Review of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) by Nelson P — 24 Apr 2010

Seeing two familiar faces from horror films I've seen before I've laid my eyes upon this picture (Slither's Michael Rooker and Night of the Living Dead remake's Tom Towles), it somehow lessened the shock, because as painfully realistic-looking the film can be, thank god the two actors solidified the fact that I'm watching genuine actors, not deranged individuals doing their take on mythic "snuff" films.

The film is one of the first serial killer films to bravely end without moral resolution and a satisfying closure, which angered many people upon its release. But on a positive note, it has, in some ways, cleansed and reverberated audience enjoyments on watching " slasher" films for fun, and it was accomplished by showing the true nature of violence, and its seemingly invisible entity of pure evil that can kill with emotional reservation, yet can easily blend with a crowd and look like a normal fellow.

A cinematic killer like Patrick Bateman does it for an uncontrollable blood lust, masked murderers like Jason Voorhees kills and subsequently be killed and resurrected so fans can cheer for more sequels, but Henry is neither of the two, he does it for something more trivial than anyone can imagine: He does it to relieve emotional stress, as if he had any.