10 Horror Movies That Missed Out The Money Shot

8. Henry Reverts To Type - Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer

Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer
Greycat Films

With Michael Rooker as the titular murderer, 1986's Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer centres on a vile figure loosely based on the real-life Henry Lee Lucas.

Throughout the first half of this John McNaughton picture, Henry and pal Otis are shown to be utterly hideous creatures who brutalise men, women and children at random and merely for their own amusement. Then, unexpectedly, the audience gets the first hints that maybe Henry has a softer side, with Otis' sister Becky slowly but surely starting to get the rogue to drop his sinister guard.

With a bond blossoming between Henry and Becky, Rooker's character comes to the defence of her when she finds herself in trouble. Being the twisted movie that Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is, that trouble means the sexual assault of Becky... and that defence means Henry murdering Otis for this act.

After dumping Otis' body, Henry and Becky shack up in a motel, profess their undying love for one another, and you start to think Henry really has changed his spots. Instead, the gut punch final shot of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is Henry throwing a blood-stained suitcase out of his car - with the insinuation that Becky's corpse is inside.

While that ending does work, it feels as if Portrait of a Serial Killer left a little on the table by not showing the money shot of Henry reverting to type and doing what he chillingly does best.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.