Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Henry is a psychopathic drifter whose history hints at a long pattern of brutality. The story notes that he killed his own mother, a crime that lands him in prison and establishes the type of violence he will repeat across America.

Henry migrates to Chicago and stops at a diner to eat. He quickly escalates to murder, killing the elderly liquor-store proprietors and several women. This brutal spree establishes his indiscriminate violence and sets the tone for the film.

Otis picks up Becky at O'Hare and brings her to the apartment where Henry lives. Becky questions Henry about his mother's murder, and he confesses stabbing her, revealing a coy mix of truth and self-justification. Becky then reveals her own history of sexual abuse by her father. Henry forms a protective bond with Becky, while Otis makes an unwanted pass and Henry violently warns him off.

Becky takes a job at a local salon. That night, Henry and Otis lure two prostitutes and murder them by breaking their necks. The killings show the duo's growing confidence and Henry's insistence that murder can be a shared philosophy.

Otis vents his frustration by destroying an old TV. The men confront a rude fence owner, and Henry stabs him with a soldering iron while Otis chokes him with a cord, then Henry smashes a TV onto the man’s head. They steal a high-end TV and a camcorder and return home undetected.

Otis is punched by a teenage boy when he tries to assault him, and Henry talks him down to avoid drawing police attention. Bolstered by their previous murders, the pair embark on a broader spree, planning kills to misdirect investigators, including a trap for drivers on Lower Wacker Drive and varying their methods so no single killer can be linked to all crimes.

The two watch a recording of a home invasion in which they murdered a suburban family, a moment that reveals Otis's growing cruelty as he begins to molest the mother's corpse until Henry objects. The scene underscores the escalating depravity of their crimes.

Becky quits her job to return home to her daughter after learning her ex-husband has been jailed for murder. Otis and Henry argue after their camera is destroyed while Otis films pedestrians, heightening the strain between them.

Becky and Henry go out for a steak dinner, and Becky attempts to seduce him, but they are interrupted by Otis. Henry leaves to buy cigarettes and later encounters a woman walking her dog, briefly tempted to murder her but restrains himself.

When Otis attempts to rape and strangle Becky, Henry fights him. Otis gains the upper hand, but Becky stabs Otis in the eye with a comb. Henry then overpowers Otis and brutally dismembers him in the bathtub.

Becky and Henry dump Otis's body parts into the river and leave town, planning to head to a ranch in San Bernardino, California. Becky tells Henry she loves him, and he replies with a guarded acknowledgment, deepening the unsettling bond between them.

They book a motel room for the night, and in the morning Henry leaves Becky behind, driving away after dumping Becky's blood-stained suitcase in a ditch. The act leaves Becky presumed dead or abandoned as he continues alone down the road.