HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER

Henry is a mad killer who kills in cold blood, striking at random whoever gets in his way. He lives with a friend, Otis, who sometimes helps him in his crimes, but when Otis' sister arrives at their home things change: Henry seems to fall in love with the young woman and when he catches Otis trying to rape her, he kills his friend. Henry and the girl flee together in the car after the murder but old habits die hard… “Henry”, played by an excellent Michael Rooker, brings to mind Lustig’s “Maniac” especially for the realism of the shots, although, to be honest, McNaughton’s film manages to be extremely violent and disturbing without explicit images of blood (a bit like what happens in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”). The film aims to describe the horrible, crazy, and deviant (but still understandable) everyday universe of a mad killer who, in everyday life, appears to be a “normal” man. It is not a light film (the pace is rather slow), nor is it easy, but it is certainly worth appreciating.