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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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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:36

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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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

No review available.

comment 1 Comment
07/12/03
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

Mr. McNaughton's observations are so chilling and precise that they gain some artistic stature even when they cross the line that makes the audience voyeurs and accomplices.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Caryn James
Caryn James
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
03/24/03
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

No review available.

comment Comment
02/12/03
Shannon J. Harvey
Shannon J. Harvey
Sunday Times (Australia)

Henry Lee Lucas was mostly a liar in real life, but that doesn't stop the movie from being one truly disturbing journey/

comment Comment
01/22/03
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

It relies not upon visceral depictions of graphic violence but the sporadic, lifeless motivations of the killer – an established, sympathetic, and ultimately humanistic character.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
11/19/02
Rumsey Taylor
Rumsey Taylor
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Henry is a glimpse into the void that will chill, terrify and haunt you with the infinite evil in the hearts of ordinary people.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

Part of the time it's art house cinema, the rest of the time its horror schlock.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
09/18/02
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

No review available.

comment Comment
09/17/02
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner

No review available.

comment Comment
08/29/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Unflinching, rough, and ugly. Also a damn good movie.

comment 1 Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Bob Grimm
Bob Grimm
Las Vegas Mercury

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
01/27/02
Jeremiah Kipp
Jeremiah Kipp
ToxicUniverse.com

This film gives off a dark chill that follows you all the way home.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/12/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Mike Bracken's Horror Films | comment Comment
02/27/01
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken's Horror Films

I have some admiration for this film. But I also have no desire ever to see it again.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Powerful, raw, terrifying, and shocking filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

The emptiness in Henry seems like an artistic convenience or, worse, an evasion. What we suspect, finally, is that the deficiencies belong more to the artist than to his subject.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Hal Hinson
Hal Hinson
Washington Post

A low-budget tour de force that provides an unforgettable portrait of the pathology of a man for whom killing is not a crime but simply a way of passing time and relieving boredom.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 >> >|
all

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