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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) is a film that is loosely based upon the exploits of notorious white trash serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. This man claimed to have killed hundreds of people, mostly women. But the director takes us down the path of a man who is in many ways similar to the real deal.

Michael Rooker stars as Henry, a demented man living in a twisted world who lives with a scummy roommate Otis (based also on Henry Lee Lucas' running buddy/lover Ottis Toole). Otis' kid sister Becky (loosely based upon the very young sister of Ottis) comes to live with her older brother after a falling out back home. She decides to head out to the big city to find a new life.

The film follows the murderous trail of Henry who's pent of rage and sexual frustrations fuel the madness that's locked deep within his psyche. Those that are around him soon feel his madness and it's brutal and fatal consequences. The director follows these three individuals with a pseudo-documentary feel. The rape and murder scenes are graphic and brutal as they should be. This is no mere exploitation film because there is nothing exploitative about it, as it should be.

I have to recommended this film. It's a sick, twisted but honest look at the life of a serial killer. He's no movie magic monster because unlike those, he's for real. Co-starring future B-Movie thug Tom Towles as Otis.

You'll never see a film like this again.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer will make the typical teenage fan of Freddy or Jason s*** their pants. Or maybe not. Maybe this might actually, when it's not ratcheting up the precisely random violence and kills, bore some of the younger audience looking for stupid characters doing stupid things and getting killed by a bogeyman. Henry, based on real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, wasn't a bogeyman. He was more like your friend who is usually bored every other night and goes out to do something. But that something, instead of like going to a bar or a movie or a show, is killing people, whomever, as long as it's not too obvious (never using a gun twice, and proper disposal of bodies, is some advice given by Henry), with a hapless dumb-ass, Otis, usually in tow.

What makes it so unnerving is how McNaughton chooses to just show his protagonist doing these things, without passing any judgment exactly. Perhaps some did think judgment was passed somehow, or that the controversy came from just showing a killer as is, and without proper law and order about (a cop car shows up literally once, for a goof). It's a downright sad and vicious bastard of a movie, showing the primitive horrorshow of, say, the massacre of the wife, husband and child, as seen through the staggering hand-held vision of the camcorder that Henry is operating while he and Otis do the slaughter. And yet for all the horrible things they do- and, arguably, Otis does worse ultimately, if only by way of Becky- they're never shown as caricatures, or as supernatural creatures. They're just killers, doing it for the hell of it, or, perhaps as reason Henry gives, 'do it before they do it to you' (this also goes for defenseless hookers).

It might not be entirely a great movie - it's shot roughly and some of the editing is crude and the use of music and sound effects (yes, sound effects) is cheesy and a little laughable, not to mention the shoe-string special effects and make-up - but it's got great things about it, memorable notes to take. Tom Towles is excellent as a downright creep of a human being, while Michael Rooker does perfectly as a tortured soul who, as Henry, just does what he does, though at the same time was, at one point, a victim himself from his mother (who, apparently, he also killed). Some vulnerability is found with the Becky character, though Arnold' performance is just passable.

What makes the movie for me is Rooker's hold on the character, so dark and deep and scary that you can feel your skin crawl knowing he could just snap at any moment (albeit not as awful as Otis, in a weird way), and McNaughton's lack of easy answers - certainly not with the ending, which is equally bizarre and chilling. A minor cult item to take note of: it's the kind of movie I always saw on the video shelf in the horror section as a kid, looking dangerous with Rooker leering at the mirror and a warning on the video box. Now I know why.

I am 57 years old. I've seen many films in my lifetime. I am not easily frightened or upset by movies. I am partial to drama and documentaries. I can count on one hand the films that I have found to be so deeply disturbing, that I later regretted seeing them.This film is among them. It is possible to "see too much" in this life, and once seen, some sights remain trapped in your head FOREVER short of getting a lobotomy, or being

hypnotized. Leaving the theater that day, I honestly felt as though I had actually witnessed several murders. I was really shaken by the horrific realism of this cinematic event. I was sorry that I had seen the film, but it was too late to retract the terror that, even today, still remains in my memory. Some things are so

emotionally damaging, that perhaps they should be left alone. This film was so powerfully unsettling for me, that I feel a need to warn others of the emotional impact. This speaks well of the directors skill at scaring movie-goers, but

approach with caution please. This is a very heavy movie. The Honeymoon

Killers is another film that I regret seeing. Would that I could forget that

nightmare!

Although disturbing, "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" takes you through the mind of a serial killer, and it is interesting.

Plot: 8/10 Music: 9/10 Originality: 7/10 Ending: 7/10 Acting: 10/10 Casting: 10/10 Creativity: 8/10 Pace: 9/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Dialogue: 8/10 Suspense: 9/10 Special Effects: 8/10 Setting: 7/10 Entertainment Value: 8/10.

I went to see this film when it was released. I found it to be a difficult watch and nearly walked out at one point. This movie can never be considered entertainment but it is a genuinely disturbing portrayal of the banality of murder.