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Released by: Dark Sky Films
Released on: September 26, 2006
Director: Chuck Parello
Cast: Neil Giuntoli, Rich Komenich, Kate Walsh, Carri Levinson, Daniel Aller
Year: 1998
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The Film:
Henry 2 has a bad reputation amongst genre fans. Following up one of the most intense serial killer films ever made would not be an easy task, especially when one takes into account that the ending of the first movie didn't really require any more follow through. Making things even more difficult was the fact that Michael Rooker, who so perfectly embodied the titular maniac, was not returning to the role for which he remains famous to this day. That being said, it's not as bad as many would have you believe, and in fact, a few stand out moments make this one worth a watch even if it will never achieve the classic status of John McNaughton's low budget 16mm masterpiece.
After the events portrayed in the first film, Henry (Neil Giuntoli) is wasting away his days living in a shelter for homeless men. He finally finds work with a portable toilet company and things start to look up for him once he's got a steady income again. It's at this job that Henry meets Kai (Rich Komenich) and the two hit it off fairly quickly. Kai offers him a place to stay in his spare room and soon Henry is hanging out with not only Kai but with his wife Cricket (Kate Walsh) and his daughter Louisa (Carri Levinson) as well - you'd think, if you've seen the first movie, that this would be a recipe for disaster.
Henry makes the most out of this second chance he's been given. He's a polite house guest and he carries his own weight but as we know, all good things must come to an end and when Kai reveals a skeleton out of his own closet to Henry, old habits prove to die hard. Soon Henry and Kai are burning down old buildings so that Kai can get some of the insurance money and this is just the icing on the cake. Henry starts to get into things a little too much and when they find some bums squatting in one of the buildings they are to torch, he shows Kai his true nature which Kai is soon drawn towards and they start playing off of each others' dark sides until a trail of bodies is left in their wake.
If the plot sounds uncannily similar to that of the first film, there's a good reason for that - this is as much a remake as it is a sequel and it follows pretty much the same structure with Kai standing in for Otis. The problem is that this lack of originality in the premise of the film is coupled with a few scenes that are just too unrealistic to work and as such this sequel doesn't have the same sort of impact as its predecessor.
That being said, writer/director Chuck Parello has crafted a decent horror movie in that there are some very suspenseful scenes and a few good kill sequences. Once Kai and Henry get into the swing of things they kill with malicious glee and the build up to what we know is coming, when we see Henry hanging out with Kai's wife and kid and know what lurks inside him, is handled really well in that it plays with our expectations a little bit.
The performances are fine, but again, they're not on the same level as the first movie (comparisons are naturally going to be inevitable). Unfortunately, even if Neil Giuntoli does do a fine job with the acting in the movie, he doesn't have quite the same screen presence as Rooker and he's just not as physically intimidating or flat out scary looking as the original Henry was. The cinematography is nice and seeing as this second film was shot on 35mm it has a very polished look that contrasts nicely with the grimey settings and ugly murders that populate the last half of the film.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Dark Sky Films gives Henry 2 a very nice 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that does justice to the framing and compositions and that presents the film in very nice shape indeed. Color reproduction is strong, black levels stay consistent and deep, and there's a nice level of both foreground and background detail present in the image. There is some aliasing and some edge enhancement in a few spots but it isn't overpowering and for the most part the picture stays sharp, clean, and clear. Some mild to moderate film grain and some print damage in the form of the odd speck here and there creep up, but again, it's never a problem, just part and parcel for older genre films most of the time. Henry 2 looks really good and those disappointed by the previous fullframe release from MPI should be happy to see the movie in its original aspect ratio and in such fine quality.
There are two audio tracks present on this DVD - a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mixe and a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix, both in English. The 5.1mix is the way to go as it provides plenty of atmospheric directional effects during key scenes and mixes in the background music and sound effects nicely against the dialogue which remains easy to understand and very clear throughout. There are no problems with hiss or distortion and this is a very satisfactory mix.
Chuck Parello provides a decent commentary track in which he explains the history of the film and what it was like making a sequel to one of the most notorious films of the decade. There are a few fun war stories in here about working with the cast and crew and some of the location shooting that was used for the movie. Parello comes across as a rather likeable guy, he's got a good sense of humor and is very down to Earth in his discussion, never getting too high brow and acknowledging the movie for what it is. At times he does get a little self indulgent but it's easily forgiven as when he stays on track he proves to be quite interesting to listen to.
Dark Sky has also included a documentary entitled H2: The Making Of A Madman wherein we learn quite a few details about the history of the production and in which we get to check out some behind the scenes footage and clips from the film and some interviews with the cast and crew members.
Rounding out the extra features are a series of deleted scenes that were likely trimmed for pacing reasons (they don't add much and wouldn't have really affected the movie one way or the other had they been included), a couple of trailers, and a nice still gallery of promotional material relating to the movie.
The Final Word:
Not nearly as good as the movie it follows, Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer 2 is never the less an entertaining movie with a few decent kill scenes and a couple of moments of very tense atmosphere. Dark Sky's DVD looks and sounds great and contains some welcome and interesting extra features as well.