Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Review

 

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Henry: PoaSK follows drifting, serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, who operates with impunity in 1980s Chicago, in this loose depiction of real events.

Let me just preface by saying, up to this point, I have avoided getting into extremely dark material. This however, is the first exception of likely many to come eventually. So if you do watch it, prepare yourself for the type of movie it is because this is as dark as they come.

The movie is a nearly hour and a half cemetery of bodies left by Henry, as the horrors and troubles he faced growing up show up ever presently with his need to kill and get back at women for the damage his mother caused him. The crass approach to murder and the thrill it brings Henry and Otis makes the film disassociatively subhuman on so many levels. At the same time though, it breeds an odd level of humanity in the form of Becky and how protective Henry is over someone who genuinely cares and connects with him.

Most of the film leaves you with a never ending feeling of dread but its the 3 minute long sequence that ends with Becky raped and Otis dead that leaves the biggest pit in your stomach. It spins the whole Taxi Driver, unwilling hero ending that almost makes you feel for a serial murderer, in a twisted sort of way.
In his first big role, Michael Rooker slams it home as the animalistic and raw Henry, showing varying levels of love towards those around him, while having zero empathy and only truly feeling alive when he’s killing. It seemingly comes natural for him here and it’s truly frightening to see, as much of it feels too realistic for comfort. Tom Towles and Tracy Arnold also really bolster his main performance, giving him something to feel and act against, sometimes sadistically and other times like family.

Henry is a guerrilla, documentary like film that journeys into the darkest depths of the human psyche and doesn’t hold back in it’s disturbing & horrifying look at the actions of real life serial killer, Henry Lee Lucas. It’s the definition of true horror because it feels so inherently real and gut-wrenching in its brutality and lack of empathy for the human race.

7.9/10