Review of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) by Al M — 30 Apr 2011

I watched this film again with a group of my friends who had never seen it Instead of the whooping, hollering and cheering that accompanied most of the other movies we watched together, Henry was met with a deathly silence. Its gritty and gripping tale was so different, so fresh, and just so plain nasty, that my friends were lost for words.

Even today, Henry still has the power to render the viewer speechless, such is the brilliance of the direction and performances in this powerful and shocking movie.

Recently released from prison, murderer Henry (Michael Rooker) is earning a meagre living as a bug exterminator; in his spare time, however, he prefers to seek out bigger prey, committing a series of indiscriminate murders in a variety of grisly ways. On a night out with ex-prison-mate, and now flat-mate, Otis (Tom Towles), Henry slips into full-on murder mode, doing away with a couple of hookers, and ends up recruiting his impressionable friend as a willing accomplice to his extra-curricular activities.

Between spraying roaches and teaching Otis the secrets to being a successful serial killer, Henry also forms an unlikely relationship with Otis' sister, Becky (who is staying with her brother, after leaving her violent husband). But when sexual deviant Otis takes the idea of brotherly love a little too far, Henry steps in with devastating consequences for all.

Director John McNaughton shows that he means business from the very start by opening his film on a slow reveal of a naked female corpse, which has been dumped unceremoniously in some shallow water. Several gruesome bodies later (including one of a woman with a broken bottle jammed in her face) and the audience know that they're in for a rough ride. This film doesn't intend to make murder glamorous; it means to show the ugly side of killing in every nauseating detail. The result is a truly haunting experience that will stay with the viewer long after the film has finished.

As the film progresses, the levels of violence escalate, and the unflinchingly graphic manner in which the depravity is captured make this one of the most harrowing studies of psychotic behaviour ever filmed. McNaughton's sparing use of his unsettling score, coupled with some particularly stylish and clever storytelling techniques (most noticeably, the ferocious 'house invasion' scene, which I believe to be a big influence the effectively sickening August Underground pseudo-snuff movies) make this a chilling character study that pulls no punches: nihilistic and disturbingly graphic, the film presents violent death without the glossy veneer that would be present in a Hollywood production.Highly Recommended.