid
Lots of them. The two main ones are Hannibal and Buffalo Bill, but some of Hannibal’s fellow mental patients are also violent as well
2 comments | Add comment
Is there D.I.D. misrepresentation?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
16
0
Unhinged.but.handsome
Attempt and succeed
1 comment | Add comment
Is reality unstable or unhinged?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
9
Does someone have a meltdown?
3 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Is there misophonia?
21 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
30
Is there ABA therapy?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
11
Yes
18
No
2
1
Buffalo Bill is shown experimenting with tucking, and is also shown using the skins of victims to make garments with breasts and female genitalia on them
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
89
No
7
12
Allandrel
A character is coded as transgender, although several characters (including hospitals that perform gender corrective surgery) claim that they are not transgender.
3 comments | Add comment
1
areyouciarious
Miggs can be heard saying "I bit my wrist so I can die! See how it bleeds?" but he was lying.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
64
No
11
11
Calliopehoop
There is a scene at the end with a character breathing extremely heavy in panic for several minutes
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
92
No
0
11
eyesinthehills
A character is trapped in a well. Another character must find their way out of a completely dark basement while trying to avoid being killed. Dr. Lecter's cell is rather small as well, and he remains in it for much of the film.
1 comment | Add comment
28
invadermac
Is cannibalism an eating disorder?
1 comment | Add comment
Is there autism specific abuse?
26 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
64
21
Ravesti
Dr. Lecter convinces Miggs, the inmate who assaulted Clarice during her previous visit, to kill himself.
3 comments | Add comment
Noxious
Are there sudden loud noises?
16 supporters
Add comment
Yes
10
No
0
Are there underwater scenes?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
9
Does a baby cry?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
31
Is there shakey cam?
22 supporters
Yes
14
No
47
1
charliewiz
When Clarice enters the basement near the end and the lights go out, the camera switches to hand-held and night vision for a scene. Not necessarily shakey cam, but it's a bit wobbly
2 comments | Add comment
Is there screaming?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
8
No
0
1
areyouciarious
Vulgar and sexual language is used throughout the film.
1 comment | Add comment
3
frequent camera flashes &, police sirens on multiple occasions
1 comment | Add comment
Paranoia
0
OJAndToothpaste
A scene in the climax has Clarice watched from the darkness by Buffalo Bill.
2 comments | Add comment
Is the fourth wall broken?
4 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
25
Pregnancy
Is a baby stillborn?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
26
Is there childbirth?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
63
Are there abortions?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
66
Are there babies or unborn children?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
27
Does someone miscarry?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
72
Does a pregnant person die?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
66
Prejudice
Are there fat jokes?
24 supporters
Yes
77
No
5
11
cassandrasaurus
Buffalo Bill refers to one of his victims as “a big old fat person”
3 comments | Add comment
37
TFMD
YMMV. The villain, serial killer Buffalo Bill, is portrayed as a "man who wants to be a woman" due to psychosis. Psychiatrists assert that Bill is mentally ill, and not actually a trans woman; Bill is always called "he". The film takes care to point out that "real" trans people are not serial killers. Because of this, I have heard some trans people argue that this film is unusually progressive for its time. Personally I disagree; it reinforces the idea that medical professionals deserve to decide who is and isn't trans. And obviously the film has been responsible for popularising harmful stereotypes of trans people, even if that wasn't the intent.
4 comments | Add comment
Does the black guy die first?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
69
Yes
0
No
50
4
Anonymous
No but the movie does contain homophobia and transphobia
1 comment | Add comment
11
devprodoubleoh
The killer has a blanket with swastikas on it. it is seen a couple times towards the end of the movie.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
44
No
11
14
TheCassandraComplex
The movie handles transgender issues in a clumsy, dated way that can come off comical. The depiction of Buffalo Bill, a serial killer who is crafting himself a woman-suit, is often parodied. However, the film’s intention was not for this character’s behavior to be comedic.
4 comments | Add comment
Is there hate speech?
14 supporters
Add comment
Yes
71
No
6
Yes
25
No
5
11
SiRenfield
Buffalo Bill is a bit complicated as he’s not an actual trans woman (and there’s even a scene in the novel that tries to both make it clear and try to humanize trans people more by distancing him from them) ,but it’s still pretty iffy
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
103
No
2
11
Cryptid_Crow
Raspell, the head in the jar, is trans. Bill is not, as touched on in the movie, and gone over in depth in the book.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
67
No
3
Are there n-words?
13 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
51
Is there aphobia?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
15
Race
Is there blackface?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
13
Relationships
Is there a large age gap?
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
2
No
21
Religious
Is religion discussed?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
10
Are there demons or Hell?
8 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
9
Sex
Yes
79
No
5
11
Ravesti
Clarice has s***n thrown at her by an inmate at the mental institution. One scene shows Buffalo Bill fully nude, though his genitals are tucked between his legs. Sexually suggestive language is used in some scenes.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
27
No
2
1
areyouciarious
Several different characters at different points in the film make sexual comments and/or advances towards the main character, ranging in degrees of severity and aggression.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
24
No
1
3
areyouciarious
[00:05:41] - Several crime scene photos are briefly shown on a wall, some depicting nude corpses. These photos are also visible in the background of the scene for the next few minutes.⠀
[00:19:07] - An inmate in a forensic hospital is shown masturbating naked on a bed, with his back to the camera.⠀
[00:36:41] - Crime scene photos show a deceased nude woman lying on the ground, front side down.⠀
[00:46:15] - A nude cadaver is shown face down on a table during an autopsy.⠀
[00:49:50] - The character "Buffalo Bill" is shown sitting naked at a desk, with his back to the camera.⠀
[01:36:43] - There is full-frontal nudity shown during the scene where "Buffalo Bill" is dancing naked in a room, though his genitals are tucked between his legs.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there bestiality?
44 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
17
Is there BDSM?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
6
Does someone lose their virginity?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
10
Are there incestuous relationships?
National Sexual Assault Hotline 800.656.4673
0 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
72
Sexism
Yes
0
No
21
Sickness
Does someone have a stroke?
4 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
23
Does someone have a chronic illness?
5 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
16
Is there dementia/Alzheimer's?
13 supporters
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Yes
0
No
18
Is someone terminally ill?
10 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
8
Social
Is someone homeless?
3 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
21
Are there anti-abortion themes?
19 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
9
Are there fat suits?
11 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
13
Is existentialism debated?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
7
Spoiler
Is Santa (et al) spoiled?
1 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
68
Are there end credit scenes?
12 supporters
Add comment
Yes
4
No
1
Yes
7
No
64
6
RachelH
[SPOILER] Buffalo Bill is killed and the girl is saved which I consider to be a happy ending for the film. However, Dr. Lector escapes and he eludes to Agent Starling that he is going to eat someone he knows. While He is having this conversation by phone we can see him watching Dr. Chilton and then following him through a crowd.
2 comments | Add comment
Vehicular
Does a car crash?
3 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
64
Does a car honk or tires screech?
4 supporters
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Yes
20
No
1
Does a plane crash?
4 supporters
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Yes
0
No
64
Is someone hit by a car?
6 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
No
62
Violence
Is there a nuclear explosion?
2 supporters
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Yes
0
No
65
Is there blood/gore?
26 supporters
Add comment
Yes
87
No
0
Does someone drown?
9 supporters
Yes
5
No
60
10
FishMan
No but corpses are retrieved from the river.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
65
No
0
2
Sid
Mostly from cops
1 comment | Add comment