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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) r
Becky is on the run from her violent husband. She goes to live with her brother Otis, an ex-con on parole, in Chicago. The third person sharing the apartment is Henry, another ex-con whom Otis befriended in prison. Becky finds the shy Henry charming while Henry himself is introducing Otis to his favorite hobby, murdering random people.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is gritty and brutal movie. It's not a slasher per se but still the first comparison that comes to mind is Maniac (for some reason I'm also thinking Haneke but I could be wrong as I haven't seen his films in over a decade and never really liked them); both films share the same downbeat feel of broken people lost in the crumbling concrete hell and also the same grainy looks of the urban wasteland.
Unlike slashers Henry is more interested in its characters than actual murders (there's some violence here and it's nasty too even though we're actually shown very little). Writing is mostly fine but the first proper discussion with Becky and Henry feels forced and very clumsy way to jump-start their relationship. The film also skips completely the reasoning why Henry involves Otis in his crimes (while somewhat simple Henry also seems very careful and Otis' behavior is careless). Other than that the triangle works pretty well.
Henry doesn't seem to have any clear motive for his murders. In a sense this is a flaw but I suppose the idea is that killing itself is his motive; I find this little boring and easy solution (it's plausible, sure, but I'd say that majority of serial killers have little more complicated motives). I'd wish someone would make a proper film about Peter Kürten.
Little light on story and characters Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is still good serial killer movie. It manages its budget restraints extremely well and all leads give good performances. Soundtrack is pretty nice as well.
Becky is on the run from her violent husband. She goes to live with her brother Otis, an ex-con on parole, in Chicago. The third person sharing the apartment is Henry, another ex-con whom Otis befriended in prison. Becky finds the shy Henry charming while Henry himself is introducing Otis to his favorite hobby, murdering random people.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is gritty and brutal movie. It's not a slasher per se but still the first comparison that comes to mind is Maniac (for some reason I'm also thinking Haneke but I could be wrong as I haven't seen his films in over a decade and never really liked them); both films share the same downbeat feel of broken people lost in the crumbling concrete hell and also the same grainy looks of the urban wasteland.
Unlike slashers Henry is more interested in its characters than actual murders (there's some violence here and it's nasty too even though we're actually shown very little). Writing is mostly fine but the first proper discussion with Becky and Henry feels forced and very clumsy way to jump-start their relationship. The film also skips completely the reasoning why Henry involves Otis in his crimes (while somewhat simple Henry also seems very careful and Otis' behavior is careless). Other than that the triangle works pretty well.
Henry doesn't seem to have any clear motive for his murders. In a sense this is a flaw but I suppose the idea is that killing itself is his motive; I find this little boring and easy solution (it's plausible, sure, but I'd say that majority of serial killers have little more complicated motives). I'd wish someone would make a proper film about Peter Kürten.
Little light on story and characters Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is still good serial killer movie. It manages its budget restraints extremely well and all leads give good performances. Soundtrack is pretty nice as well.