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[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

Have you seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)?

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Haven’t even heard of this movie

Voting ended onJun 24

[cemyafilmarsiv]

Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer 1986

[filmjunky-99]

h e n r y : p o r t r a i t o f a s e r i a l k i l l e r, 1986 🎬 dir. john mcnaughton

[moviemosaics]

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

directed by John McNaughton, 1986

[machetelanding]

[talkaboutmovies]

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990)

 “Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer” is John McNaughton’s controversial 1990 film (although it was filmed in 1986) which is very loosely based on convicted serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. How much is based on Lucas is hard to say, given Lucas’ penchant for confessing to crimes he had nothing to do with. Veteran character Michael Rooker makes his movie debut, but because of it being initially “shelved”, he had a few other films come out first. Tom Towles plays his prison buddy, Otis (similar to Lucas’ partner Ottis Toole).

 Rooker gives a great, slow-burn performance. The beginning are several murder scenes shown with audio, presumably of the murders as they happen. In the first scene that we actually see Henry, he’s eating at a dinner and friendly to the waitress as he leaves. At the same time, you feel rage bubbling just under the surface. Otis the picks his young, attractive sister up at the airport. They go back to the apartment that he shares with Henry who shows up shortly afterwards. After a brief introduction, Henry leaves. Otis then reveals they were prison buddies and Henry was in prison for killing his mother.

 Becky, played by Tracy Arnold, feels a connection to Henry if only because he pays attention to her. Henry reciprocates to a point, not anything genuine. It seems more his modus operandi, which he explains the concept of to Otis after they murder two prostitutes. Rooker is good at playing unsympathetic characters and finding sometimes the tiniest amount of humanity. 

 “Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer” is a study of three very damaged people, two of them beyond repair. Henry is scary because he doesn’t look like a monster. He could be your next door neighbor and comes off in many situations as completely normal. Otis’ destroying their TV, leads to a shocking scene involving a stolen electronics salesman. The pair acquired a camcorder, which kicks their crime spree into high gear. What follows is probably what earned “Henry” an “X” rating, initially. Eventually, it was released unrated.

 Michael Rooker went on to many TV and movie credits “Tombstone”, “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Mississippi Burning” just to name a few. John McNaughton went on to direct more films, most notably “Wild Things” from 1998.

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[chaptertwo-thepacnw]

henry: portrait of a serial killer |1986|