There are few films in the cinematic landscape as gut punching as HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER. It crafts a fascinating, yet terrifying character and then releases him upon an unsuspecting audience. The film is powerful and affecting in an almost unnatural way. To celebrate its rerelease, I revisited John McNaughton’s 1986 classic. It is a film that I have seen only once before, but that powerful viewing stuck with me. It is a testament to the film that a single viewing was able to leave such an impact – not only on me, but on audiences across decades. HENRY is in a league all its own – thoughtful, disturbing, haunting, horrific and even tragic.
Inspired by the life and crimes of Henry Lee Lucas, Michael Rooker stars as the title character/serial killer, Henry. The film opens by introducing us to the bodies of his recent victims - people killed viciously and unceremoniously discarded - before we join him in the seedy underbelly of Chicago. He is living with a friend, Otis (Tom Towles), when Otis’ sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold), joins the household after fleeing her failing marriage. One evening, Otis and Henry venture out and Henry ends up killing a pair of prostitutes. Otis is fascinated by what he witnesses – the brutality and the deliberate nature of it. What at first is shocking quickly becomes dangerously appealing, and Henry quickly takes Otis under his wing, endeavoring to impart certain aspects of his playbook to his new mentee. Eventually, things fall apart as Otis begins to lose control, succumbing to his newly-embraced violent nature and eventually driving the situation to a devastating and destructive end.
Henry is an interesting character because, even though he is a remorseless killer, he has a set of internal rules and logics that he lives by. He aims to keep his kills as varied as possible, in order to evade detection. He travels from one place to another, never setting down roots, and leaving after only a short period of time and moving on to the next hunting ground. He works jobs here and there, but his purpose – his being – is a killer. Chilling and almost mechanical, it is the only thing that drives him.
In a way, the film deconstructs the classic serial killer trope by placing the killer himself front and center. He is not a shadowy figure hiding around the corner while our plucky police detective puts together the pieces and tracks him down. He is our lead character, and our focal point throughout the story. In fact, the film is made even more interesting by the fact that that it aligns the audience with the killer, rather than with a victim or with the authorities. We are following Henry, observing his movements and his actions, and though we are never explicitly asked to side with him, we are there watching as he attacks his victims, silent observers to his crimes.
Henry himself is something of an enigma. Though he is inarguably a cold-blooded killer, we being to see shadows of emotion and connection throughout the film – his relationship to Otis and Becky, stories he tells about his past - but through it all, we are unsure if any of it is authentic. Are we seeing the real Henry, or a mask that he wears? If it is indeed authentic, we also see that Henry is incapable of breaking his own rules or altering his lifestyle in the name of these relationships, which is perhaps the most unsettling thing of all.
Michael Rooker made a huge impact with this role. If your first instinct is to associate him with THE WALKING DEAD, it's time to go back to 1986 and get schooled. This film exists in the space that it does thanks, in large part, to his terrifying performance in the title role. Henry is dangerous. There are moments when you are tempted to sympathize with him, or perhaps even dare to like him, but you know that you are doing so at your own peril. He is complimented nicely by Towles, who plays Otis with an unchecked madness, but one that somehow seems more manageable and familiar. McNaughton’s direction is also a huge part of what makes this film as memorable as it is. Sparse, grungy and incredibly bleak, the film is nightmarish in its realism. This is an evil that can exist all around us, though perhaps just out of sight.
HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER is just as brutal and mesmerizing as it was upon its release. It is a film that will continue to stalk the minds of cinema lovers for years to come. If you have the opportunity, definitely make the time to check out the rerelease.
