Movies - Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer

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	Movies - Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer

Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer is a 1986 movie directed by John McNaughton.

It stars Michael Rooker as Henry, a nomadic serial killer. Henry hooks up with an old friend from prison named Otis in Chicago, who he introduces to the delights of random murder. It is a fairly low budget movie (it was shot in less than a month on a budget of about $110,000), and it was not released until 1989 due to repeated disagreements with the MPAA over the movie's violent content. The film was ultimately released without a rating.

It did not appear on release in the United Kingdom until 1993. It was heavily cut by the BBFC.

Synopsis

The film Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (often just referred to as Henry) is influenced by the case of the convicted murderer, Henry Lee Lucas.

However, as the opening statement makes clear, the film is based on the confessions of Lucas, rather than his crimes, and this distinction is important. Most of Lucas's 300+ murder confessions turned out to be false, and he later recanted those that had been tentatively verified. Some even doubt that Lucas even was a serial killer, but merely a pathological liar who murdered his mother and perhaps one or two acquaintances during domestic rows. Even those who uphold the belief that Lucas was a serial killer do not go so far as to believe his original claims of hundreds of victims.

The opening statement to Henry claims that the characters of Otis and Becky are fictional, but this is probably just to cover the producers from a legal perspective. The real Henry Lee Lucas was acquainted with a fellow convicted killer named Ottis Toole and Toole's pubescent niece, Frieda Powell, who often went under the pseudonym of "Becky" (although in the movie, "Becky" is portrayed as Toole's sister, rather than his niece, and is somewhat older, in her mid-twenties.) Also, Henry, Otis, and Becky's surnames are never given in the film.

The film was not exactly a blockbuster, but thanks to its dark and grisly nature, it is considered a classic amongst fans of horror movies—particularly the slasher variety—and might be considered a cult film.

In 2005, a special edition two-disc DVD release was announced for release later that year. It is said to include two differently-edited versions of the film, a director commentary, "making of" featurettes, and a documentary on Henry Lee Lucas amongst other features.

A lesser-known sequel was made in 1998, but with Neil Giuntoli playing Henry instead of Michael Rooker. Despite getting some good reviews in some quarters, the sequal has not gone on to have the popularity or cult status of the original.

Sections of the film's dialogue sampled on Ontario punk outfit Boys Night Out's 2002 album, Broken Bones and Bloody Kisses, specifically the songs "A Torrid Love Affair" and "Where We Breathe". The band's lyrics often center around killing and its motivations, and they have said the film was an influence to them. The same sample was subsequently used as a live introduction for the band on their tour in support of their Make Yourself Sick album.

Plot Summary

The start of the film shows Henry going about his business (finishing a greasy meal in a cafe, driving aimlessly along highways and working in menial jobs), ocassionally interpersed with views of murdered people. Although none of these first killings are actually shown, the camera pans across their corpses accompanied by the sound of their screaming and dying. The obvious implication is that Henry is responsible for their deaths. Amongst the victims in this first segment is a young woman lying in a ditch disembowelled, another woman dumped naked in a river, a housewife sprawled dead on a sofa, and two people shot to death in a shop.

Henry drifts into Chicago where he meets up with Otis. We later find out that Otis and Henry met in prison a number of years earlier. Henry was serving a sentence for murdering his abusive mother, and Otis had killed someone during a robbery. Henry moves in to the grimy apartment that Otis shares with his recently divorced younger sister, Becky, and from the start there is some sexual tension between Henry and Becky. The pair find they have a common hatred for their parents; Henry was abused, beaten, and humiliated by his mother, while Becky was sexually abused by her father during her teenage years. There's also a simmering amount of incestuous ambition on behalf of Otis, who regularly attempts to molest Becky, much to her disgust.

One evening, Henry and Otis engage two prostitutes. Henry kills the woman he is with in the backseat of Otis' car without provocation, Otis kills the woman he is with in the frontseat to stop her screams. Then, after dumping the bodies in an alleyway, he goes to a fast food restaurant with Otis and casually buys some french fries. Otis is worried about what will happen, but Henry reassures him that everything will be okay.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer ]

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