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Tarfumes.com - Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (Dir)
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List Price: $19.98
Our Price: $39.99
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Mpi Home Video
Starring: Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles, Mary Demas, Anne Bartoletti
Directed By: John McNaughton
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: X (Mature Audiences Only)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786305191865
Format: Color
ISBN: 6305191867
Label: Mpi Home Video
Manufacturer: Mpi Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Mpi Home Video
Release Date: 1998-11-03
Running Time: 83
Studio: Mpi Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1990-09
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Editorial Reviews:
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Most horror films exist in a fantasy movie-world safely removed from our existence, populated by zombie-like killers and psychopathic madmen. The power of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is its chilling placement in the mundane existence of everyday life. Michael Rooker plays Henry not as a raving psychopath but as the frumpy guy next door, a drifter who takes out his frustrations on random victims and escalates his body count after teaming up with the violent ex-con Otis (Tom Towles). Though not exceedingly gory in light of the excesses of such fantasy horrors as the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series, director John McNaughton's straightforward presentation and documentary-like style creates a chilling realism that many viewers will find hard to watch. McNaughton neither comments on nor flinches at the brutal violence, which reaches its apex in a disturbing camcorder-eye view of a particularly sadistic murder of a middle-class couple, with Henry and Otis smiling through the deed as they record it for their continued pleasure. Henry straddles the line between True Crime (though fictional, the story was inspired by the confessions of real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas) and horror, a bleak, brutal kind of terror for a generation deadened by the escalating outrageousness of movie murders and nightly news crime scene clips. --Sean Axmaker
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: 3.5 stars out of 4
Comment: The Bottom Line:
Low-budget, gritty, and searing, "Henry" should not be mistaken for a true story, but it should be viewed and studied as one of the most horrific horror films ever made and an impressive "portrait" of a sociopath, with a great performance by Rooker.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This Movie Is A Black Hole.
Comment: plain and simple. its so bleak its unbelievable. and my god do I feel sorry for otis' sister. But she is FICTION. The truth is it was otis' niece who went to live with them when she was just seven. they both had sex with her until she was killed when she was 15. the put her severed body parts in pillow cases and threw them in a field. AND HENRY DOESNT KILL OTIS. they end up parting ways. otis is best known for killing adam walsh, John walsh's (americas most wanted) son.
Odd Fact: Senator George W. Bush (no joke) commuted henrys death sentence to six life terms in 1998.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sick
Comment: Henry - Portrait of a Serial Killer is one of the best movies about the behavior of a serial kiiler ever! It's loosely based on a true story but it shows the absence of a real personality and absence of guilt true to real serial killers.
Customer Rating:
Summary: You'll never guess who moved in next door...
Comment: It's safe to say that films like `Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' tend to make you feel, what's the word; unsafe. The reason for this is that `Henry' is the type of film that doesn't glamorize or sugarcoat anything. It is not a film that feels Hollywood made, thus killing its `this is only fiction' type stance. `Henry' feels so gritty, so raw and so real that one cannot help but feel the skin crawl while they are watching it. Case-in-point; my doorbell rang while I was in the middle of watching this movie, and no one EVER comes to my house (this was like 2 in the afternoon mind you, so it's not like it was `dark' out or anything). I was petrified. I did answer the door, and no one killed me (obviously) but I was truly terrified.
This movie will have that effect.
The film is loosely based on the real life murders of Henry Lee Lucas, a man whose life will seriously depress and disgust you (if you ever get the chance to look into the true life account of this man I recommend you do, especially if you have seen this movie, for it sheds a whole new light on the subject). It follows drifter Henry as he joins forces so-to-speak with ex-convict Otis. Otis is a vile creature, maybe even more so than Henry (who at least appears to have some morals when it comes to dealing with people he is not killing), who is living with his recently separated sister Becky. Becky has lived a life of abuse as well, starting with her father and escalating when she married the father of her child. In order to escape her husband she left her child with her mother and came to live with Otis, but Otis is as mentally abusive as they come, and seems to have eyes of lust for his sister.
Becky falls in love with Henry, for he seems vulnerable and wounded and in this the have a common bond. He is nice to her and he respects her and he defends her against the advances of her brother Otis.
What she doesn't know is that Henry and Otis have unleashed their inner rage on countless random victims, abusing and terrorizing and murdering as many as they can get their hands on.
The film is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, haunting and disturbing. That goes without saying. What is a little disappointing to me is the delivery of the film. The films title suggests something a little more to me than what we are provided with. It is titled `Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' and to me, I don't really get the portrait I was expecting. The film would have been much more effective had the psyche of this demented and tormented man been truly fleshed out and examined. Instead, director John McNaughton seems more interested in dissecting his murderous rampage. We see that his selection was random, and that he focused his attention on women, and it is hinted towards the fact that his rage is inspired by his physical arousal, but perhaps these suggestions are too subtle. As we watch Henry fall in love with Becky it is suggested that this relationship makes him rethink his desire to kill, but again, perhaps this is too subtle.
I am a fan of subtlety, but when we are dealing with the mental fibers of a human being it become necessary to expose them a little fuller, for what is meant to be subtlety can be interpreted as non-existent.
I also was not a fan of the musical score, which came off as B-grade and cheap and made the film feel like a `straight to video' type trashy thriller. The decision to shoot the film as a collection of vignettes was effective to an extent, but not entirely advantageous. It added layers of grit and reality (another example of this use was in Todd Field's `In the Bedroom', where the vignettes helped create a feeling of everyday life) it also took away at times from the horror of the happenings on the screen. It was almost like `that's done now, let's move on' and it may have been more effective to allow the audience to linger a bit more.
Regardless of the director's decisions, the casting of Michael Rooker was genius. The man looks like your next door neighbor and so his revelation is all the more chilling. His portrayal of Henry as a broken and tortured soul is amazing, for he grabs you where it counts, creating a festering, menacing individual who is as tormented as the people he torments. He also manages to capture his character's apathetic attitude towards his actions, without ever loosing the manipulated sympathies we are forced to feel for him. When he bares his calculated soul to Becky we are given a glimpse of the misery this man has been through, yet at the same time, as his story changes and his emotions are bore we can see that this man is pure evil.
Brilliant performance.
I wish that a little more thought had been given to the exposure of this man, as a man and not a killer, for then I feel that the audience would have a greater idea of what type of man would kill in this manner. Rooker does a fine job of doing what the script fails to do, but a little more attentiveness on the part of McNaughton could have really elevated this otherwise remarkably haunting film. This is not a film for everyone, and while most of the violence is done off-screen, the aftereffects are disturbing and gut-wrenching so be forewarned, this will cause you grief.
Customer Rating:
Summary: HENRY-PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER
Comment: Very dissappointed with this movie. I could not find a plot, just killing for no reason.
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