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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
enlarge	Director: John Mcnaughton Actors: Mary Demas, Michael Rooker, Anne Bartoletti, Elizabeth Kaden, Ted Kaden Studio: Mpi Home Video Category: DVD List Price: ~~$24.98~~ Buy Used: $9.94 You Save: $15.04 (60%) New (3) Used (15) from $9.94 Avg. Customer Rating: 155 reviews Sales Rank: 80746 Format: Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Ntsc Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) Rating: X (Mature Audiences Only) Number Of Items: 1 Running Time: 130 Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 DVD Layers: 1 DVD Sides: 1 Picture Format: Pan & Scan Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3 Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.6 ISBN: 6305191883 UPC: 030306738222 EAN: 9786305191889 ASIN: 6305191883 Theatrical Release Date: September 1990 Release Date: November 3, 1998 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Condition: 100% GUARANTEED! Fast shipping on more than 1,000,000 Book, Video, Video Game & Music titles all in one location! Discover Your Entertainment at goHastings.

Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com essential video Most horror films exist in a fantasy movie-world safely removed from our existence, populated by zombie-like killers and psychopathic madmen. The power of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is its chilling placement in the mundane existence of everyday life. Michael Rooker plays Henry not as a raving psychopath but as the frumpy guy next door, a drifter who takes out his frustrations on random victims and escalates his body count after teaming up with the violent ex-con Otis (Tom Towles). Though not exceedingly gory in light of the excesses of such fantasy horrors as the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series, director John McNaughton's straightforward presentation and documentary-like style creates a chilling realism that many viewers will find hard to watch. McNaughton neither comments on nor flinches at the brutal violence, which reaches its apex in a disturbing camcorder-eye view of a particularly sadistic murder of a middle-class couple, with Henry and Otis smiling through the deed as they record it for their continued pleasure. Henry straddles the line between True Crime (though fictional, the story was inspired by the confessions of real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas) and horror, a bleak, brutal kind of terror for a generation deadened by the escalating outrageousness of movie murders and nightly news crime scene clips. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews: Read 150 more reviews... Sick November 26, 2008 Henry - Portrait of a Serial Killer is one of the best movies about the behavior of a serial kiiler ever! It's loosely based on a true story but it shows the absence of a real personality and absence of guilt true to real serial killers. You'll never guess who moved in next door... November 10, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful It's safe to say that films like `Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' tend to make you feel, what's the word; unsafe. The reason for this is that `Henry' is the type of film that doesn't glamorize or sugarcoat anything. It is not a film that feels Hollywood made, thus killing its `this is only fiction' type stance. `Henry' feels so gritty, so raw and so real that one cannot help but feel the skin crawl while they are watching it. Case-in-point; my doorbell rang while I was in the middle of watching this movie, and no one EVER comes to my house (this was like 2 in the afternoon mind you, so it's not like it was `dark' out or anything). I was petrified. I did answer the door, and no one killed me (obviously) but I was truly terrified. This movie will have that effect. The film is loosely based on the real life murders of Henry Lee Lucas, a man whose life will seriously depress and disgust you (if you ever get the chance to look into the true life account of this man I recommend you do, especially if you have seen this movie, for it sheds a whole new light on the subject). It follows drifter Henry as he joins forces so-to-speak with ex-convict Otis. Otis is a vile creature, maybe even more so than Henry (who at least appears to have some morals when it comes to dealing with people he is not killing), who is living with his recently separated sister Becky. Becky has lived a life of abuse as well, starting with her father and escalating when she married the father of her child. In order to escape her husband she left her child with her mother and came to live with Otis, but Otis is as mentally abusive as they come, and seems to have eyes of lust for his sister. Becky falls in love with Henry, for he seems vulnerable and wounded and in this the have a common bond. He is nice to her and he respects her and he defends her against the advances of her brother Otis. What she doesn't know is that Henry and Otis have unleashed their inner rage on countless random victims, abusing and terrorizing and murdering as many as they can get their hands on. The film is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, haunting and disturbing. That goes without saying. What is a little disappointing to me is the delivery of the film. The films title suggests something a little more to me than what we are provided with. It is titled `Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' and to me, I don't really get the portrait I was expecting. The film would have been much more effective had the psyche of this demented and tormented man been truly fleshed out and examined. Instead, director John McNaughton seems more interested in dissecting his murderous rampage. We see that his selection was random, and that he focused his attention on women, and it is hinted towards the fact that his rage is inspired by his physical arousal, but perhaps these suggestions are too subtle. As we watch Henry fall in love with Becky it is suggested that this relationship makes him rethink his desire to kill, but again, perhaps this is too subtle. I am a fan of subtlety, but when we are dealing with the mental fibers of a human being it become necessary to expose them a little fuller, for what is meant to be subtlety can be interpreted as non-existent. I also was not a fan of the musical score, which came off as B-grade and cheap and made the film feel like a `straight to video' type trashy thriller. The decision to shoot the film as a collection of vignettes was effective to an extent, but not entirely advantageous. It added layers of grit and reality (another example of this use was in Todd Field's `In the Bedroom', where the vignettes helped create a feeling of everyday life) it also took away at times from the horror of the happenings on the screen. It was almost like `that's done now, let's move on' and it may have been more effective to allow the audience to linger a bit more. Regardless of the director's decisions, the casting of Michael Rooker was genius. The man looks like your next door neighbor and so his revelation is all the more chilling. His portrayal of Henry as a broken and tortured soul is amazing, for he grabs you where it counts, creating a festering, menacing individual who is as tormented as the people he torments. He also manages to capture his character's apathetic attitude towards his actions, without ever loosing the manipulated sympathies we are forced to feel for him. When he bares his calculated soul to Becky we are given a glimpse of the misery this man has been through, yet at the same time, as his story changes and his emotions are bore we can see that this man is pure evil. Brilliant performance. I wish that a little more thought had been given to the exposure of this man, as a man and not a killer, for then I feel that the audience would have a greater idea of what type of man would kill in this manner. Rooker does a fine job of doing what the script fails to do, but a little more attentiveness on the part of McNaughton could have really elevated this otherwise remarkably haunting film. This is not a film for everyone, and while most of the violence is done off-screen, the aftereffects are disturbing and gut-wrenching so be forewarned, this will cause you grief. HENRY-PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER November 10, 2008 0 out of 1 found this review helpful Very dissappointed with this movie. I could not find a plot, just killing for no reason. Henry November 10, 2008 Well I will start with that this movie really opens ones eyes to who is right next to you. And is it not amazing how one can have some much hatred and then turn around and be so nice to another. People who are crazy are just like us its just thier brains work differently. This movie is a great eye opener and it is a must see when it comes to not knowing whats around you and things can happen to you. DUEL OF THE TITANS October 27, 2008 10 out of 11 found this review helpful Since millions of words have already been written about this film I've decided to take another approach, ammie permitting. I intend to compare it to another film about a murderer who is an Evil Genius, a film which the masses have seen fit to honor while living in blissful ignorance of the existence of John McNaughton's classic portrayal of two dull normal rednecks engaged in roughly the same line of work. I may have to be tricky about this since ammie doesn't like it when you say things that aren't nice about other films. You may have to guess the title and a few other things about the film. My first objection is to the use of the Evil Genius concept in the film we shall call SOTL. The Evil Genius is an extremely trite concept and probably fairly far removed from reality, but its does seem to be one that the public embraces. Is it because it makes them feel more secure in their day to day lives to believe that it would take such a Genius to off them? Possibly. But the truth of the matter is that most serial killers are probably more like the ones portrayed in HENRY--two fairly normal, everyday guys of the variety you see and dismiss lightly all the time. And that is exactly what makes them so adept at what they do, they can pass by you unobserved. Single you out at the gas station, check your power meter, spray your house for roaches. No Evil Geniuses here--just two vicious killers who are much better at what they do than you are at staying alive. The cast of SOTL has also been singled out for all kinds of r ecognition and awards while the cast of HENRY has had to content itself with playing second fiddle even within the realm of Horror where the awards also went to SOTL. Was the other truly the better film with the superior cast? No, but it was the film with the more famous, internationally recognized cast and that always seems to impress folks when it comes time to hand out the awards. The Main Star of SOTL played his role to the hilt with so much hammy verve that Orthodox Jews were unable to see the film because of his performance. Perhaps it was the type of role that called for such a performance. Compare it however, to Michael Rooker's interpretation of Henry in PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER and you will clearly see that it IS possible to be just as threatening and unnerving by playing it the other way. Rooker is so quiet, so polite---"Henry was always such a quiet boy"--that it makes what is inside him seem all the more ugly and (more importantly) all the more REAL. Reality is what scares me, not some comic book caricature of reality. And the horrible beauty of HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER is that every single moment of it rings true, especially Rooker's performance. This "review" presupposes that you have seen this film. What follows contains a massive spoiler that will totally ruin the film for you if you have not seen it!*** SOTL never once surprised me. It was a by the book film, but HENRY--whoa! That was a shocker! The film a was more or less true account of Henry Lee Lucas and Otis Toole, two famous serial killers who have since gone to their just rewards. So the questions arises, how do you surprise and shock a jaded audience that already knows exactly what your film is about and how it must end? (At the time Lucas was in jail in Texas awaiting execution and Toole was locked up in Florida doing the same.) The answer turned out to be simple, McNaughton led us down the primrose path! In short he allowed us to believe that's what we were seeing, but he never once mentioned the names LUCAS and TOOLE, just Henry and Otis and Becky. We assumed the rest since most of the film did fit in with the facts we knew about them, which meant that when the film reached its real climax with Henry's murder of Otis--we were all out of our seats screaming "NO, THAT CAN'T HAPPEN!" or just sitting there frozen in stunned silence. Absolutely brilliant!**END OF SPOILER*** Lastly I'd just like to mention the one scene in this film that did manage to scare me, and as I've said only 3 films have ever managed to scare me; this one, THE THING (the original when I was 4 and 1/2), and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. It comes near the end of the film right after Becky has been coming on to Henry and to avoid her he decides to "go out for some cigarettes" which usually means that someone is about to die a horrible death. We follow him nervously as he walks to the store where he encounters a rude clerk and a couple of other people who give him lip, but he just ignores them. Then as he's going back to the apartment he runs into an old woman walking her yappy little dog. He stops to talk to her and of course she's rude too, and then SHE TURNS HER BACK ON HIM AND WALKS DOWN A DARK ALLEY! What on earth possessed this woman? Henry looks around to see if anyone is watching and then starts to follow her--we know its going to happen soon---and then he just changes his mind and goes back to the apartment. Just like that. Murder Interruptus. Now I know a lot of you are going "What's so scary about that?" Well maybe its a female thing. I think at sometime or another every female has suspected that somebody really weird has been following her and its been bad enough to really spook her, but then she felt relieved because he turned off. Oh good, she thinks,I was wrong he was never following me at all. Well, after this movie you can't help but think, if only for a moment, maybe that freak really was following me after all. And if you're not thinking that, maybe you should be. (Cue scary music)