Review of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) by Devon B — 15 Aug 2008

"Henry" is one of those movies that has gained cult status over the years: it's dark, it's shot very low budget (which lends to it's realism), and it might've been a little revolutionary in style at the time.

Michael Rooker (you may remember him as "Grant Grant" from the movie "Slither") plays Henry, a serial killer who drives around Chicago apparently killing hundreds of unsuspecting people (he reveals that he never kills anyone the same way twice, that way it can't be linked back to him), and leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

He lives with his ex-con friend Otis (you may remember him from "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devils Rejects") who seems to have mental deficiencies, to say the least. Otis' sister Becky (Tracy Arnold, who you may remember from nothing else) comes to stay with them, and immediately is attracted to Henry.

Upon meeting Henry, she starts a card game with him and in the middle of the game starts telling him about how her father used to rape her (which seemed a little ackward). Otis comes home and tries to make out with his sister and Henry puts a stop to it (because that's just "not right").

Then Henry takes Otis out and makes a conscious choice to introduce him to his "lifestyle". Otis takes to serial killing and soon the two are on another spree, and in one particularly disturbing scene, they sit at home reviewing a murder of a family they documented on camcorder.

But anyway...What might've seemed gritty and realistic now just seems cheap and low budget. The amount of scares or thrills or anything resembling entertainment is practically nil. The horror aspect can be narrowed down to two scenes: the one with the family and the end of the movie.

It's not terribly shocking by today's standards, but it's also not enjoyable to watch in any way either. Still, there's something to be said for influence and cult status.