Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer – 20th Anniversary DVD
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It’s hard to understand why the docudrama-styled Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer could not be rated by the MPAA in 1986 and why it was banned and protested. (It’s also hard to see why this special edition DVD, being released almost 19 years to the day of Henry’s theatrical film festival debut, is titled the 20th anniversary… but who’s counting?) There are much crueler, more sadistic films out there — Angel Heart, American Psycho and The Devil’s Rejects to name just a few — that were duly rated, released and reasonably received.
While I’ll admit can’t comprehend the controversy surrounding Henry, I do see why it’s considered a serial killer classic in many circles. The film starts off with an unflinching montage of murder victims — as the camera pans over the violated, dead bodies of mostly women, the soundtrack echoes the throes of their violent ends. The effect is quite chilling. Presented in an unadorned, realistic and matter-of-fact manner, the film’s story unfolds as we meet
Henry is a stone-cold killer right from the start but Otis, while a hardened criminal and man with no moral compass whatsoever, takes a little convincing to get into the gory groove. Just a little. As the two men embark on a relentless killing spree (both for material gain and for kicks), Otis soon gets dangerously out of control as his bloodlust quickens. Meanwhile, Becky is oblivious to it all. Not that it would have bothered her; she seems more compelled than repelled when she finds out that Henry’s criminal adolescent past involved killing his own mother.
This is not a flashy movie and it features no standard horror fallbacks. Suspense isn’t eked out, and there are no jump-scares. The protagonist is not a cool, quippy killer and while vicious, his crimes do not have a trademark M.O.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is no doubt a low-budget film (made for $120,000 and shot in 4 weeks), but the talent and dedication of the filmmakers and its players overcome its limitations. Those limitations include overly-simplistic characters (particularly Becky), and the lack of explanation of motivation (this movie is not a character study; it’s just a study of events). While Arnold and Towles falter occasionally in the acting arena, Rooker is spot-on as the soft-spoken and polite, but always simmering and steely, Henry.
The 20th anniversary DVD contains feature-length commentary by writer/director John McNaughton, as “moderated by David Gregory” (the man only introduces himself by name, but never explains his connection to either McNaughton or the film — I looked him up; he’s a big wheel at Blue Underground, a company that produces extras for DVDs). This is a brand new commentary, and it’s very interesting to hear the story of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer with two decades’ worth of perspective.
There’s also a 30 minute documentary on Henry Lee Lucas, which is actually lifted from another MPI release coming out on September 27, 2005 entitled The Serial Killers. It’s interesting but it has almost no relevance, as the movie is only very loosely based on Lucas. The prolific killer was used as a springboard after McNaughton saw an episode of the news magazine 20/20 on TV, but the film’s plot has little to do with actual events.
The two disc set disc also contains Deleted Scenes and Outtakes with commentary by McNaughton; “Portrait: The Making of Henry” all-new 52 minute documentary; and Still Gallery and Storyboards.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson