This Day in Horror: HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER Premiered
Premiering theatrically today in 1990: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
A roughly fictionalized telling of the killing spree of Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer was shot on 16mm in 1985, over the course of one month. Director John McNaughton had originally been hired to put together a wrestling documentary, but when that fell through, he used the budget to shoot a horror film. The budget was $110,000.
Because the budget was so small, many of the extras and smaller roles were filled by friends and family. Michael Rooker, who played Henry, remained in character for the entire shoot, even off-screen. Because of this, when his wife found out she was pregnant, she waited until filming wrapped before telling Rooker.
The first time the film was shown publicly was at the 1986 Chicago International Film Festival. Producers had a hard time finding distribution because of a fear of lawsuits from Henry Lee Lucas (since production didn’t change names) and because of the graphic violence and situations. Several distributors showed an interest in releasing the film, but only if it could be guaranteed an R-rating from the MPAA. The MPAA not only rated the film X, they told the producers that no amount of cuts or edits would have swayed their decision, meaning they found the entire plot objectionable. Henry, along with Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover were the three films that instigated the NC-17 rating.
The film received a limited release in 1990 in an uncut, unrated version.
Categorized:News This Day in Horror
