# 2 - henry: portrait of a serial killer

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (finished in 1986, released in 1990)

Director:  John McNaughton

Actors:  Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, and Tracy Arnold

Let me preface my review by saying that I am no Roger Ebert or Peter Travers.  I am not claiming to be a connoisseur of horror movies, nor am I suggesting that I am worthy of rating films for a renowned publication.   I’m simply a person who loves movies and who likes to write about “stuff”.  If you are not interested in scary movies or if you don’t like reading… then delete this immediately.

The movie is Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer; a story loosely based on the life of confessed murderer, Henry Lee Lucas.  Lucas (sometimes with an accomplice) claimed to have killed nearly 400 people throughout the United States, including his Mother and girlfriend.  Though many of these admissions proved to be false, Lucas was convicted on 11 counts and sentenced to death in Texas.  His punishment was later commuted to “life in prison” (by then-Governor, George W. Bush) and he eventually died of natural causes in 2001.

Henry (Michael Rooker) is a quiet, underpaid bug exterminator.  He lives in a small apartment in Chicago with his friend and former cell-mate Otis (Tom Towles).  One night, after a few drinks at the local pub, Henry introduces Otis to his sordid “hobby”.  Their guys-night-out turns Maniac, when the two class-acts murder a few prostitutes and a sleazy salesman.  Immediately, Otis is hooked and becomes Henry’s serial killing apprentice.

The duo goes on a killing spree in the Windy City.  They commit to a lifestyle of inward psychosis and seemingly outward normality.  Things go from disturbing to down-right horrifying when a video camera is added to the mix.  After a full day of extra-curricular activities, Henry and Otis lounge on the couch to watch the footage on repeat… rewinding the “good parts” to brag to one another.  It is horrifying, sadistic, and completely gratuitous. I actually feel guilty and repentant for having viewed such profanity.  It is the same feeling you get when watching the crucifix sequence in The Exorcist; like you need to look away and pray that your mind will erase the image forever.

Otis is, to be frank, an incestuous moron.  Henry is more level-headed, but that doesn’t make his character any more tolerable.  After all, he is a serial killer with absolutely no conscience.  (Rooker plays the role so well that I would probably be scared to meet him in a dark alley or even a well-lit bathroom.  He deserves to be listed among the likes of Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Spacey, and Anthony Perkins because his performance is exceptional)

Henry is raw and terrifyingly life-like, almost too-much so.  I felt dirty and in need of a shower after my viewing.  The movie is not graphically violent or gory, but what I found scary was the documentary-like realism.  Henry’s exist.  That is a fact.  The likeable guy-next-door could also be a Mother-murdering psychopath who kills without motive.  The actuality that Henry slaughters random women and then goes on with his daily life as if nothing ever happened is very unsettling to me.  And yes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho are scary too… but Henry is unlike any serial killer pic I have ever seen.

Henry is almost “reality TV”-style in scope… like The Real World: Serial Killer Edition.  (You think you know, but you have no idea).  The film is basic and incredibly effective in that it neither glorifies Henry’s actions nor condemns them.  It feels very real, and for that reason the movie is pretty disturbing.  Brutal and shocking are the most accurate descriptions for this pic, but vile and appalling also come to mind.  (McNaughton begged for an R-rating, but the MPAA said no dice.  Since there was no NC-17 rating at the time, Henry was finally released four years after completion with no rating, and hence became even more controversial). 

Now, I’m a reality TV junkie who has seen every show from Survivor to Teen Mom to Scream Queens.  But those are fictional and dramatized, so they are easy to handle and enjoyable when watched in large doses… Henry is the real deal and one viewing is more than enough.  Frankly, I’d rather watch Sammy Sweetheart punch J-Woww in the face, while Snooki prances around in her furry slippers and the boys dodge grenades… at least I can sleep at night.

Was Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer scary?  Yes (more-so in the aftermath)

Jami’s Rating:  3 ½ out of 5 stars

Would I recommend this movie:  No