Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer tells the story of Henry (Michael Rooker) who is a serial killer living in Chicago with his ex inmate Otis (Tom Towles), Henry introduces the pleasures of killing another human being for no reason whatsoever to Otis when he kills two prostitutes they are having sex with. Otis likes it, he likes it a lot & together they kill some more people &, erm well that's it really.
Co-written, produced & directed by John McNaughton this is apparently a controversial film based on the life of Henry Lee Lucas, I'm not too sure why because I thought it was alright but nothing more. The script by McNaughton & Richard Fire is actually rather bland & ordinary in the sense that nothing really happens between the murders, it just portrays Henry & the people around him going about their normal boring everyday life. Now this sort of thing obviously excites some as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a well regarded film although I was throughly bored. I didn't like the dialogue either, I mean Henry & Becky sitting down at the diner table for the first time & then just going into a senseless ramble about their difficult childhoods including how Becky's father raped her, yes that is the sort of thing you tell someone practically the first time you meet them. I didn't find the film disturbing or particularly effective & the only real emotion I felt was apathy, I watched it to the end & it was decent enough but I didn't think it was anything special at all. At least it's short.
Director McNaughton was obviously working on a low budget so that's the reason it looks horrible, there are a few dead bodies on show, someone gets the end of a comb (!) in their eye & there's a decapitated head but nothing spectacular. I suppose the film has a depressing & dark sort of tone as it's one senseless killing after another with no sign of Henry being caught, in reality he could never operate that openly & get away with it. This has a bland look & feel, it's set in some dingy apartment where the camera just films these people's ordinary boring lives, there's no scares, jump out of your seat moments, no atmosphere & there's no tension either.
With a supposed budget of about $111,000 the film is reasonably well made but totally bland & utterly forgettable in every way, there isn't a single second of style in the whole thing. The acting is alright with Michael Rooker standing out.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer for me was nowhere near as disturbing or controversial as many make out, it's a largely dull film about three people living in an apartment & two of them just happen to occasionally kill people for fun, that's it really. Good but not great.
Co-written, produced & directed by John McNaughton this is apparently a controversial film based on the life of Henry Lee Lucas, I'm not too sure why because I thought it was alright but nothing more. The script by McNaughton & Richard Fire is actually rather bland & ordinary in the sense that nothing really happens between the murders, it just portrays Henry & the people around him going about their normal boring everyday life. Now this sort of thing obviously excites some as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a well regarded film although I was throughly bored. I didn't like the dialogue either, I mean Henry & Becky sitting down at the diner table for the first time & then just going into a senseless ramble about their difficult childhoods including how Becky's father raped her, yes that is the sort of thing you tell someone practically the first time you meet them. I didn't find the film disturbing or particularly effective & the only real emotion I felt was apathy, I watched it to the end & it was decent enough but I didn't think it was anything special at all. At least it's short.
Director McNaughton was obviously working on a low budget so that's the reason it looks horrible, there are a few dead bodies on show, someone gets the end of a comb (!) in their eye & there's a decapitated head but nothing spectacular. I suppose the film has a depressing & dark sort of tone as it's one senseless killing after another with no sign of Henry being caught, in reality he could never operate that openly & get away with it. This has a bland look & feel, it's set in some dingy apartment where the camera just films these people's ordinary boring lives, there's no scares, jump out of your seat moments, no atmosphere & there's no tension either.
With a supposed budget of about $111,000 the film is reasonably well made but totally bland & utterly forgettable in every way, there isn't a single second of style in the whole thing. The acting is alright with Michael Rooker standing out.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer for me was nowhere near as disturbing or controversial as many make out, it's a largely dull film about three people living in an apartment & two of them just happen to occasionally kill people for fun, that's it really. Good but not great.