Review of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) by Blake S — 20 Sep 2009

One of my favorite horror films and the truest cinematic account of a serial killer(including Charlize Theoron's portrayl of Aileen Wuornos in Monster) in film history. The movie is very disturbing and, yet the gore here is minimal.

The reason this movie has the reputation that it does lies in the behavior of the charactars and the moral tone of the movie. It is a movie that refuses to label it's charactars as good or evil. It would rather sit back like an auidence member and document the proceedings.

The story concerns Henry(played masterfully by Michael Rooker), an aimless drifter who kills people at random. Somehow on his journey, he encounters Otis(played sickeningly by Tom Towles), who is shares Henry's lack of empathy.

Together, they kill random people who unluckily cross paths with these two. Otis's sister Becky(played by Tracy Arnold) trys to get Henry to open up and is the only likeable charactar in the movie.

There isn't a real plot in the movie, just a serious of dark vignettes that come off like Cassavettes directing Man Bites Dog. In the most disturbing scene, Henry and Otis break in to a families house and kill it's three occupants,all of which is captured on a handheld video camera.

The scene leaves the viewers shaken and queasy, and makes you feel bad about being a voyeur to such a crime. The reason this movie is important is because of the truth it shows us about sociopaths. Henry gives two different accounts of how his mother died, either of which can be a lie(since the real Henry, with a lot of other serial killers, was a pathological liar).

The whole movie somehow comes off qas som e serial killer's elaborate lie to entertain himself. It is this feeling of unease that allows the movie to linger in the mind of the viewer after the film is over.

a true work of art and a movie that has to be seen not just by gorehounds, but also film fans in general.