You think 'the monster was right in becoming a monster' and that's the ultimate horror...

Act 1 - the setup: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The whole movie can be interpreted as "the inciting incident." You see a rather charismatic Dr. Lecter (and after his first scene, you are probably already hooked). You are presented with a bit of his story, of who he is and what he is capable ofwho he is and what he is capable of—and you want more of him, just as he might want more of you. 😈

Act 2 - the confrontation: Manhunter (1986), Hannibal (2001), Red Dragon (2002), and Hannibal (2013-15)

You search and find there is a lot of other material featuring him. You watch Manhunter and realize he (portrayed by Brian Cox) is practically not in the movie. Disappointing.

You then watch the movie Hannibal to see what happens after he's fled the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. You realize they have changed the ending (of the book) and made it worse. No wonder why Jodie Foster declined the role. Disappointing.

Next, you go for Red Dragon. It's an improvement since you've already seen it (same story as Manhunter) but you get to watch more Hannibal. However, they don’t do him—this character with so much potential to be even more majestic—justice. In a new way: disappointing.

The TV show Hannibal is dropped and despite its slow pace, you see a psychologically dense piece of art, you watch Mads Mikkelsen beautifully be ‘Crazy, not insane,’ you watch Lecter's story with an emphasis on aesthetics, you have eyegasms! Yet, it's not fulfilling. Something's missing that you might not be able to put your finger on. Dis-ap-pointing.

You've been confronting him and his stories, made by different directors, put into words by different screenwriters, portrayed by three amazing actors; you've seen him drop knowledge so heavy that you won't forget forever. Case in point:

…our scars have the power to remind us that the past was real.

and still, you don't know why he is the monster he is!

Act 3 - the resolution: Hannibal Rising (2007)
The climax has already taken place. The moment he became the Hannibal we've been watching all these years was years ago.

Even though it's a horror story, you've never really been scared of him (have you?). But this time around—at the time of his rise—you'll get scared: of what came upon him; of what he went through; of the things he did for resolution; of the moment he was forced to become Hannibal Lecter. You'll get scared of yourself when you think, 'the monster was right in becoming a monster.' That, my fellow movie-lovers, is the most unsettling moment you can face during a movie.

P.S. I have to admit Hannibal Rising is a pretty mediocre movie. But it is a very good example of why I (and perhaps you) love cinema: even a bad work can have a huge influence on you—a power that, I assume, only the medium of motion pictures possesses. And so, I love this movie partly because I don't like it as a movie (alluding to Oppenheimer's “It's paradoxical, and yet, it works.” meme).
P.S. It is in this movie that you find out where Hannibal's mask comes from!