Tuesday, March 15, 2016

824. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
1990 (Wikipedia says 1986, but The Book says 1990.  As The Book goes, so goes my nation)
Directed by John McNaughton








Let's all guess if I liked this film!  And so my reputation as a pearl clutching prude will live on...

Henry is a serial killer who shares an apartment with the mentally impaired Otis.  Becky, Otis' long suffering sister, moves in with them after escaping an abusive husband.  Otis eventually joins Henry in his murderous activities and Becky finds herself attracted to Henry.  And then Otis finds himself attracted to Becky, which is just the icing on the disgusting cake.

Obviously, this is completely horrifying to sit through.  I am not saying it should be censored by any means, but honestly, I just don't see why anyone would want to watch this.  I suppose it is effective in that it is deeply disturbing.  Hurray, McNaughton!  You figured out that filming an entire family getting massacred is chilling to watch!  You cracked the code!

This movie will definitely haunt you, so I suggest staying away at all costs.

RATING: -----

Interesting Facts:

Michael Rooker remained in character for the duration of filming.  Uh...

Loosely based off of the life of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, you are certainly exaggerating. This film can only generate nightmares and psychological trauma for..., I dkn, your entire life? I'm gonna need several sessions with the shrink to overcome this one. And you know the irony of it all? Henry Lee Lucas didn't even commit all those crimes. He was either bragging or lying to help the police to close all the unsolved cases they had stacked.

    So the film is outright fiction but I am sure it "inspired" other people afterward. So yeah thanks McNaughton for bringing more violence to our lives! Just what we need!

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    Replies
    1. Truly, I don't understand the purpose of these films. I mean, I know how the filmmakers would defend it but it is never a compelling argument.

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