There have been few movies over the past few decades as straight-up disturbing as “Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer.” The title pretty much says it all about John McNaughton‘s 1986 film, which wasn’t even originally planned to get a theatrical release, but film festival screenings and support from film critics like Roger Ebert managed to get it a limited run, even as the MPAA stamped the picture with an X rating, and told the filmmakers there would be no acceptable edit that would get them down to an R. Yep, it’s graphic, grim, but also a cult classic, and it’s returning to the big screen, newly stored, for its 30th anniversary.
Starring Michael Rooker in the lead role, the movie follows a drifter who kills without mercy or seemingly any kind of guiding principle, making his actions all the more horrific. Here’s the official synopsis:
HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER is a chilling profile of a cold-blooded killer that, 30 years after its historic festival premiere, has lost none of its power to shock. The film, loosely based on a true story, has been hailed as one of the most disturbing and terrifying examinations of mass murderers ever filmed. Henry (Michael Rooker, The Walking Dead) is a psychopathic drifter who has coldly murdered a number of people for no particular reason and without any remorse. Leaving bodies in his wake, Henry makes his way to Chicago, where his he settles into the run-down apartment of his drug-dealing former prison friend and occasional roommate Otis (Tom Towles).
Also moving into the space is Otis’s younger sister Becky (Tracy Arnold), who is fleeing her abusive husband. As she fends off her brother’s incestuous advances, Becky finds herself attracted to Henry – unaware that he, along with Otis, are continuing their murderous rampage.
“Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer” opens in New York on October 21st, and in Los Angeles on October 28th, will expand to more cities.
