Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer - Plot

Plot

The film opens with a shot of a naked woman, lying dead in a field. We are then introduced to Henry (Michael Rooker), who is going about his business. Interspersed with this are shots of other murder victims.

Next, Otis (Tom Towles), a prison friend of Henry, picks up his sister Becky (Tracy Arnold), who left her husband, at the Chicago airport. Otis brings Becky back to the apartment he shares with Henry. Later that night, as Henry and Becky play cards, Becky asks Henry about the murder of his mother, the crime that landed him in prison. He tells her he stabbed his mother (he later claims he shot her) because she abused and humiliated him as a child. Becky, for her part, reveals that her father molested her as a teenager.

The next day, Becky gets a job in a hair salon. That evening, Henry kills two prostitutes with Otis witnessing. It becomes clear that Otis, although shocked, feels no remorse. He does, however, worry that the police might catch them. Henry assures him that everything will work out. Back at the apartment, Henry points out that if you've killed once, any time you kill again, it always feels the same, and he explains his philosophy that the world they live in it is “them or us.”

Henry and Otis go on a series of killings across Chicago together, killing a fence (Ray Atherton) and stealing a video camera and a top-of-the-line television in the process. The duo later on kill a random victim in Lower Wacker Drive, where Otis shoots a man who is tricked into pulling over. Henry begins to teach Otis more about being a serial killer. He explains that every murder should have a different modus operandi so the police won’t connect the different murders to one killer. He also explains that it’s important never to stay in the same place for too long; that way, by the time police know they’re looking for a serial killer, they can be long gone. Henry also tells Otis that he will have to leave Chicago soon, feeling the police will eventually be able to track him down. Henry and Otis then slaughter an entire family, recording the whole incident on their newly acquired video camera, and then watch it at their apartment for entertainment.

Soon thereafter, Becky quits her job so she can return home to her daughter. Meanwhile, Otis and Henry get into an argument after their camera gets destroyed while driving. Otis gets out of the car and goes for a drink, while Henry returns to the apartment. Becky tells Henry her plans, and they decide to go out for a steak dinner. Later at home, she tries to seduce him, but he is unreceptive to her advances. A drunk Otis enters and asks if he's interrupting anything. Embarrassed, Henry leaves to buy cigarettes. He returns to find Otis strangling Becky after raping her. Henry kicks Otis off her and a fight ensues. Otis gets the upper hand and smashes a beer bottle onto Henry's face. Otis is about to kill Henry when Becky stabs Otis in the eye with the handle of a metal comb. Henry stabs Otis to death and dismembers his body in the bathtub, telling Becky that calling the police would be a mistake, and that they need to deal with the situation themselves.

After packing, they dump Otis' body parts in a river and leave town. Henry suggests that they go to his sister's ranch in San Bernardino, California, promising Becky they will send for her daughter when they arrive. In the car, Becky confesses that she loves Henry. "I guess I love you too," Henry replies, unemotionally. They book into a motel for the night. The next morning, Henry leaves the motel alone, gets into the car and drives away. He stops at the side of the road to dump a suitcase in a ditch before driving off again. Blood stains are shown on the suitcase as the camera zooms in, implying that Becky was killed by Henry and that her body parts were placed into the suitcase.