Henry: Potrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Directed by John McNaughton
Henry and Otis are two former prison buddies who live in a shoddy apartment. Otis’s sister comes to live with the two and bring in some needed money. But Henry hides a dark secret from them both. The fact that he is a vicious serial murderer. After Otis witnesses Henry kill two people, he decides to join Henry on his killing spree. Henry decides to enlist Otis and teach him the basics of serial murder, such as never use the same method twice, never stay in the same area for to long, and never kill someone you know. the film continues to follow the two as they go out on their spree.
Loosely based on the story of real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, Henry is a terrific horror film for many reasons. First off, the acting is terrific, with Micheal Rooker and Tom Towles do a great job portraying the two killers. It also relies on the fact that these are events that actually happened in reality, as opposed to the fictious murders we are subjected to. The film aslo portrays the two types of violence in life. First we are presented with movie violence, which is someone watered down if not deserved in some aspect. Then we are presented with a portrayal of REAL violence, completely random, disgusting and incredibly uncomfortable. Probably the most horrible scene in the entire films is the home invasion scene, where Henry and Otis break into a random home and murder the entire family inside. All in all, Henry is actually an incredibly scary and disturbing film.
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