Arrow 4K Ultra HD Film Review

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) • Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD [Arrow Video]

Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.

John McNaughton started as a delivery many for a business renting video equipment, who was then hired by his bosses, brothers Malik B. Ali and Waleed B. Ali. to direct a documentary about arms dealing. His resulting low-budget film, Dealers in Death (1984), was received well by critics, so the Ali’s asked McNaughton to make another film about the 1950s Chicago wrestling scene. A modest budget of $110,00 was agreed, but after the owner of a collection of vintage wrestling tapes doubled his asking price, the project was cancelled and the money instead used to make a horror film…

The 1980s was a boom time for horror, helped by the new home video market making films more accessible and catering for more niche tastes, so McNaughton decided to make a fictionalised version of real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas’s life after seeing an…