The Silence of the Hams is a 1994 spoof movie of the Rapid-Fire Comedy type. It combines and spoofs the plots of The Silence of the Lambs (FBI Agent consults with a convicted killer) and Psycho (woman steals money from her employer before being murdered by an insane motel manager).
With a star-studded cast featuring writer/director Ezio Greggio as Antonio Motel, Dom DeLuise as Dr. Animal Cannibal Pizza, Billy Zane as FBI Agent Jo Dee Fostar, Joanna Pacuła and Charlene Tilton as Lily and Jane Wine, Martin Balsam as Detective Martin Balsam and Stuart Pankin as Inspector Pete Putrid, Hams was universally panned and faded into the deepest recesses of obscurity.
This film provides examples of:
- Adam Westing: Martin Balsam as Detective Martin Balsam, lampooning his role as Detective Arbogast in Psycho.
- Badge Gag: Fostar flashes a waffle to the prison security instead of an ID.
- The Cameo: The film features minor roles and cameos from Mel Brooks, Tony Cox, Phyllis Diller, Shelley Winters, John Astin, Bubba Smith, Rip Taylor, John Carpenter, Larry Storch and Eddie Deezen.
- Consulting a Convicted Killer: Parodied when Fostar consults with Pizza. The doctor is so insane that he sometimes violates the laws of physics.
- Elongating Arm Gag: There's a gag where a midget prison guard at the mental institution directs Fostar to a file on Pizza lying on top of a very tall cabinet. Fostar, who's about six feet tall, can't reach it, then the guard extends his arm so he can easily grab it for him.
- Everybody Lives: At the end, every character killed turns out to be alive because of a Latex Perfection disguise.
- Evil Chef: Dr. Animal Cannibal Pizza was locked up after processing human carcasses for his pizzas. Hell, he didn't even try to hide it—he'd just have a foot sticking out of the crust!
- Evil Lawyer Joke: There's such a gag in the part parodying The Silence of the Lambs where the protagonist is walking through the prison of mentally insane criminals—he walks past a bunch of maniacal, howling lawyers standing in a pit, with a warning sign reading "Don't feed the lawyers".
- Interactive Narrator: At one point, Jo corrects the narrator when he says that Jane stole $400—it was $400,000.
- Jurassic Farce: The movie ends on a shot of a parody poster called "Jurassic Pork", as a blatant Sequel Hook which never materialized.
- Latex Perfection: This is parodied in the ending, when basically every character reveals themselves to be wearing a latex mask (e.g. Antonio's mother disguising herself as her son, Det. Balsam disguising himself as Lily, Jo disguising himself as Antonio's mother's corpse). It's so prolongued that by the end the characters are placing bets on it.
- Laughably Evil: As befits a parody. Pizza is an amiable psychopath played by Dom DeLuise, and a practical jokester.
- Logo Joke: It opens with a Thirtieth Century Wolf
logo that in spite of the name is an MGM parody. - Made in Country X: When Balsam turns up alive, he's asked who was killed. Balsam replies that it was "RoboCrap: Japanese version of RoboCop".
- No Celebrities Were Harmed. Jo Dee Fostar is a blatant nod to Jodie Foster and her starring role in one of this film’s primary influences, The Silence of the Lambs. However, the filmmakers were advised by their legal team to get clearance from Foster to avoid any legal issues. Not only did they provide her with many assurances that only her name was being spoofed, not her personally, a private screening was also arranged for Foster so she could judge for herself. Fortunately, Foster got a kick out of the film and gave them her blessing.
- No Kill like Overkill: Antonio kills Jane by stabbing her with a knife, shooting her with a gun, an assault rifle and a rocket launcher. Lampshaded by a headline stating Killer may be helped by an army.
- Parody Names: Billy Zane's FBI Agent is named Jo Dee Fostar.
- Rapid-Fire Comedy: There's a joke at least once a minute, varying between shout-outs, visual gags and lengthier sketches.
- "Psycho" Shower Murder Parody: Also spoofed at the end, which is something of a parody mix between The Silence of the Lambs and Psycho. The killer in question is Alfred Hitchcock, who kills the director of Hams in the shower for making fun of his film. Then it turns out it was Dr. Pizza wearing a latex mask.
- Something Else Also Rises: This shows up in a scene when the female lead caressess herself suggestively at a gas station to distract the clerk. The fuel dispenser rises up in response.
- Tied Up on the Phone: When Jo is on the phone walking while strangling several people (one of them is hanging clothes) and continues talking while leaving the station. He hangs up the phone in his car dragging the victims along while driving.
