Henry likes to kill people, in different ways each time. Henry shares an apartment with Otis. When Otis' sister comes to stay, we see both sides of Henry: "the guy next door" and the serial killer.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is as fine a film as it is a brutally disturbing one.
– Sheila Benson,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Aug 2013
rotten:
Sure, it's compelling; the nature of the material guarantees that. But it doesn't seem to be telling us much more than that the world is a scary place and murder is ugly. We knew those things. This is tabloid chic.
– Terrence Rafferty,
New Yorker,
12 Aug 2013
fresh:
The difference between John McNaughton's incredibly chilling film and the usual serving of screen carnage is the difference between the mind of a murderer and the cynical and manipulative depiction of mindless murder.
– Desmond Ryan,
Philadelphia Inquirer,
12 Aug 2013
fresh:
The film is an honest and disturbing attempt to come to grips with the sort of modern horror that we must -- more urgently every day -- try to understand.
– Jay Boyar,
Orlando Sentinel,
12 Aug 2013
fresh:
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.