Henry : Portrait Of A serial Killer (1986)

I was excited when the video store I rented from in the mid-90s had an "unrated" VHS copy of this on their shelf. After I took it home and watched it, I found out that someone had cut the family scene out and sloppily spliced the tape. I never knew if it was the store or of someone had taken it upon themselves to do the edit.

It wasn't until the 30th Anniversary Blu-ray that I finally saw the unedited film.

 

A not-too-unrelated story...
I had borrowed a movie from the library called 'Savage Messiah' , one of those based-on-the-truth deals, which was about a religious Canadian cult. It had a couple of sexual scenes in it but nothing gratuitous and a bit of violence but nothing over the top.
A couple of years later I felt like watching it again and went to get it at the library only to be told by the clerk that "someone" had complained about the movie and it was withdrawn from circulation.

 

Wasn't the original film transferred to video and THEN edited? It's been decades since I've seen it, but I remember it feeling like the Manson Family Afterschool Special when I saw video fades to black rather than film.

Dan

 

"Let's watch it again"

 

Never heard of this movie. Will have to check it out.

Never heard of Michael Rooker till Days of Thunder came out.

 

That scene indicates that the people who made the film were potentially dangerous!

 

True. I have seen a lot of horror movies, but nothing like that...

 

It was the context and realness of the situation that startled me.. I can handle blood and guts but when that boy gets it ( don't wanna spoil it for anyone), well that just made me sick.

 

I bought the DVD in the UK while I was there as it wasn't available in Australia. I watched it once then sold it on. I do enjoy the acting talents of Michael Rooker more than the character he was playing - I'm very glad his career has had a boost in recent years.

 

At least according to the Wikipedia entry:

After filming was finished, there was so little money left that the film had to be edited on a rented 16 mm flatbed which was set up in editor Elena Maganini's living room.

 

A friend who was also into such things and did the media buying for a Youngstown, OH-based chain ("Phar-Mor's power buying brings you far more buying power") gave me a t-shirt some distributor had given him promoting HPSK. Needing something black to wear under my work shirt one day, editing greeting cards, I threw on Henry, expecting it wouldn't be noticed. During the day I visited a fellow editor's cubicle, where she was talking to another friend, the guy who serviced our vending machines and a part-time clown and magician for kids' parties; interesting guy. He was telling her about this movie he had seen the night before, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, and I, amazed, pulled up my dress shirt and said, "You mean this Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer?" Without blinking, Ron said "Yeah, that Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer," and went on with his story.

A lesson in cool for us all.

 

While it is a good movie-to think that Ebert gave a thumbs down to “the Thing” and a thumbs up for this is still bizarre to me.

 

Certanly on my top ten list of horror flicks.

Henry's disarming tone is made by the budget of the film. Sometimes less cash can feel far more real?

And this is a film made for those of us who put little stock in supernatural horror as a means to actual scares.

It's perfectly terrifying...