Night 20: ‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’ (1986)

If you want to know what Michael Rooker is capable of, then ‘Henry…’ is a must-watch.

The film follows an unsympathetic, cold man with a terrible past, who flinches at any sign of sexual advance, yet finds his release instead through murder.

Soon, he expands his reach by incorporating his roommate Otis (Tom Towles) in his shenanigans. Both go on a series of horrific murders while making snuff films that they try to hide from Otis’ sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold), who is attracted to Henry, yet has a few scars of her own.

In essence, the plot follows three deeply broken individuals with a poisonous dynamic that is bound to lead them all to their doom…just not in the exact way we’ve come to expect when it comes to movies about murderers.

‘Henry…’ takes a successfully terrifying dive into the twisted mind of a killer, and it does so with sobering and uncomfortable realism.

It only chooses to ‘beautify’ the murders, by creating an introductory sequence that relies on the use of sound and still images to tell us what happened. It’s an extremely crafty artistic choice that stays away from the mindless satisfaction of endless gore and violence –although, mind you, we will get some of that later.

Michael Roorke, with his vulnerable and conflicted countenance is utterly terrifying, and does a great job portraying the cold-hearted titular character. His performance is simple, raw and honest.

Unfortunately, aside from the intro sequence with the victims, ‘Henry…’ offers a mostly uninteresting visual experience, unlike movies such as ‘Peeping Tom’ or ‘The Vanishing’, which are a feast for the eyes.

Another weakness is the fact that Otis is, in many ways, just as disturbing as –or even a little bit more than- Henry, yet the film doesn’t dwell of it, as if his mind is too impenetrably horrible to visit, so they choose to focus on Henry instead.

Overall, it’s a truly horrifying and smart movie, although a little too crude to be enjoyable.

Grade: 6/10. It feels distressingly real.

Scare Factor: chilling.

Gore/violence: yes.

Nudity/sexual situations: yes.

Next: ‘The Brood’ (1979)