It was released on October 4, 2002 to generally positive reviews from critics, who deemed it to be an improvement over Hannibal, but inferior to The Silence of the Lambs.

Several years later, another serial killer nicknamed the "Tooth Fairy" has murdered two families in different cities, – the Jacobis and the Leedses – during full moons.

With another full moon approaching, special agent Jack Crawford persuades Graham to review evidence and provide leads.

Graham decides to consult Lecter for further insight after telling Crawford that the Tooth Fairy has "no face" to him, and he cannot determine how he was choosing the victim families.

To lure out the Tooth Fairy, Graham gives an interview to Freddy Lounds, a National Tattler reporter, disparaging the killer as an impotent homosexual and that Lecter was only feigning interest in him.

Enraged, Dolarhyde kidnaps Lounds, glues him to a wheelchair, forces him to recant his allegations on tape, and sets him on fire, killing him.

At his job at Chromalux, a St. Louis based home video conversion business, Dolarhyde reluctantly begins a relationship with blind co-worker Reba McClane.

Graham realizes that the Tooth Fairy knew the layout of his victims' houses from their home videos and concludes that the killer must be a Chromalux employee.

The 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, starring Anthony Hopkins as Lecter, was a critical and commercial success, winning five Academy Awards.

Hopkins was the only major member of the Silence of the Lambs team to return for the 2001 sequel, Hannibal; it was also a commercial success, but received less positive reviews.

Screenwriter Ted Tally, who wrote The Silence of the Lambs but not Hannibal, had turned down many offers to write more serial killer stories.

[4] Whereas Fiennes wanted to avoid overplaying his serial killer character, Hopkins aimed to play Lecter with more "danger and rage" than before.

[4] Red Dragon: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was composed by Danny Elfman, and produced by Mark Helfrich and Brett Ratner.

[13] In the UK, Red Dragon collected $4.6 million during its opening weekend, ranking in first place at the box office above Lilo & Stitch.

That won't prevent them from watching it in rapt, anxious silence, however, as the gruesome crimes, twisted psychology and deterministic dread that lie at the heart of Harris' work are laid out with care and skill.

"[20] David Sterritt of the Christian Science Monitor gave the film a positive review, stated that "the most refreshing aspect of Red Dragon is its reliance on old-fashioned acting instead of computer-aided gizmos.

Hopkins overdoes his role at times—his vocal tones are almost campy—but his piercing eyes are as menacing as ever, and Ralph Fiennes is scarily good as his fellow lunatic.

"[24] Stephanie Zacharek, for Salon, also gave the film a mixed review, stating: "If you buy the overprocessed headcheese of the serial killer as refined genius, you'll love Red Dragon.

"[26] Michael Atkinson of The Village Voice gave the film a negative review; he stated: "Red Dragon's formula is so risible and rote by now that the natural reaction to scenes of peril, torture, and suffering is flippant laughter.

The Director's Edition includes Ratner's video diary, featurette "The Red Dragon Tattoo", screen and film tests, and storyboard-to-final-feature comparisons.

[28] On October 24, 2023, Kino Lorber released a 4K Blu-ray featuring a HDR/Dolby Vision Master from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative.