Response
Henry turned a profit, making over $600,000 during its initial 1989 theatrical run. The film has a 'Fresh' certification from Rotten Tomatoes with an approval rating of 88% based on 42 reviews. Rooker's performance received generally high marks.
Critics who liked the film tended to focus on the sense of newness it brought to the saturated horror genre. Roger Ebert, for example, called Henry "a very good film," a "low-budget tour de force," and wrote that the film attempts to deal "honestly with its subject matter, instead of trying to sugar-coat violence as most 'slasher' films do." Elliott Stein of The Village Voice called it "the best film of the year...recalls the best work of Cassavetes." Siskel & Ebert called it "a powerful and important film, brilliantly acted and directed." Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune said it was "one of the ten best films of the year...combines Fritz Lang's sense of predetermination with the freshness of John Cassavetes."
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains (2003):
- Henry - Nominated Villain
Read more about this topic: Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer
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“It does me good to write a letter which is not a response to a demand, a gratuitous letter, so to speak, which has accumulated in me like the waters of a reservoir.”
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