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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Play trailer Poster for Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer 1986 1h 23m Crime Drama Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
89% Tomatometer 66 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Henry (Michael Rooker) is released from prison following his mother's murder. He supplements his job as an exterminator with a series of indiscriminate and violent murders. Fellow jailbird and drug dealer Otis (Tom Towles) becomes a willing accomplice in Henry's bloody killings. But as the depravity escalates and Henry forms a bond with Otis' sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold), things start to get out of hand. The film is based on the true-life story of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.
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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

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Critics Consensus

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is an effective, chilling profile of a killer that is sure to shock and disturb.

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Critics Reviews

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Nigel Andrews Financial Times Feb 28, 2023
The film's artful gaucheness saves it from prurience and gives the story its ghastly sense of godlessness. Yet beneath the non-interventionist style there is a wealth of symbolic or motivic detail. Go to Full Review Richard Corliss TIME Magazine Apr 21, 2020
[Director John McNaughton] shows few of Henry's dozen or so crimes. Instead he reveals the victims, at the scenes of their deaths, in slow zoom shots accompanied by elegiac music. He is a coroner with a touch of the poet. Go to Full Review John Hartl Seattle Times Sep 16, 2014
3.5/4
In a world in which eight nearly identical Friday the 13th movies offer the adventures of Jason the ax-murderer as entertainment for teen-agers, maybe we do need this sobering alternative. Go to Full Review Bryce Hanson Horror Movie Talk Sep 18, 2025
10/10
It’s a film that sticks with you and makes you feel dirty just watching it. This is because unlike most narrative driven Hollywood movies, this one has no glamour or spin. It is full of dread and terror even in scenes that on the surface are innocuous. Go to Full Review Patrick Cavanaugh The Wolfman Cometh Sep 15, 2025
3/5
Effective in how miserable the whole affair is, it's hard to say this movie is at all enjoyable to watch. Go to Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Nov 16, 2022
Henry is extraordinarily perturbing, but it is also a notable cinematographic work. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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J H @UpstateNYThriller Sep 1, 2026 8/10 Creepy mid 80sserial killer movie Chicago Dale from Walking Dead is the lead. It was the 80s so getting away with murder was possible. See more Empty D. @EmptyDaily Jun 5, 2026 I really don’t know what to make of this movie. One thing I’ll say is it is crazy dark. It’s like removing any of the “charm” from American Psycho dark. I literally double checked that my doors and windows were locked. See more Steven F. @SteveGotScored Feb 28, 2026 Extremely brutal and thought provoking! See more pepsita T @pepsita Jan 24, 2026 Brutal. Sometimes. Really well-written. See more Gi S @Gistevenn Jan 8, 2026 Creepy as hell but well made. I was all ready to give it 3 1\2* right up until the end scene, i hate a movie that lets the bad guy get away with murder. See more Dustin S. @DustyTheCryptKeeper357 Nov 5, 2025 A truly magnificent performance by the ever amazing, Michael Rooker. For a first film performance, Rooker is beyond any describable te that exceeds the phrase: Tour de force, in this gritty character study of a truly disturbed mind. This movie is one of the two inspirations besides taxi driver that was used to create one of my own screenplays about a psychopathic serial, but with a conscience. A must see if you haven’t already. See more Read all reviews
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

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Cast & Crew

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John McNaughton

Director

Michael Rooker

Henry

Tracy Arnold

Becky

Tom Towles

Otis

Anne Bartoletti

Waitress

Mary Demas

Dead Woman

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Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Henry (Michael Rooker) is released from prison following his mother's murder. He supplements his job as an exterminator with a series of indiscriminate and violent murders. Fellow jailbird and drug dealer Otis (Tom Towles) becomes a willing accomplice in Henry's bloody killings. But as the depravity escalates and Henry forms a bond with Otis' sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold), things start to get out of hand. The film is based on the true-life story of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.
Director
John McNaughton
Producer
Lisa Dedmond, Steven A. Jones, John McNaughton
Screenwriter
Richard Fire, John McNaughton
Production Co
Maljack Productions
Genre
Crime, Drama, Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 6, 2016
Runtime
1h 23m
Aspect Ratio
Academy (1.33:1)
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