20 Greatest Horror Movies Of The 80s
5. Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer
Of all the sub genres of horror out there, serial killer movies often hit the audience the hardest. Monsters and demons might lurk in the dark recesses of our imagination, but serial killers prowl the real world, and their stories reveal just how close to pure horror reality can become.
One of the best serial killer movies of the 1980s is also one of the greatest of all time. Loosely based on murderers Henry Lee Lucas and Otis Toole, John McNaughton's Henry: Portrait Of A Serial killer is a gritty and uncomfortable watch featuring a mesmerising performance from Michael Rooker in the title role. McNoughton may have brought the dirty visual aesthetics to the table but it's Rooker's star-making turn which grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go.
Perhaps only Snowtown (also known as The Snowtown Murders) comes close to matching Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer for intensity, which is fully deserving of comparisons to the work of filmmakers such as Fritz Lang and John Cassavetes.