Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
by John McNaughton
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anne Bartoletti, Elizabeth Kaden, Mary Demas, Michael Rooker, Ted KadenDirector: John McNaughton
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: Pan & Scan, 1.33:1
Running Time: 130 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-11-03
Audience Rating: X (Mature Audiences Only)
Studio: Mpi Home Video
Movie Reviews of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Movie Review: DUEL OF THE TITANS
Summary: 5 Stars
Since millions of words have already been written about this film I've decided to take another approach, ammie permitting. I intend to compare it to another film about a murderer who is an Evil Genius, a film which the masses have seen fit to honor while living in blissful ignorance of the existence of John McNaughton's classic portrayal of two dull normal rednecks engaged in roughly the same line of work. I may have to be tricky about this since ammie doesn't like it when you say things that aren't nice about other films. You may have to guess the title and a few other things about the film.
My first objection is to the use of the Evil Genius concept in the film we shall call SOTL. The Evil Genius is an extremely trite concept and probably fairly far removed from reality, but its does seem to be one that the public embraces. Is it because it makes them feel more secure in their day to day lives to believe that it would take such a Genius to off them? Possibly. But the truth of the matter is that most serial killers are probably more like the ones portrayed in HENRY--two fairly normal, everyday guys of the variety you see and dismiss lightly all the time. And that is exactly what makes them so adept at what they do, they can pass by you unobserved. Single you out at the gas station, check your power meter, spray your house for roaches. No Evil Geniuses here--just two vicious killers who are much better at what they do than you are at staying alive.
The cast of SOTL has also been singled out for all kinds of r ecognition and awards while the cast of HENRY has had to content itself with playing second fiddle even within the realm of Horror where the awards also went to SOTL. Was the other truly the better film with the superior cast? No, but it was the film with the more famous, internationally recognized cast and that always seems to impress folks when it comes time to hand out the awards. The Main Star of SOTL played his role to the hilt with so much hammy verve that Orthodox Jews were unable to see the film because of his performance. Perhaps it was the type of role that called for such a performance. Compare it however, to Michael Rooker's interpretation of Henry in PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER and you will clearly see that it IS possible to be just as threatening and unnerving by playing it the other way. Rooker is so quiet, so polite---"Henry was always such a quiet boy"--that it makes what is inside him seem all the more ugly and (more importantly) all the more REAL. Reality is what scares me, not some comic book caricature of reality. And the horrible beauty of HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER is that every single moment of it rings true, especially Rooker's performance.
This "review" presupposes that you have seen this film. What follows contains a massive spoiler that will totally ruin the film for you if you have not seen it!*****
SOTL never once surprised me. It was a by the book film, but HENRY--whoa! That was a shocker! The film a was more or less true account of Henry Lee Lucas and Otis Toole, two famous serial killers who have since gone to their just rewards. So the questions arises, how do you surprise and shock a jaded audience that already knows exactly what your film is about and how it must end? (At the time Lucas was in jail in Texas awaiting execution and Toole was locked up in Florida doing the same.) The answer turned out to be simple, McNaughton led us down the primrose path! In short he allowed us to believe that's what we were seeing, but he never once mentioned the names LUCAS and TOOLE, just Henry and Otis and Becky. We assumed the rest since most of the film did fit in with the facts we knew about them, which meant that when the film reached its real climax with Henry's murder of Otis--we were all out of our seats screaming "NO, THAT CAN'T HAPPEN!" or just sitting there frozen in stunned silence. Absolutely brilliant!******END OF SPOILER*****
Lastly I'd just like to mention the one scene in this film that did manage to scare me, and as I've said only 3 films have ever managed to scare me; this one, THE THING (the original when I was 4 and 1/2), and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. It comes near the end of the film right after Becky has been coming on to Henry and to avoid her he decides to "go out for some cigarettes" which usually means that someone is about to die a horrible death. We follow him nervously as he walks to the store where he encounters a rude clerk and a couple of other people who give him lip, but he just ignores them. Then as he's going back to the apartment he runs into an old woman walking her yappy little dog. He stops to talk to her and of course she's rude too, and then SHE TURNS HER BACK ON HIM AND WALKS DOWN A DARK ALLEY! What on earth possessed this woman? Henry looks around to see if anyone is watching and then starts to follow her--we know its going to happen soon---and then he just changes his mind and goes back to the apartment. Just like that. Murder Interruptus.
Now I know a lot of you are going "What's so scary about that?" Well maybe its a female thing. I think at sometime or another every female has suspected that somebody really weird has been following her and its been bad enough to really spook her, but then she felt relieved because he turned off. Oh good, she thinks,I was wrong he was never following me at all. Well, after this movie you can't help but think, if only for a moment, maybe that freak really was following me after all. And if you're not thinking that, maybe you should be. (Cue scary music)
Summary of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Most horror films exist in a fantasy movie-world safely removed from our existence, populated by zombie-like killers and psychopathic madmen. The power of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is its chilling placement in the mundane existence of everyday life. Michael Rooker plays Henry not as a raving psychopath but as the frumpy guy next door, a drifter who takes out his frustrations on random victims and escalates his body count after teaming up with the violent ex-con Otis (Tom Towles). Though not exceedingly gory in light of the excesses of such fantasy horrors as the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series, director John McNaughton's straightforward presentation and documentary-like style creates a chilling realism that many viewers will find hard to watch. McNaughton neither comments on nor flinches at the brutal violence, which reaches its apex in a disturbing camcorder-eye view of a particularly sadistic murder of a middle-class couple, with Henry and Otis smiling through the deed as they record it for their continued pleasure. Henry straddles the line between True Crime (though fictional, the story was inspired by the confessions of real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas) and horror, a bleak, brutal kind of terror for a generation deadened by the escalating outrageousness of movie murders and nightly news crime scene clips. --Sean AxmakerCult Movies DVD Video
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