Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) – WTF Really Happened to This Horror Movie?

Fresh content is added to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel every day of the week, and we’re getting this week started with a new episode of the series WTF Really Happened to This Horror Movie? This episode digs into the true events that inspired the incredibly intense and unsettling film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (watch it HERE) – and you can find out all about it in the video embedded above!

WTF Really Happened to This Horror Movie? is sort of a spin-off from our show WTF Happened to This Horror Movie. WTF Really Happened to This Horror Movie? dives into movies that were based on or “inspired by” true stories, real people, and actual historical events so we can try to separate fact from fiction.

Directed by John McNaughton from a screenplay he wrote with Richard Fire, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer has the following synopsis:

Henry is released from prison following his mother’s murder. He supplements his job as an exterminator with a series of indiscriminate and violent murders. Fellow jailbird and drug dealer Otis becomes a willing accomplice in Henry’s bloody killings. But as the depravity escalates and Henry forms a bond with Otis’ sister, Becky, things start to get out of hand. The film is based on the true-life story of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas.

Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, and Tracy Arnold star.

This episode of WTF Really Happened to This Horror Movie was Written and Narrated by Andrew Hatfield, Edited by Mike Conway, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

The previous episodes of this series focused on Jaws, The Exorcist, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, The Sacrament, and The Conjuring 2, and you can watch a couple of them below. To check out the other shows we have on the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel, head over to the channel – and subscribe while you’re there!

What do you think of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer? Share your thoughts on this film by leaving a comment!