The 80's were a boom time for horror. Creature and make-up effects were in their prime, great directors like Carpenter and Craven were pumping out some of their best stuff, and it was the age of the scream queen. Another thing that was different from today was that a lot of the movies were pretty goofy and much of the horror was based on things that we never thought could happen such as vampires, werewolves, and crazed hockey-mask clad killers that were more image than realism. Then came Henry and along with it a big dose of reality to give genre fans a big old kick in the ass.

Henry is a scary movie. Not so much in a 'boo' type way but more of a 'shit, this stuff really happens' way. Throughout this film I found myself watching the events unfolding on the screen and thinking a lot about the news headlines that I had barely noticed the day before. Now I have a context to put things in when I hear about a senseless murder in that I have witnessed how a cold and unfeeling killer would operate in the real world. To add to it, when I learned more about the brutality that the real-life Henry Lee Lucas inflicted on his victims, I see that the film only touched on what a psychopath is capable of.

Michael Rooker gives the performance of his career in the lead role of the killer. The first act of the film includes a number of slow lingering shots of Henry's leftovers in various states of undress. These unnerving shots along with the stark score set the tone of what is to come in the study of a short time in the life of a killer. The film does not exploit but rather follows the character around as he stalks one victim, kills another in a fit of rage, and eventually gets his unbalanced friend Otis (Tom Towles) involved in the action after killing a couple of hookers. The scenes where Otis and Henry kill as a tag team are the most disturbing as rather than going out for a night of drinking the two embark on a murder outing just for kicks. In perhaps the film's most infamous set piece, the two kill a family while videotaping their deeds in a scene that has been with me for 15 years as one of the more disturbing sequences in horror cinema. It is short and not terribly graphic but when we really think about what is happening, there is not much that is more disturbing.

Director John McNaughton plucked Michael Rooker out of obscurity and turned him into one of the silver screen's most terrifying characters. This was done with calculated restraint and it is this that makes the film such a revelation. Where other true crime films have skimped on the realism, this film takes it to another level in its simplicity playing out more like a documentary than a piece of narrative filmmaking. The relationship between Henry and Otis progresses to murder in the most subtle of ways as Henry realizes he has a partner in crime while at the same time Otis realizes he actually enjoys killing. Yet another level is added when Otis' sister Becky (Tracy Arnold) is introduced and begins to form a bond with Henry. There is a scene at the kitchen table where the two are talking about their childhoods that brings a new meaning to the word intense and brings a sort of twisted sympathy that we feel and Becky acts upon. The result of these relationships and the way that we see a sociopath react to them is what makes this movie so great.

The look of this film as I said before has a rawness to it that harkens back to 70's filmmaking and the minimalist music is noticeable only when it needs to be with drum beats pounding out the ferocity of what may or may not be in store. As far as gore went, this movie had it's moments but left more to the imagination and was presented in such a way that we felt like it showed more than it did. That is not to say that the film was not violent as Henry's actions pretty much define the word. I am amazed after revisiting this one that Rooker has not achieved more than buddy roles and cheesy villains. The guy is obviously capable of so much more. Tom Towles has had a similar career and has had notable parts in Rob Zombie's House Of 1,000 Corpses and Tom Savini's Night Of The Living Dead remake.

A number of scenes in this film will stay with you forever. You have been warned. (Josh Pasnak, 2/26/06)

Directed By: John McNaughton.
Written By: John McNaughton, Richard Fire.

Starring: Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, Tracy Arnold.