![]() ![]() With that in mind, Dark Sky does a wonderful job with this release. It's a dirty, dingy piece of cinema that's meant to look that way. But Henry is not a film designed to be viewed under the best of conditions. The film exhibits a fine haze of natural grain, but several dust specks and scratches appear throughout, though they appear to be permanent scars, which could only be removed during a much more in-depth, and costly, restoration. Encode flaws and compression grain from the last DVD are totally absent here. That said, the disc's higher bitrate does deliver a much cleaner presentation. The film was shot on 16mm and thus, this remastered transfer doesn't yield much depth or detail and serves as only a slight technical improvement over the previous DVD. Score: 9 out of 10 Video and Presentation Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is presented in 1.33:1 widescreen, matted onto a 1.78:1 frame using the VC-1 codec on a single-layered BD25 disc consuming 22.3 gigs of disc space. And because of this, the film will continue to shock and surprise fans and newcomers for decades to come. We could peel back the layers all we want, but Henry's behavior, and his actions, will make very little sense. ![]() Without a narration driving the character, Henry becomes a terrifying ghost – a man we will never likely understand. While Dexter is probably the better of the two serial killer examinations, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer stills holds quite a bit of value. Even though it's somewhat droll, the film's score, from a myriad of composers, adds much intensity to the narrative. McNaughton's direction is stylish, when the limited $100,000 budget allows, but some spots come off amateurish. The editing, from Elena Maganini, is incredibly sharp, giving the film a distinct punch and a dark tone that never runs out of steam, even during the dullest of character moments. But Arnold pales in comparison to Towles and Rooker and ultimately brings out the worst of this low-budget production. In some ways, it helps to create tension between her and Henry, and it links her to her battered past. Tracy Arnold is the only wink link here, delivering dialogue that lacks confidence. While Towles does get the more two-dimensional character, he gives the plot a crooked leg to stand on – a leg we know will not take the tension of Henry's secret passion for blood. Tom Towles is equally compelling as Otis, a repugnant, drunk drug dealer with crooked teeth and a face that looks as though mold is growing on it. His quirks and odd ticks (like his inability to hear what someone is saying) make Henry feel all the more real, yet less human than most. Here, the film is diabolically driven by Michael Rooker, who embodies the fractured, disconnected personality of Henry. While the story in the film is severely altered from the real life tale, strong shades of Lee Lucas' haunting persona are found throughout, peppered onto Henry and Otis – who was also a real person, though vastly different in reality. Henry, for those unaware, is loosely based on a real life serial killer named Henry Lee Lucas, who stalked the streets from 1975 to 1983, killing anywhere between 50 and 100 people (upwards of 600 if you believe his confessions). It's an unbiased, non-glamorous examination of Henry – a week-long peek into the life of deadly sociopath. And since its release (the film was released in 1990, but finished in 1986), director John McNaughton's fascinating film has served as the template for just about every serial killer drama out there. In many ways, the two characters are not that different, only separated by circumstance and a code. It's not hard to see the shades of Showtime's popular series within the context and framework of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. He's not sure how a human should react to such things. Also gumming up the works is Otis' sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold), who's become quite smitten with Henry. But Henry fears that Otis may be taking his crimes too far, which draws out hostility in the both of them. Together, the two rampage through the streets of Chicago, murdering anyone who bothers them or anyone who gets in their way. Otis is initially sickened by the thought of murder, but soon his taste for blood gets the best of him. Henry's life is fairly secure until he slips up and kills a prostitute with his roommate, Otis (Tom Towles). ![]()
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