HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER is undoubtedly one of the most controversial films of recent times. I remember quite clearly reading about the film a decade ago, and the problems that it had with the UK censors. However, as with many other films whose reputations precede them, HENRY is nothing like as shocking or graphic as you've been led to believe. Yes, it has some unpleasant scenes, and some mild violence. However, compare it to a really unpleasantly violent film like CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST or THE NEW YORK RIPPER, and it pales by comparison. The thing about HENRY is that its power comes from suggestion - firstly, we are shown the aftermath of several of Henry's victims' deaths, but not the actual murders, these being left to the viewer's imagination (we are also shown a few murders in full, but none are terribly shocking in terms of gore). Secondly, the unpleasantness of the characters in the film makes the viewer uncomfortable, and the gradual realisation that not only Henry, but also Ottis, are completely twisted people increases this discomfort. The film's whole tone is extremely downbeat and grim (aided no doubt by the very low budget) and the performances by the lead actors are very believable.

HENRY opens with a disclaimer stating that the film's events are "loosely based on the confessions" of a serial killer called "Henry", but that the characters Ottis and Becky are entirely fictional, followed by the opening titles, white lettering on black screen, accompanied by some effectively creepy music. All-in-all, very reminiscent of a certain other low budget horror classic, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974). The film opens with an unpleasant shot that starts on the face of a dead woman, slowly pulling back to show her body, lying in a field. This is followed by our introduction to Henry, at a restaurant. He pays his bill, compliments the waitress on her smile, and apparently leaves. However, the next shot is back inside the caf�, the woman (and an unidentified man) lying dead, blood streaming from their heads. Henry drives off, and we cut to another shot, this time of a hotel room, the camera panning across to reveal the partially clothed corpse of a woman in the bathroom, a broken bottle stuck in her face.
The next scene shows Henry doing his job - as a pest exterminator (shades of William Burroughs here, plus the fact that the film is located in Chicago, home of Burroughs for many years). He leaves and follows a woman home from a shopping centre, leaving when her husband comes out to greet her. We discover that Henry lives in a scummy apartment with a guy called Ottis, who works in a gas station. Ottis brings his sister, Becky, to stay with them. We discover that both Henry and Ottis have been in jail, this being how they met. In an uncomfortable scene, we discover that Henry is illiterate and Becky questions him about why he was in prison. The reason? He killed his Mum, though he doesn't seem to remember the facts about it too well. Ottis is revealed early in the film to be a confused, sick person. He fancies his sister and tries to kiss her, only stopping when Henry grabs him - "No, Ottis. She's your sister!"
Henry takes Ottis out for a night of fun - they pick up a couple of prostitutes, both of whom Henry dispatches by breaking their necks. Another night, after Ottis has broken the TV, they go out looking for a new one ("Well, let's go shopping, then...") and visit a dodgy character in a lock-up garage. The guy is unpleasant and Henry suddenly starts stabbing him, before picking up a TV and slamming it on his head. "Plug it in, Ottis". He does, and the TV guy gets fried. Henry & Ottis take a video camera from the lock-up. Next we find that not only does Ottis fancy his sister, he is also gay. Once again, Henry and Ottis head out into the night - "Where ya goin'?" Ottis asks Henry. "Nowhere. Wanna come?" he replies. They stop in a sub-way and pretend to need help. When a guy stops, Ottis shoots him. Next the head for a house in an urban neighbourhood. Cut to the film's most notorious segment, in which we view their killing of an entire family through their home recording of the events. Only when the tape starts rewinding do we learn that not only are we seeing the events, but they're also being viewed by Henry and Ottis. "I want to see it again" says Ottis. Finally, Ottis tries to rape Becky. Henry stops him, a fight ensues, and Becky stabs Ottis in the eye with a knitting needle. Henry stabs him to death, and cuts up his body, putting the pieces in black bags.
Henry and Becky leave the apartment, dump the bags in a river and shack up at a Motel, planning their new life together. However, the ending isn't quite what you might have expected...

HENRY was filmed in 1985-86 and not released until 1989. It is very loosely based on the confessions of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. Lucas was convicted of multiple murders, but he later withdrew many of his confessions and it is now believed that he was a compulsive liar, and actually only committed 2 or 3 murders at most (that includes his mother). Many comparisons can be made between it and the other classic low budget horror films, but HENRY brings something new to the genre - a sense of being well-and-truly groundedd in reality. The mood of unease which the film creates is not easy to dispel, and the feeling that Henry could be lurking out in the night is very hard to avoid. As mentioned earlier, the performances by the central actors are excellent and really help increase the tension and atmosphere. All 3 central actors were acting for the first time in starring roles, and Michael Rooker does a brilliant job of portraying Henry - no matter how unpleasant Henry is, it's hard not to feel some empathy with him. The character of Henry is also very well drawn and is full of ambiguities - Henry thinks it's OK to kill a family, including a young boy, but doesn't approve of rape. He really seems to care about Becky, and is clearly appalled when he realises what he has caused Ottis to become. Tommy Towles also does a great job of portraying Ottis, a character who initially seems a harmless buffoon, but who later becomes the real instigator of Henry's crimes, and also a very disturbed man. Tracy Arnold is surprisingly likeable as Becky, really gaining the viewer's sympathy - her position in the film is so hopeless, yet she remains upbeat and really tries to empathise with Henry.

Today HENRY is commonly regarded with some respect, and McNaughton has become an A-list director (his most successful films being MAD DOG AND GLORY (1993) with Robert De Niro and WILD THINGS (1998) with Neve Campbell and Kevin Bacon). In fact McNaughton has been surprisingly prolific, churning out 11 films to date. In truth, most of these have been fairly minor events, though his follow-up to HENRY, THE BORROWER (1991), is a low budget campy horror film with some cult status. He has also done some well-regarded TV work, for the US series 'Homicide: Life on the Street'. A sequel to HENRY was released in 1996 (HENRY II: MASK OF SANITY), directed by Chuck Parello (an actor in McNaughton's MAD DOG AND GLORY) and featuring Neil Giuntoli as Henry. It was not very well received.

HENRY was one of those films that you couldn't help but hear about in the 90's. The term 'serial killer' became very popular following the success of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) a couple of years after HENRY was released. HENRY provides a very down-to-earth, serious account of what it is probably like to be inside the mind of a serial killer, as opposed to the rather silly, but very well executed, story in TSOTL. The moral of HENRY - that Henry is free to keep killing as long as he keeps moving - is hard to take seriously in today's world of forensic science and high technology, but - as is often pointed out - thousands of people go missing each year in the US, and many are never found.

Today, the influence of HENRY on horror films is very apparent, but also if one looks back at other low budget horror films in the 90's, many similarities can be drawn. One of the most obvious films to have been directly influenced by HENRY, is the well-known Belgian film noir MAN BITES DOG (1992), a film which presents many of the same observations made in HENRY concerning the need to keep moving, and to kill in different ways each time. And that's without even mentioning the video taping aspect! Indeed, the use of 'snuff' films in HENRY only seems to further highlight its status as a sort of gathering together of many urban myths of the 80's into a spellbinding whole.

HENRY has certainly stood the test of time very well up to now, and it's hard to see its influence declining. Rather, it will almost certainly be talked about in the future in the same revered way that THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is now. Let's hope that McNaughton drops his mainstream work and goes back to the basics at some point in the near future... American horror could certainly do with him at present.

DVD Specification
Original year of release - 1989
Approximate running time - 79m 15s @ 26fps
Aspect ratio - Standard (4:3)
System - PAL (colour)
Rating - Back cover states '18 Years and Over'
Sound - Dolby Digital Stereo (2.0)
DVD release - Cult Epics
Region Coding - Region 0 (code free)

DVD Extras
Audio Commentary by John McNaughton (recorded 15/02/99)
Video Interview with John McNaughton
Original Theatrical Trailer
Director Filmography
Dutch subtitles (optional)

DVD Ratings (out of 5)
Picture - 3
This is quite hard to rate - obviously, the film was shot on 16mm, and is never going to look like a Hollywood production. However, the DVD does not really present a terribly impressive transfer. Having said that, the US DVD was very similar to this DVD in terms of clarity and grain. The main problem with the transfer is grain - many scenes look very grainy. This isn't a huge problem though, since it only adds to the dirty, grim nature of the film. Still, it won't please the type of DVD fan who likes to see DVD's where the film looks much better than a video. Also, the film is only just over 10 years old so more could certainly have been expected. Cult Epics state that the DVD contains a new transfer, but like EC's claims to 'digital re-mastering', it's dubious as to how much this actually means. Another problem with the transfer is that some scenes suffer from quite severe lip sync problems.
All-in-all, it could have been better, but don't let it put you off too much - it really isn't that important for a film of this type.
Sound - 3
Dolby Digital Stereo. All that could be expected for a low budget film like this. To be honest, there isn't that much sound in HENRY, and what there is sounds fine in stereo. Nice and clear, no hissing or static, but nothing hugely impressive.
Extras - 4
Good. We get the usual's - trailer and filmography. But also a video interview with McNaughton, and even better, a commentary by him. The video interview is similar to that contained on the US DVD - it runs 20 minutes (cover states 25) and is quite interesting. The audio commentary is excellent, however - McNaughton is very easy to listen to and talks for almost the full length of the film, taking very few breaks. He has lots of interesting comments to make, and points out all sorts of good 'low budget film-making' techniques. He also states the locations of all the streets and places where HENRY was filmed in Chicago, which would probably be very interesting for anyone living there. The commentary was recorded last year and is not included on the US DVD. A very good effort, and a much better commentary than the awful Cult Epics DRILLER KILLER one which was both barely legible or audible!
Overall Rating - 4
Most self-respecting horror film fans probably have this film in their collections already, particularly when one considers that it was one of the most notorious video titles of the past decade here in the UK. Anyone who doesn't have it could do much worse than to buy this disc. Also, for once the PAL version proves to be superior to the NTSC version, another bonus for UK fans (the disc is also region free). The presentation of the film itself isn't brilliant, but isn't too bad either. The extras more than make up for any shortcomings in the film's transfer and Cult Epics are to be congratulated on their work. You won't forget this film in a hurry, I can promise you!

Film Tag Lines
"He's not Freddy. He's not Jason. He's Real."
"Yeah, I killed my Mama..."
"After 'The Silence of the Lambs' comes the most highly acclaimed and controversial film of the year."
"The most controversial film of the decade" (Cult Epics DVD cover)

AKA
HENRY

Alternative versions
The film was released to UK cinemas cut by almost a minute. However, when a UK video release (from Electric Video) was finally given the OK by the BBFC, another minute of material was removed. Cuts were made as follows:
i) The shot of the dead woman in the hotel bathroom, with a broken bottle stuck in her face, was removed,
ii) A 5 second cut was made to the scene in which Henry stabs the TV seller,
iii) The sequence in which Henry & Ottis watch the tape of themselves killing the family has been heavily cut and re-edited, making it appear that the tape they're watching has been clumsily edited, rather than being a straight shot, without edits. The cuts are made to the scene with Ottis molesting the woman, and the scene in which Henry kills the young boy.

A couple of other points concerning the film - versions other than the Cult Epics DVD (and video) change the opening card to remove the implication that the film is based on real-life events, and also alter a part of the score; the music playing when Ottis picks Becky up was intended to be as you'll hear it on this DVD. However, there were copyright problems and the US/UK versions supplement a different song at this point.

The film is available on video and DVD uncut and unrated in the US from MPI. Both the DVD and video contain video interview footage of McNaughton, but not the audio commentary present on this DVD. The film was also available from Cult Epics in Holland uncut on VHS.

Movie Facts
The film is (loosely) based on the real-life crimes of Texas serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, who has been on Death Row for many years, but whose execution was stayed last year.

Awards
Lots...
Won the Seattle International Film Festival 'Golden Space Needle Award' in 1990 for Best Actor (Michael Rooker)
Nominated for the Locarno International Film Festival 'Golden Leopard Award' (John McNaughton) in 1990
Won at the Catalonian International Film Festival, Sitges, Spain in 1990 for Best Director, Best Film and Prize of the Screenwriter's Critic and Writer's Catalan Association.
Nominated at the Independent Spirit Awards in 1991 for Best Director, Best Feature, Best Male Lead, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Female, Best Supporting Male.
Won the Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Awards in 1991 for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Film, Best Screenplay.
Won the 'Silver Raven Award' at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film in 1991 (John McNaughton).