Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

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1h 23m

Crime

Drama

List

89%

65 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Henry (Michael Rooker) is released from prison following his mother's murder. He supplements his job as an exterminator with a series of indiscriminate and violent murders. Fellow jailbird and drug dealer Otis (Tom Towles) becomes a willing accomplice in Henry's bloody killings. But as the depravity escalates and Henry forms a bond with Otis' sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold), things start to get out of hand. The film is based on the true-life story of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.

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Critics Consensus

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

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TamÃ¡s V

Aside from some strong moments it is an uncomfortable slog with amateur made for TV vibes. Too bad, it could have the potential to be remade into a much better film.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/23/24

Full Review

Tyler B

A very gritty film where we get a rare look at the lifestyle of two lower class American cereal killer's.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/04/23

Full Review

Michael M

Excellently executed. Disturbing look into the depths of the dark side of human nature.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/06/23

Full Review

prawnda s

this starts off pretty slow, gets a little better for a good 45 minutes, then just starts being a little excessively graphic without much of a point to it. the script is mediocre and it feels like the entire thing is just a scare tactic psyop. it has major exploitation film vibes. still, it's not too bad, but i think the sexual assault scenes should have been drastically shortened.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/12/23

Full Review

Desmond B

This dramatisation of the criminal careers of Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole is well made (considering the miniscule budget), the cast are terrific (in both senses of the word) and the plot, if somewhat out of step with the reality of the case, is well presented and never dull. But why should it stick to the "facts" of the case, when clearly neither the real Henry nor Ottis were too sure what was real and what simply bravado? Full review at https://thecannibalguy.com/2023/02/19/henry/

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

aaron a

Just a different feeling film for it's time and overall well made movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

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John McNaughton

Director

Michael Rooker

Henry

Tracy Arnold

Becky

Tom Towles

Otis

Anne Bartoletti

Waitress

Mary Demas

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

The film's artful gaucheness saves it from prurience and gives the story its ghastly sense of godlessness. Yet beneath the non-interventionist style there is a wealth of symbolic or motivic detail.

Feb 28, 2023

Full Review

Bill Cosford

Miami Herald

Make no mistake: Henry will give you the creeps.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 18, 2021

Full Review

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

[Director John McNaughton] shows few of Henry's dozen or so crimes. Instead he reveals the victims, at the scenes of their deaths, in slow zoom shots accompanied by elegiac music. He is a coroner with a touch of the poet.

Apr 21, 2020

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Henry is extraordinarily perturbing, but it is also a notable cinematographic work. [Full review in Spanish]

Nov 16, 2022

Full Review

Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

A relentlessly creepy study in evil.

Apr 15, 2022

Full Review

C.H. Newell

Scriptophobic

Combining raw realism and commentary on violent media, McNaughton closes the gap between fictional slasher horror.

May 7, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Henry (Michael Rooker) is released from prison following his mother's murder. He supplements his job as an exterminator with a series of indiscriminate and violent murders. Fellow jailbird and drug dealer Otis (Tom Towles) becomes a willing accomplice in Henry's bloody killings. But as the depravity escalates and Henry forms a bond with Otis' sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold), things start to get out of hand. The film is based on the true-life story of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.

Director: John McNaughton
Producer: Malik B. Ali, Waleed B. Ali
Screenwriter: Richard Fire, John McNaughton
Production Co: Maljack Productions
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 6, 2016
Runtime: 1h 23m

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