Review of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) by Tibor B — 11 Oct 2008

After nearly a decade of "entertaining" American slasher films, John McNaughton's Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer emerged from the darkness and brought the horror film straight back down to earth, with disturbing effect.

Using the low budget to its advantage, the grainy cinematography captures Henry and Ottis' cold blooded violence on the streets of Chicago vividly with no directorial moral standpoint. This cold, detached "pass your own judgement" view will obviously be misunderstood by those who expect movies to spoonfeed emotions to them.

One of the early murders is shot with a dose of black comedy, in the style of a "normal" slasher film maybe. McNaughton then contrasts this with numerous acts of random violence, particularly against a family which is filmed and re-watched by the duo for entertainment - the shocking yet intelligent contrast causing the viewer to question their perceptions of screen violence.

Rooker is great in the lead role, and the soundtrack should be mentioned for its creation of a dark, grim atmosphere. There are certainly gorier killer films, but McNaughton succeeds in disturbing cerebrally and shows how much more horrifying that can be.