Memorable, crazy movie

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

First things first, this is definitely not the movie most people will go in thinking it is. There's no good vs evil, there's no slasher in a mask or ghosts or anything like that. There's not even really a hero. Your main character is Henry, played uncomfortably perfectly by Michael Rooker (ya know, Yondu). Henry is, as the title suggests, a serial killer. That's right, your protagonist is the bad guy. A violent, soft spoken, methodical, dangerous and scarily of all, smart. So yeah. If you're looking for a feel good happy ending, do not watch. I repeat. Do not watch! This movie is uncomfortable to watch. Not to be that douche guy but it's the type of movie you feel like showering after. But I digress.So yeah, basically the movies story I guess you could call it is relatively simple. Henry, living in Chicago with his ex cell mate and his sister ( (cell mates, not his) Tom Towles and Tracey Arnold respectively) basically just goes about his day doing various things. It just so happens one of those things is killing people. Literally anyone. In fact, Henry makes a point of changing his method every time so it's harder to catch him. It's pretty sick, especially when you consider that it's based on real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.Story wise in all honesty this movie is very simple, but honestly that's forgiveable. Michael Rooker is phenomenal as Henry, like full honesty I think this is the best performance of his career. He perfectly balances the switch in Henry that you can never really know what's going on inside his head, but you know it's not good. Tom towles and Tracy Arnold too are great and all three have great dynamics with each other, even if you kinda don't really care about Arnold all that much (nothing against her, but look at what she's up against).Sooooo yeah, the violence in this movie is pretty disturbing, one scene in particular which I won't dare write about her, but needless to say anyone whose seen it knows exactly what I'm talking about and yeah, it's difficult to watch. It's not even that it's gory because it's honestly not, it just feels a bit to real to I guess separate. The ending too is one of the more objectively big downer endings I think I've ever seen though to be fair, look at the title. That's all you needed to know.Okay so this isn't for everyone, but it's still a phenomenal character study. Approach with caution, but check it out if you get a chance

"Henry: Portrait of a serial killer" belongs to a certain type of films which are not wanted but needed. The film raised many controversies ever since it's initial release, and nobody who already watched it wonders why. It's disgusting, violent, raw, but most of all it is honest. Imagine a combination of "Peeping Tom" and "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and now amplify the final result. The media and the society itself has always been fascinated about killers for several reasons: why they do it, how they get away with it, but most of all how they do it. The final question never got a fair answer in cinematography until Henry came along. An extremly low-budget film, "Henry" manages to create reactions only because of it's honesty, showing explicit scenes of violence through the eyes of a tormented man. The characters are unhappy and live in a grey world where boredom is a routine and it destroys people from the inside. Infamous scenes like the one when Henry (Micharl Rooker) and Otis (Tom Towells) watch a tape of their own murderous acts ruin society's fascination about serial killers. Most people will not want to watch this movie a second time, but everyone should watch it at least once. It may lack the vegetarian message of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" or the love story of "Peeping Tom", but it shows us how reality is like and it doesn't lie to us about serial killers and violence. Henry is the " Unforgiven" of horror film.

An utterly discomforting journey into the mind of a sadist, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is exactly what its subtitle suggests. Brutal, disturbing & absolutely uncompromising with its content, Henry is unsettling from the very first frame but what really separates it from other examples of its genre is its stringent focus on telling the story from the killer's perspective.Loosely based on real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, Henry covers the crime spree of its titular character who goes around randomly killing people without any remorse or empathy. The plot mainly focuses on his stay in Chicago where he lives with Otis, a drug dealer he befriended in prison, and the inner turmoil he undergoes when the latter's sister comes to stay with them.Co-written & directed by John McNaughton, Henry establishes an uneasy tone within the first few minutes in which we see this sociopath driving around the town but interspersed within that segment are snippets of the brutality he leaves behind on every corner. Most of Henry's murders take place off the screen and yet its effect is deeply felt, which can be attributed to the film's clever use of sound effects.The film is truly an unhinged view of a mind filled with reckless hate but it is also extremely honest in illustrating the root cause of Henry's evilness, his philosophy of life & the ruthless but calculated nature of his crimes. Shot on a shoestring budget, the movie makes use of real locations & settings that gives its story an added sense of realism, which in turn ends up making the experience all the more horrifying.Despite the low budget, the technical aspects are no slouch here for the film creatively uses its limited resources to full potential and all of it works in harmony to serve its story as well as characters, whether it's the bleak shots of Chicago streets, the stark arrangement of few scenes juxtaposed together, the pace at which its plot unfolds, the brilliant use of sound & music to further amplify its ominous vibe, and keeping it as true to real life as possible.Coming to the performances, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer features a committed cast in Michael Rooker, Tom Towles & Tracy Arnold, with all three of them doing an excellent job in their given roles. Rooker is obviously the show-stealer here for his rendition of Henry is very chilling, effective & exquisitely balanced. Towles begins his act as if his character is dim but as the plot progresses, he adopts a highly repulsive persona that's destined to shock many, and even Arnold does well with what she's given.On an overall scale, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer isn't a film for everyone. It's an absolute horror show that takes a no-holds-barred approach with its content, swims against the tide of its time by discarding a moral conclusion, is bolstered by three convincing performances, utilises its available resources amazingly well, and despite lacking the graphic depiction of murders, barring one family massacre sequence, can leave its viewers emotionally scarred. A low-budget classic that shows that people in real life are capable of inflicting more horror than any monster on film, Henry is definitely worth a shot.

One of the best thriller-horrors of all time pure and simple good film making well worth a look. Rooker (merle from the walking dead) plays the part perfectly and when I watched this film back in 86 when I was 9 years old (ah the good old days) this performance stuck with me for life and ascended the actual role , I have been a fan of his ever since just wish he could have had bigger roles by now also considering the cruddy actors of today who get better roles but that is life .Although a murder flick it also goes deep into the life and mind of a killer which is a compelling watch.In summary if you like a good plot and story along with a bit of killing then find it and watch it you wont be disappointed.