Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990 film on Blu-Ray)

I want to kill somebody. - Otis

So, I know this is getting posted a bit late tonight, but better late than never!  This is another film I was sent to watch (this time on Blu-Ray) but didn't get a chance to because of other obligations popping up.  However, I like to try to fulfill my word that I'll get it covered, so here's my review of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.

The film is loosely based on the life of Henry Lee Lucas, an infamous serial killer from the late 1970s to early 1980s.  We follow Henry as he kills a few people (in the beginning, it goes from him observing people on the street to a scene of their death, not getting overly graphic in the details until later).  We also meet his roommate, Otis, who met him in prison.  Otis's sister, Becky, moves in with the two in the beginning and starts falling for Henry.  As the film goes along, Henry's habit for killing starts to rub off on Otis, who takes to it really well.  But cracks begin to form in the partnership as time goes on...

This was an interesting movie, and definitely a bloody one.  It was shot for $110,000 and very loosely follows part of the life of Henry Lee Lucas.  The director/screenwriter got the idea from an episode of 20/20 focusing on Lucas.  This film is not for the faint of heart.  Michael Rooker, the actor playing Henry, really got into his part (so much so that he stayed in character even off camera until the filming was over), and he definitely nailed the role.  I'll have more about him in my traditional cast section.  The budget was so low that the filmmakers had to use people they knew for extras or in scenes (one actress played three different murder victims!).  The results really paid off, though.

The cast was really good in this.  As stated above, Michael Rooker really dove into his part.  He's been in a lot of movies, including The 6th Day, Mallrats, Cliffhanger, and the TV series The Walking Dead.  Tom Towles played Henry's friend and sidekick Otis with a seriously creepy vibe.  He also played in the 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake, House of 1000 Corpses and its sequel The Devil's Rejects, as well as having a cameo in Rob Zombie's "Werewolf Women of the S.S." trailer in Grindhouse.  Tracy Arnold plays the innocent Becky, Otis's sister, who's drawn into things against her will.  She was also in 1991's The Borrower (along with Tom Towles again, and Rae Dawn Chong).

I did enjoy this movie, but it was also highly disturbing.  There's some subject matter in here that can get pretty extreme, and I'm not just meaning the killings.  With that, I will give this film a 5 out of 5, but definitely give out a caveat with it: watch at your risk.  This was an interesting one, and I was glad to be able to bring it to you.  Tomorrow starts 1981 Week on my site!  I promise to post the next article a lot earlier than this one was!  Until then, take care, and this is Red Hawk signing out!