Henry - Portrait Of A Serial Killer - 30th Anniversary Edition

In 1986, the low-budget pictures known as "B movies" were taking on a new and more prestigious title: The independent film. Bolstered by the festivals, art house theaters and the film school generation, the constraints of Hollywood were starting to crumble. But it is ultimately the home video phenomenon that allowed for an X-rated, 16mm picture like "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" to enter into the consciousness of Middle America.

The one genre that could reliably make money in the home video market, even though it was made on the cheap with no-name actors and less than stellar artistic merits, was the slasher film. They were usually simple morality tales based in common urban legends. Most of the time, a faceless, motiveless killer would victimize teenagers whose sexual indiscretions put them in harm's way. But unlike urban legends, these films almost always had a supernatural element. Quite innocently, because the filmmakers had little to no experience making narrative movies, "Henry" turned all of these conventions on end.

"Henry" was inspired by a "60 Minutes" episode on the life of the notorious serial killer, Henry Lee Lucas and his accomplice Ottis Elwood Toole, the former having confessed to over 300 murders. First time feature director John McNaughton had an ignorance of "the rules," the ability to stay within a budget and an "exploitation film" sensibility. Writer Richard Fire had a theatre background and art house aspirations. Together they set out to create a slasher flick that had no redemptive story arc and no moral lessons, just a week in the life of a psychopathic drifter.

Small time drug dealer Otis (Tom Towles) doesn't realize that his ex-prison mate Henry (Michael Rooker) is a serial killer until the pusher's younger sister Becky (Tracy Arnold) moves in with them. But this doesn't bother the ex-con much; in fact, he learns that killing can be fun.

In part because she's fleeing an abusive marriage and staving off the incestuous advances of her brother, Becky develops a crush on Henry. He's not the classiest guy, but he's better than anything else she's got, and he just might be her ticket out. As legendary documentarian Errol Morris says in one of the brilliant special features on this disc, "[This is a] love story that's not going to have a happy ending."

There are over two hours of features on this Blu-ray: Director commentary, featurettes, interviews, deleted scenes, outtakes, stills, storyboards and an original trailer. The picture is a pristine new 4K scan of the 16mm original with a new 5.1 restoration mix. Even if the horror film isn't your thing, the many testimonials by critics, authors and filmmakers on this disc will cause you to think twice about the artistic merits of this "touchstone of transgressive cinema."

"Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"
Blu-ray
$29.98
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