Day 81: Henry- Portrait of a Serial Killer

This is a toughie, folks. It feels like a snuff film due to the tiny budget and realism of the action. Once you watch it, you will probably want to rinse your eyeballs in some comedy or something. As it stands, for a movie I've only seen once, it has stayed with me. A lot of these older movies I have to google to remind myself of the plot...not so much this one.

Michael Rooker (full disclosure: he bought my lunch one day) burst onto the movie scene with this relentlessly human depiction of a man capable of inhuman violence. Based on the real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, we follow Rooker and his partner, Otis (based on Otis Toole) as they roam the western states, terrorizing anyone they come into contact with. Whether it is rape, murder, rape then murder or the worst, murder then rape, these guys cover all the evil bases but you can't help see some good in Henry (not Otis, he is the broadest depiction of evil). Their shenanigans even lead to a scene that predates the found footage movement by showing their point of view as they torture and kill a family they have stumbled across. The only other real character in the movie is Otis's sister, Becky. She starts to get through Henry's sociopathic veneer but, can she show him the way to love in time to stop his murderous ways? Let's just say this is a grim movie.

So, if you are feeling bold and want to see some well performed horror, check this one out.