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Movies / On DVD / Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990)

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88 %
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Reviews Counted: 42

Fresh: 37

Rotten:5

Average Rating: 7.4/10

Consensus: Henry is an effective, chilling profile of a killer that is sure to shock and disturb.

Runtime: 3 hrs 8 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, loosely based on the case of Henry Lee Lucas, a confessed serial killer, is a terrifyingly intimate journey into the twisted life of a murderous psychotic. As the... HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, loosely based on the case of Henry Lee Lucas, a confessed serial killer, is a terrifyingly intimate journey into the twisted life of a murderous psychotic. As the blank-eyed Henry (Michael Rooker) drifts from place to place, he selects victims at random, slaughters them, and captures the brutality on videotape. When he is joined by his deranged roommate, a loudmouthed ex-convict named Otis (Tom Towles), the almost unfathomably malevolent acts multiply. John McNaughton's film, in the tradition of such classic studies of homicidal personality as PEEPING TOM and TAXI DRIVER, goes further than both of these movies in its flat refusal to tell the killer's story on anything other than the killer's terms. McNaughton is able to present the world Henry aimlessly traverses as Henry sees it--almost unendurably bleak and meaningless--and in doing so he allows his film to go as deep into the nightmarish mind of a killer as anything ever committed to celluloid. [More]

Starring: Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, Tracy Arnold

Starring: Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, Tracy Arnold

Director: John McNaughton

Director: John McNaughton
Producer: John McNaughton, Lisa Dedmond, Steven A. Jones

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

McNaughton, co-writer Richard Fire and Rooker have pulled off an amazing feat -- a portrait of a damaged mind that refuses to explain, judge or glamorize psychopathic violence.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
10/20/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is sicko territory with a vengeance but certainly has an impact.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/20/08
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

McNaughton's compelling study of a blithe sociopath makes the flesh crawl and the mind reel.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Chilling.

comment Comment
06/12/04
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

There are still some shocks.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
07/08/03
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

John McNaughton's haunting film is a grim journey into the life of its twisted subject that refuses to moralise or judge.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/21/03
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Certainly not for everyone, but if slasher movies are your cup of tea this is a lot better than most, and the use of Chicago locations is especially effective.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 1 Comment
10/20/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

Genuinely frightening.

comment Comment
12/05/07
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

[T]his is a movie that will anger and frighten audiences... Many will also find this one of the most impressive film debuts of the '80s.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/16/07
Daniel M. Kimmel
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

McNughton's film has both suspense and graphic violence, combining a clinical approach with semi-documentary technique that result in genuinely disturbing horror, deepling upsetting look at a murderer; a highlight of indie cinema of the 1990s.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/05/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/28/06
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies

A genuinely upsetting film that's guaranteed to make you more paranoid.

comment Comment
10/21/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

Longe de traçar o “retrato de um assassino”, o filme apela para o choque barato, mas evita o fracasso absoluto em função da força das performances de Rooker, Towles e Arnold.

comment Comment
10/15/05
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

No review available.

comment Comment
09/30/05
Nicolas Lacroix
EnPrimeur.ca

As an emotional map, Henry is decidedly raw, personal, and unrelenting.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
09/07/05
Jeremiah Kipp
Slant Magazine

No review available.

comment Comment
07/15/05
Jonathan R. Perry
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

No review available.

comment Comment
06/19/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/21/05
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
11/19/04
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A brutally honest intimate portrait of a serial killer that makes you feel rotten inside.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/04/04
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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