Henry Lee Lucas

When you see Antonio Sabata Jr is the star, you should already know what you're about to get. But being a true story murder junkie, I had to check it out. And yeah... pretty bad. But I liked learning more backstory. So if you're hunting for a good kinda Lifetime movie type film, just with a lot of bad language and gore, this one's for you.

Pretty one sided. Probably right from Lucas's mouth. Excuses for murdering. Some of the murder scenes are pretty poorly done! But if you have time to waste...go ahead and watch it. Good for a laugh.

HENRY LEE LUCAS: SERIAL KILLER is a modern B-movie retelling of the life of the infamous killer, originally played (to the hilt) by Michael Rooker in the unforgettable '80s movie HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A KILLER. Of course, this isn't on a par with that movie, but at least it does something entirely different. While the Rooker flick provided a realistic, slice-of-life portrayal of the killer at the peak of his infamous crimes, HENRY LEE LUCAS: SERIAL KILLER is a biopic told via annoying flashbacks (and forwards) that covers his entire life.

First off, the most surprising thing about this film is that Antonio Sabato Jr. (CRASH LANDING), a notable B-movie actor, actually gives a fine performance in the titular role. He plays Lucas as a hulking, scarred brute, who seems permanently stoned and given to unpredictable violence. At the same time he's charismatic to boot and certainly Sabato's performance outshines everyone else in the production.

For a low budget film, the production values for this are pretty decent, and I particularly enjoyed the exploration of Henry's childhood which sows the seeds for his latter day crimes. The best thing about the movie is that it doesn't dwell on the brutality of the crimes; the temptation for modern film-makers would surely be to sicken the viewer at every opportunity but this is surprisingly restrained, giving the production a mature feel as a whole.

Not only horror is my cup of tea but the story behind serial killers does interest me too. But being in the biz for over 15 years I'm mostly not into movies about serial killers. Oh yes, there are some great ones, The Deliberate Stranger (Mark Harmon playing Ted Bundy) for example, still OOP and the other OOP To Catch A Killer (Brian Dennehy playing John Wayne Gacy), and of course Henry:Portrait Of A Serial Killer concerning Henry Lee Lucas (played by Michael Rooker). The movie I just saw also told the story of Henry. But here it's boredom all the way. Were Portrait gives some nasty disturbing scene's (remember the television) this flick just is about, did he kill 3000 persons or not. We see some killings but the blood never flows. We see stabbings in the back, in the neck but the victims never bled. The best part is when Henry and his friend Otis picks up a hitchhiker. What happens next isn't disturbing but is really the best part. The only fact I could agree with is the truth about Henry having an affair with his niece Betty. He did kill his mother but not as stated in this flick. It's sad to see that a flick about two weirdo's doesn't deliver fear.

Not a perfect movie by any means...but well worth a look if you have even a passing interest in the murderous exploits of Henry Lee Lucas.

In response to Ted's 'review'...if it could be called that, please don't identify yourself as Australian again. I too am Australian and your childish observations give us all a bad name. And claiming that your location means you couldn't possibly have heard of Henry Lee Lucas is embarrassing...you have a computer...have you ever tried to use it for researching something and perhaps adding to your limited knowledge of the world? Sure you may not have enjoyed the film you 'reviewed', but you base your opinions on the fact you felt the film was 'horrible'. How enlightening for us all! You should stick to films in your age bracket and leave the reviewing to us adults in future who actually have some knowledge of the medium and who are able to construct a sentence that is coherent.