I was completely blown away by this film and have no idea why it's not more popular. The acting is amazing, the script is fantastic, and it's wonderfully directed. There are scenes in this film that will stay with me forever because they feel so real.

An utterly discomforting journey into the mind of a sadist, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is exactly what its subtitle suggests. Brutal, disturbing & absolutely uncompromising with its content, Henry is unsettling from the very first frame but what really separates it from other examples of its genre is its stringent focus on telling the story from the killer's perspective.Loosely based on real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, Henry covers the crime spree of its titular character who goes around randomly killing people without any remorse or empathy. The plot mainly focuses on his stay in Chicago where he lives with Otis, a drug dealer he befriended in prison, and the inner turmoil he undergoes when the latter's sister comes to stay with them.Co-written & directed by John McNaughton, Henry establishes an uneasy tone within the first few minutes in which we see this sociopath driving around the town but interspersed within that segment are snippets of the brutality he leaves behind on every corner. Most of Henry's murders take place off the screen and yet its effect is deeply felt, which can be attributed to the film's clever use of sound effects.The film is truly an unhinged view of a mind filled with reckless hate but it is also extremely honest in illustrating the root cause of Henry's evilness, his philosophy of life & the ruthless but calculated nature of his crimes. Shot on a shoestring budget, the movie makes use of real locations & settings that gives its story an added sense of realism, which in turn ends up making the experience all the more horrifying.Despite the low budget, the technical aspects are no slouch here for the film creatively uses its limited resources to full potential and all of it works in harmony to serve its story as well as characters, whether it's the bleak shots of Chicago streets, the stark arrangement of few scenes juxtaposed together, the pace at which its plot unfolds, the brilliant use of sound & music to further amplify its ominous vibe, and keeping it as true to real life as possible.Coming to the performances, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer features a committed cast in Michael Rooker, Tom Towles & Tracy Arnold, with all three of them doing an excellent job in their given roles. Rooker is obviously the show-stealer here for his rendition of Henry is very chilling, effective & exquisitely balanced. Towles begins his act as if his character is dim but as the plot progresses, he adopts a highly repulsive persona that's destined to shock many, and even Arnold does well with what she's given.On an overall scale, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer isn't a film for everyone. It's an absolute horror show that takes a no-holds-barred approach with its content, swims against the tide of its time by discarding a moral conclusion, is bolstered by three convincing performances, utilises its available resources amazingly well, and despite lacking the graphic depiction of murders, barring one family massacre sequence, can leave its viewers emotionally scarred. A low-budget classic that shows that people in real life are capable of inflicting more horror than any monster on film, Henry is definitely worth a shot.

Although there is an unsettling tone and plenty of disturbing themes and imagery throughout, the last 30 minutes of the film is when things get REALLY out of control. The climax of this film is, without a doubt, one of the most horrifying film sequences that I've ever seen. It is a dark, sickening adult drama.Michael Rooker plays Henry, a man with a horrible past who now has turned to violence. At times, he's almost the hero of the film, especially during the horribly demented finale. However, he isn't portrayed as a saint or anything.The controversy that the film has caused is somewhat understandable. Although it isn't really as extreme as other films that have come out over the years (ex: "Salo", "A Serbian Film", and "Funny Games"), it certainly contains a lot of very disturbing themes. There's murder, incest, rape, etc. Yeah, its certainly a fun movie to watch with Grandma!The film has a very realistic feel to it, compared to other horror films, although some of the sound effects were a little comical to me. I know this sounds nit-picky, but some of the sound effects just took away from the very realistic tone that the film creates.Recommended to watch with the kids.

The scariest part of this movie is that Henry and Otis , our main characters, were the real life serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis O'Toole.I loved this film! Michael Rooker reminded me of Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. Each character does a fantastic job at being both normal and creepy, especially Rooker. The movie told the story well, although I wished they would have spent more time on Henry and Becky. In real life their relationship was quite complicated. Since real life Henry was a pathological liar, we don't know how many people he really killed but the movie doesn't make it about numbers yet shows how brutal he really was.Awesome movie.. it's going on my favorite's list!