杀手的肖像

　　The real Henry Lee Lucas had one of the worst childhoods that I have ever had the misfortune of reading about. Growing up in Texas, he lived with a family that was totally dysfunctional. He grew up in a shack, that had nothing more than a dirt floor. The father being a legless alcoholic, literally as well as figuratively. The mother worked as a prostitute. Henry was also forced into sexual activity with her clients. They forced him to dress as a girl and then would proceed to have sex with him. He was a child that grew up being raped.


　　He then grew up with such an intense rage that he became a serial killer. Are we surprised? Now, I am not trying to justify his behaviour. Rather, I am pointing out the fact that these people do not just fall out of the sky. There is no such thing as an inexplicable evil. That is, the person is just evil because they are. Yes, there seems to be some genetic evidence for psychopaths. However the majority do not become killers. The ones who become killers are made. If you are truly interested in what makes a psychopath, I suggest you read, 'Not Guilty by reason of Insanity ' by Dorothy Otnow Lewis. Serial killers are often portrayed as being like Hannibal Lecter. Smart and talented creatures that have suddenly lost their moral code. The truth is most are a psychological mess. Losers that are full of conflicting emotions. There is also strong evidence to suggest that these people are made by a specific form of brain damage. Basically when you combine trauma in childhood and frontal lobe brain damage, you end up with Henry.


　　This movie is what happens when people are treated in an utterly horrific way. Michael Rooker is excellent as a psychopath who seems normal but deep down harbours a psychotic rage against society. He and Otis travel around killing. Why? Why not? The pointlessness of their lives is perfectly captured. People complain about the lack of plot. I think it perfectly captures the plot. It shows the emptiness of these characters. In fact Henry and Otis feel nothing unless they are killing. The emotional side of the characters has been like killed off by previous abuses against them. They are not unlike the living dead. Even when Otis's sister shows some affection towards Henry he cannot reciprocate. He can't relate to people, he can only get off on torture and death. Yeah, this is shocking. But it is also incredibly sad.


　　Here in New Zealand there are many shocking drunk driving ads that they play to try and get people to stop this behaviour. I feel that this movie is like that. The movie is an ad for psychopaths, who they are and the dysfunctional psychological world that they inhabit. It is a film that honestly looks at these kinds of people. This certainly does not glorify these people, which is a criticism that has been levelled at the 'Silence of the Lambs' series. This is why I think it shocks people. The serial killer kills for visceral, physical pleasure. As Ted Bundy stated, 'I killed because I wanted to.' Maybe, this is where the film falls down. That the characters motivations are not explained well enough. But either way the viewer is given a shockingly realistic interpretation of a serial killers world.


　　Obviously this is a film that was made on a budget! But this just adds to the bleakness. In fact Chicago looks dirty, grimy and not like somewhere that you would visit. The performances of the rest of the cast are pretty average if not bad. So the film has some definite flaws. The exploitation factor is there. But then I think of films like Baise Moi and this film has nothing on that!


　　Overall I think this is an objective look at a world that those of us who come from normal backgrounds will find horrific. A world that we prefer would never exist, but however does exist. Maybe one day, as our society matures these people will cease to exist. Stories like these will become completely fictional. I really hope for that day. 7 out of 10.

與「所射殺的鹿的血滴」相反之途，就是隨機殺手的永恆逃逸線。瀕死聲效的3D環繞，繼之以死者肖像的浮現，自持的犯罪錄影的二次曝光，殺手假面禮貌而自矜。

开头的音画平行蒙太奇传递的信息有效而精确：随机，熟练，冷血，没有目的，杀手的肖像由此缓缓浮现。节制的杀戮场景，出现在一种可以预感又不可预知的突发可能性之中，刻画出杀手无法自制的杀戮欲望。最后一个序列的剧情，杀手由保护者再次化身为本性中的施暴者，全片在一种无奈的绝望中结束。

其实这部电影没什么可说的，它有最充沛的情感和表达欲，甚至可以开始对这种对杀人狂的描述产生信服，而不是一些戏剧性的，做作的，娱乐的，影像游戏的，美国电影惯例式的杀人狂。

很不像美国片，不够精细，可以看出来成本很低，毕竟独立电影加处女作，结局的吉他没有和尸体一起丢弃，可能是被亨利留作纪念，表达他仅存的人性吧

“本年度十佳之一。混合了弗里茨朗的宿命感与卡索维奇的鲜活度。”、“低成本的杰作，一个病态男人的令人难忘的描绘。杀人在他看来不是犯罪，而仅仅是一种打发时间纾解烦闷的方式。”

4.5星！教科书级的犯罪片开场，镜头几乎没有正面给主角 人物的形象仅从短短的几个凶杀后的犯罪现场和日常生活的画面切换就被塑造完成了，而且不管是镜头的推拉还是融入的声音和配乐 气氛营造的都非常到位，极具震撼力，为影片后面整体的氛围与内容的展开都做足了铺垫。16毫米拍摄的影片整体带来了一种粗劣的写实的真实质感 还颇有新好莱坞的感觉，而犯罪的过程与周围的环境导演其实也在不停的做着对比，形成一种既冰冷又恐怖又像理所应当的日常生活的残酷现实感。

开头偏“犯罪心理”，中途“发条橙”，结尾你以为要“天生杀人狂”了，结果给你整一出“独行杀手”。理智、聪明、强壮、无情的杀手真可怕，还没有强迫症和躁郁症。

看完之后惊奇地发现，所有的情节都很符合黑色电影的风格。并且从正面和侧面都细致的描绘出了一个杀手的成长经历和内心活动，真的很应片名了。在Henry制止Otis的那一刻，我想导演赋予了杀手人性，让他有了爱情，而最后Henry杀掉爱人，又像他杀死普通人一样简单。也许爱和恨的界限本来就很模糊，对于杀手来说，杀死她也许是他爱人的方式。

@QuadCinema ；电影最为可怕的是用现实主义手法不断地、直接的展示形色的毫无人性的谋杀场面，其中一个关于杀手奇怪的悖论是：之所以成为连环杀手，必然有冷酷一面，不仅仅是针对非特定的谋杀，也包括“人性、善良的理性”唤醒后的冷静，所以才会有这样的结局，也是整个故事最黑暗的一刻。

在连环杀手的类型里，它有两点出色，第一是杀人画面后音轨的剪辑，第二是冷峻的态度。鉴于是处女座而且往后再无出色的作品，男主和女主的表演大概是中了彩票。

粗粝实则工巧，引诱观众设置对照而后层层瓦解，结尾进一步推翻成熟的理解而重击杀手非理性的封闭心灵。模式的通病还是前期不够晦涩，过饱的配乐和撞色也有点无当

什么瘠薄玩意，又一部高分难看的电影！可怜之人必有可恨之处，可恨之处必为可怜之人的男主有一个阴暗不堪的童年，遂成为杀人狂魔。同样有着阴暗不堪童年的女主爱上了这个冷血杀手，最后赔上了自己的命。浪费时间的电影