Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer Full Movie Reviews

Full Movie Reviews

filmfan09
filmfan09
Producer

Rating of
3.5/4

Brilliant, terrifying piece of art.

filmfan09 - wrote on 01/21/2009

A powerful, brutal and unique psychological horror thriller with excellent performances by Rooker and company. Michael Rooker just has that cold, merciless, look about him, perfect for the tittle role. He portrays this character so well that you actually believe him.

HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER ia a low-budget independent shocker is without a doubt, one of the most disturbing films ever made. It is based on the real life exploits of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.

Henry appears to be a regular guy. Calm, and soft-spoken, actually mild-mannered on the outside. Underneath, an unspeakable rage with all the fury of hell, simmering inside him, constantly searching for someone, anyone to kill.

After being released from prison for the murder of his abusive(physically and …

kcvidkid
kcvidkid
Producer

Rating of
3/4

A product of its times?

kcvidkid - wrote on 05/13/2008

I guess we've come a long way in almost 20 years: watching "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" now, it's hard to believe there was such hoopla over the violence when it was first shown. By today's standards, it's very mild indeed.

That's not to say it's not still disturbing. The matter-of-fact way that Henry goes about his murders, coupled with the nonchalance in which he begins including his friend from prison in these murders, is treated darkly realistic. But that's not the most troubling thing about it: I found the friend's niece's attraction to Henry extremely pitiable.

The actual murder scenes are few, showing instead the bloody aftermath. The music is very effective, probably the best use of a simple melody since "Halloween". I don't suppose there's much suspense, but …

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