Rating: 
Summary: I'm Too Scared to Watch It.
Review: I may be a coward, but I have not seen this movie and I don't plan to. I was too frightened to see it when it was released in theaters over a decade ago, and the reviews I've seen here reaffirm my fears. "There are other ways of learning about the hind feet of a mule, than being kicked by them." -- Uncle Remus, "Song of the South"In this "review," I wish to discuss what happened to the real Henry Lucas, on whom this film was based. Several years ago, Texas Governor George Bush (now US President) commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment. This was the only death sentence Bush commuted in Texas. It was shown that Henry was actually innocent of the murder he was convicted of. A time card had shown him to be at his job in Florida the day before the murder was committed in Texas. Also, many if not all of his several hundred murder confessions also appeared to be false, and even incredible. It just goes to show how different things can be from what you think you know.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but I'll never watch it again.
Review: "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" is based on the life of Henry Lee Lucas, who got his jollies by committing gratuitous acts of murder in a variety of forms. It's a brutal piece of filmmaking, an in-your-face horror film that possesses little story but really does not need one. This is not a movie about solving a mystery or finding a killer's identity; it's about murder, and little else. What makes a film such as this scary is the fact that Henry is not a killer in a hockey mask, or someone who comes back only on a certain night each year to claim a victim here or there. He kills as he pleases, something he does to relieve his tensions and stresses. No money? Go kill a man and take his Visa card. It's this kind of blunt attitude that permeates the entire picture. He lives with his friend Otis, whose sister has come to live with them until she gets on her feet. As Otis's sister becomes strangely drawn to Henry, Otis also begins to uncover the sensation one gets when killing someone, and begins going on drives with Henry to exercise that sensation. There's little else to discuss in terms of plot; the movie is not concerned with developing the story. Director John McNaughton throws out any and all horror clichés and creates a film that is strikingly original yet extremely controversial. Some have hailed it as a masterpiece, while others have slammed it for its excessive use of violence and brutality. I find the film to be very interesting. Watching Henry driving his car, walking the street at night, makes me think just how many people with similar skeletons in the closet do those same things each day. It makes you think about just what kind of people could be living right next door to you, or standing behind you in the grocery store. It's very chilling and unique. But I'll never watch it again. For all its brilliance, "Henry" is too disturbing, too gruesome, too realistic in its acts for me to stomach another viewing. These scenes do have a purpose, yes, but once seen, they are hard to strike from the mind. A scene involving the murder of a family is haunting and almost unbearable, while the climax involving Henry and Otis is excessively violent. So what is my final consensus on the film? A positive one. "Henry" is about a simple man who commits complex crimes, someone who is no different in his appearance than anyone we know in real life. The horror is more shocking than it is frightening, and while the substance is minute, the brutality is not. "Henry" will be remembered by all who see, even those who choose not to recall its events.
Rating: 
Summary: Just a quick note.........
Review: I've already written a review of this film, which can be found here at amazon. In that review, I intimate that this film is profoundly disturbing, rather than simply frightening. I thought, however, that it was time to update that review, as I have noted on some of my more recent trips to Chicago several of the locations at which this film was shot, and I can only say that watching the film now is TRULY a harrowing experience because I can put myself right there...I'm almost forced to observe the scene from within. I've even met someone who once lived in the house that Henry occupies in the film...someone who was living there the first time they rented this video. I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like. God knows I'd be taking showers at the neighbor's house before I'd get into that bathtub after watching this film. At any rate, this film is more harrowing than ever for me...and I recommend it very highly. And if you enjoy this film and live anywhere near Chicago, try to visit some of the locations. You'll never feel the same way about it again.
Rating:
Summary: A "real" horror flick
Review: Though it is not as bloody as your average slasher flick, "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" is about as scary as movie making gets. Shot in a realistic visual style, it at times recalls the type of thrills provided by "The Blair Witch Project." But while "Blair Witch" was more campy, this film is utterly brutal. The plot is simple enough; Henry visits Chicago during what is obviously for him an ongoing travelog of serial murder. He joins up with the slimy parolee Otis and his hard luck sister and quickly draws them in to his web of unremorseless murder. There is one scene, in which Henry and Otis film themselves slaughtering a suburban family, that is as disturbing as anything I've witnessed in a movie. For sheer horrific power, it is absolutely without peer. Director John McNaughton is hip to the fact that blood and gore are not what makes a scene scary, but instead plausibility and tone. For horror fans, it simply does not get any better than this, though those of a more sensitive nature may want to pass.
Rating:
Summary: Best violent Movie Ever
Review: Movie based on the true story of serial killer Henry Lee. He kills people just for the pure pleasure, he gives no explanation, no justification, no moralisms, neither he bases his murders on any past traumas of his childhood. His friend Otis, a sadistic homosexual,helps him on his crimes and enjoys them after Henry introduces him into the world of homicide. McNaughton sometimes doesn't even show the crimes, but you don't have to see them, they are perfectly just suggested (just like Hitchcock), the final sequence is great: a heavy trip bag is taken out of a car's trunk, you never saw when Henry murdered the victim, but you know it you can feel what's in that bag, and just knowing it makes you shiver. but the most violent sequence is the video one. A murder of a family filmed, both Otis and Henry watch with such a pleasure, that it even becomes for them like watching a hard-core porno movie. McNaughton uses video like a voyeuristic object, we still watch it even knowing of its brutality for enlightening our own morbidness. Technology (video camcorder) as a witness of the decay of the modern American dream.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: Henry : Portrait of a Serial Killer is a good example of real-life horror. The whole time I was watching it I kept thinking it was just senseless rape scenes and raunchy gore, but after sitting on it for a couple of days, I really started to get into it. The thing that makes this movie different from all other horrors is you get a sense that you know the characters. I found myself feeling extremely bad for Henry's victims (most horror victims I like to see die cuz they suck) while at the same time growing a sense of caring for Henry. Right up to the end fight between Henry and Otis, this film will keep you gripping your seat and wondering who Henry will kill next. It is truly haunting, and you will not be able to get a wink of sleep for a while. It hits so close to home in the sense that it can happen to any one of us. Very realistic. I suggest you see this, but I highly advise not letting any children see this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Less Horror, More Drama
Review: After having spent half an hour searching through the severely limited horror section of my local video store, I stumbled upon a tape entitled "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer." I had heard of this film before and was at first hesitant to rent it. I had heard the rumours that this was one of the most horrifying movies ever made, but was rather surprised to find that the feeling I was left with was sadness, not disgust. It clearly and unmercifully illustrates psychotic numbness in a mundane setting. Henry comes off as a somewhat sypathetic character in comparison to his retarded and incestuous partner Otis. I was also stunned by Tracy Arnolds' often uncredited performance as the pretty and innocent Becky, Otis' abused sister. She plays her role with a sincerity and helplessness that is at times to sad to watch. An intense and beautiful story of putting love and hate in the wrong places.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, yet disturbing...
Review: Have you ever been curious about a day in the life of a serial killer? Meet Henry. Why does he kill? He enjoys it. Henry isn't book smart (he can't read) but he knows how to stay one step ahead of the law. Accompanied by dimwitted sidekick Otis, the pair settle into a routine of murder and depravity. Shoestring budget adds to documentary style; excellent performances, powerful and disturbing, but VERY violent. Those concerned should proceed with caution. Filmed in and around Chicago, film plays as a slice of life as seen by a disturbed mind. The DVD includes trailers, facts, and director commentary.
Rating:
Summary: Not "scary"...disturbing...scary isn't a strong enough word.
Review: Okay...this film was NOT scary. Then again, I don't find ANY movies to be "scary" in the traditional sense of the word. Films don't frighten me because I know them to be just that...films. What this film does, however...the feeling that it inflicts upon the viewer...is far worse than anything as simple as fear. No, this film PROFOUNDLY DISTURBS you. Having done extensive research into serial killers, and having seen more than my share of serial killer films (and horror films in general), this is absolutely the only one of those films which ever made me literally feel sick. The film hits so close to home when it comes to the real life monsters we call serial murderers that it is positively unnerving. And although this film is quite fictionalized, people like Henry DO exist...and they walk the streets of nameless towns and cities all over the world. Many experts contend that there are probably fifty to one hundred of them doing so at this very minute in the United States alone...walking the streets, looking for victims. Okay...so many of the murders are not actually SHOWN in the film...but it's that clinical distance which makes the film so chilling. If you want to see a murder every five minutes, buy "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives"...which, though it boasts the "Most Frequent Kills" title in the "Friday the 13th" series, is the worst "Friday" film ever. "Henry" is not a blood and guts slasher flick. It's almost cerebral in its own unique, gut-wrenching way. And it gives you an inside look at a truly diseased mind. So if you're more afraid of Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers than you are of Henry, I pity you. Cuz nigh-unto-immortal beings in funny masks can't really kill you. But people like Henry can...in ways you could never imagine.
Rating:
Summary: Blurring the line between film and reality.
Review: Directed in a psuedo-documentary style, director John McNaughton's brilliant 'Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer' allows a look into a diseased mind. It is harsh and hollow, lined with an air of realism that chills to the bone. Serial killers have long fasinated the world, often times elevating them to superstar status. No one has any clue of what they are celebrating. They are looking at a monster, a person who kills people for satisfaction, sexual stimulation, and sometimes for the sheer joy of it. 'Henry' is different from most films in that it's characters are not painted as charming, good-looking, even interesting people. Michael Rooker's portrayal of Henry is so disturbing because it has no center to it. We find out that he was sexually and emotionally abused by his mother when he was a child (eventually killing her) but that doesn't seem to be why he kills women. It is simply what turned him off to the world, detaching him from the guilt of what he does. He kills because he's bored, or because the mood strikes him. His partner in crime, Otis (played by Tom Towles) is equally repulsive, an ex-con who feeds off Henry's distaste for mankind. His first kill is an adrenaline rush for him, his bloodlust soon becomes uncontrollable. The violence isn't very graphic, but it's the tone, the callous disregard for humanity, the way they simply off people without a hint of regret or hesitation, that gets under your skin. After videotaping themselves murdering an entire family in their own living room, Otis sits watching the tape on TV, switching it into slow motion, savoring every second of the family's pain. What was McNaughton trying to accomplish with this film? I'm not too sure. It's not exploitation so he could not have been looking for a mainstream hit. Perhaps he was simply showing us what humanity can degrade into, a darker side which lies inside of us all, waiting to come to the surface. Many will see 'Henry' and be disgusted, regard it as trash cinema. And certainly it is not a redeeming feature. But it is genious in the way it portrays the great American enigma of the serial killer for what it is and not what the movies have made it out to be.
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