It has been eight cinematically bloody years since John McNaughton’s disturbing “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” first oozed into theaters. A commercial failure at first, it has gone on to achieve cult status, and has now spawned a sequel.
Few of the original filmmakers are back, but the “Henry 2” team has labored diligently to preserve the warped spirit of its forerunner. The film, once again shot in the Chicago area, is written and directed by Columbia College graduate Chuck Parello (who worked publicity on the first “Henry”), and stars Neil Giuntoli, who brings a certain fervor to the role, even if he lacks the moral ambiguity that Michael Rooker embraced in the original.
This time around, Henry is still busy coring and gutting faceless victims when he takes a job cleaning out Port-O-Potties. He is quickly befriended by Kai and Cricket, a white-trash couple also working the toilet gig, who invite him to stay at their house until he gets on his feet.
It turns out that Kai is a professional arsonist, and he soon has Henry accompanying him on late-night torchings. But Henry finds starting fires less than satisfying, and he quickly initiates Kai into the far more exhilarating world of senseless murder.
The success of the film lies less in the plot than it does in the superior work of the supporting cast, Chicago actors all. As Rooter, who runs the toilet business when he isn’t dealing drugs, Daniel Allar is all grease and snorts, an actor Peckinpah would have loved. Kate Walsh is also strong as the sexually frustrated but basically good-hearted Cricket. But it is veteran stage actor Rich Komenich who filches the film as Kai, a wasted alcoholic who simply can’t keep up with Henry in terms of pure cruelty. “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer 2” opens Friday at the 3 Penny Cinema. No MPAA rating: adult. (star) (star) 1/2
