Henry - Portrait of a Serial Killer (20th Anniversary)

This movie was so predictable.Henry is a stereo-type,his girl-friend is stoopid,his side kick probably has bad breath.No interesting insights and angles.He's just the same 'serial killer' we could find on cop programmes on t.v.

see,horror movies can have charactor developement,humor and plot without having to wait 75 minutes for the gore.m rooker nailed this and i thought it would stereotype him as a maniac forever.t towles also makes the perfect,demented side kick (unfortunately,he was doomed to be stereotyped).

based loosely on real life serial killer henry lee lucas (he of a supposed 150 kills) H;POASK begins with a bang.we see the aftermath of a couple of vicious acts and then are whipped to real time.henry hooks up with simple minded,fellow ex-con otis (towles) and share an apartment.things get complicated when otis' sister comes to visit.shes a stripper whos running from an abusive husband looking to restart her life (little does she know !!!).

while henry is clearly uneducated,he has some sense of how to blend in.hes illiterate yet wise enough to get away with murder.at times,he even shows restraint and the ability to not be a murderer.he shares his wisdom of getting away with murder with otis.otis makes him look like einstein in comparison.this will definitely be just as good 20 more years from now.

for some ungodly reason,gollywood thought it was a good idea to make a ''sequal'' to this.i will not mention the title but will compare it to jaws 3d,godfather 3,exorcist 2-the heritic,starship troopers 2,speed 2....you get the idea.

***SPOILER THOUGHT***
why was henry upset at otis raping his own sister only to chop her up later ?!?!?!?

Henry-portrait of a serial killer just might be the scarriest film i have seen.. Specifically because of the films real nature (almost cinema verite) you cannot dismiss it and it becomes a real chilling possibility.. I have not been quite as freaked out since the first time i saw pasolini's 'salo' a film which depicted fascist sexual and violent opression in a real style.. The camera does not flinch nor does it prepare us with any kind of a traditional warning so common-place in horror movies.. It does not follow a formula it just seems to present us with violence and death in their most real and disturbing forms.. This is what i like about the movie it doesn't gloss over or sugar coat anything it's as if it is saying this is what it is... the reason for such an approach might have been the miniscule 100,000 dollar budget - but the results are far better than nearly every big budget horror or suspense film i have ever seen - indeed it just might be the best horror film since psycho.. The film proves that the simple approach is very often the best.. and it proves that so-called amateur actors are often capable of incredible and emotional performances (if they are directed as expertly as they were here).. So watch Henry at your own risk.. it is very disturbing but very rewarding..

Just today I randomly selected a movie, that movie was "Henry". I had never heard of it before, and I figured that I was in for your average, run-of-the-mill low budget slasher flick. Though it is low budget, it is by no means your ordinary serial killer movie. In fact, the gritty film and minimalist effects only adds to the stark realism of this nightmarish character study.

Meet Henry, a very quiet and serene man with vacant and staring eyes as well as a calm disposition. Watch as he goes to work, watch as he hits the bar with his buddy Otis, and watch as he calmly and systematically butchers random people. This film does not exploit the violence though; it is very frank and direct, treating it as though Henry were doing nothing more than cleaning the dishes or taking a stroll in the park.

This movie is a lot of things, and when it was all over, I just had to sit back and take a few breaths, have a cigarette - and try to gauge my reaction(s). I was surprised to note that while this film is disturbing, it is also pretty funny in some parts, though only funny in the blackest sense of the term. There is no social commentary in this movie, nor does it provide any closure.

The DVD is great, awesome extras including fragmented interviews with the genuine serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, awaiting lethal injection on death row. Very fascinating.

Great acting and directing! Intense, believable scenes, that really creep you out. If you like this film, you should also check out: "Man Bites Dog" and "Irreversible".