Review of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) by Eduardo C — 12 Jun 2007

This monster is real, he is out there, and there is nothing you can do about it. This is what "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" boils down to, and probably what makes it so effective. There are no jump-scares here, no killers getting up long after they should have been dead, no timely intervention by the private detective hot on his trail and no shoot-out with the cops at the end. There is simply Henry.

Based loosely on the (confessed) exploits of Henry Lee Lucas and Otis Toole, the film is an animal of a different nature. It is, literally, the portrait of a serial killer. What is so unnerving is that the portrait is empty. Probably the most disturbing scene in the film (next to the infamous videotaped home invasion) is the one depicted on the posters. Henry stands at a sink, looks in the mirror, and sees nothing looking back at him. He is someone who is truly dead inside. He lies consistently, even when he has no need to, give no outward sign of his extracurricular activities (until he engages in them, much to the surprise of Otis) and makes a decision in the film's last scenes that may be disturbing to the audience, but perfectly natural to him. With Henry, what you see is what you get. He is someone who lies and kills. Period.

Michael Rooker is very, very good as Henry. There is something offputting about him, and with his raspy voice he seems to have been born for the role. McNaughton's direction, on the other hand, is uneven. It can be very good at times (the previously mentioned home invasion sequence) and cheesy/stereotypical at others, though thankfully the subject matter is dark enough that the fil never descends to the level of mainstream entertainment horror.