HENRY:  PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986 Maljack Productions)

Directed by John McNaughton

Originally shown at the Chicago International Film Festival in 1986, this controversial low budget portrait of a serial killer took until 1990 to see a wider release. Saddled with the onus of an X rating, the indignation of puritans, and the schlock tagline “he’s not Freddy, he’s not Jason… he’s real,” you’d be excused for dismissing it as exploitative trash from a distance. However, you’d be remiss not to change that opinion after watching the thing.

The film was met with lavish praise from most prominent critics at the time, something few horror movies can ever claim. It’s a bleak, stark, and clinical look at violence and psychopathy. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a high brow look at a low brow existence of purposeless violence and squalor.

Michael Rooker plays the titular killer with icy perfection. There’s nothing exploitative about it, Henry doesn’t even seem to particularly enjoy the killings. It’s just something to do, a compulsion. He lives with his old prison buddy Otis, an oaf who eventually joins him on his homicidal streak. Unlike Henry, Otis gets off on the killing, giving him a sense of power and thrill. There are times Otis wants to kill out of frustration or passion, but Henry has to hold him back, informing him that’s the easiest way to get caught.

Henry’s modus operandi is to appear as if he has none. His killings are random with a different weapon every time, living as a vagabond to avoid any police suspicion. Otis lacks the discipline to play by Henry’s demented rules for an extended period, and the relationship begins to turn sour.

Joining them in the dynamic is Otis’ sister Becky who comes to live with the two of them. Henry feels protective of her, and she begins to fall for Henry. Incapable of reciprocating any healthy emotional bond with another person causes things go sour between them as well, although Becky doesn’t have the sense to realize this before it’s too late. He comes to view her as dead weight, baggage that will hold him down, and his lifestyle requires that he travel often and light.

Shot on grimy looking 16mm film, the haggard and grainy look compliments the frigid nature of the piece perfectly. When the two leads acquire a camcorder and begin to film the murders, it lends itself even more to a documentary feel. It’s easy to sensationalize material like this, but this grounded approach and the cast’s nuanced performances bring a disturbing verisimilitude. It’s a perfect watch if you’re looking for a psychological approach to ultra violence this Halloween, and it works as a grim character study any other time of year as well.

4.5/5