Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas [2009]

September 17, 2009

There’s something about movies about real serial killers that makes them watchable no matter what the budget is. And Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas is one of those movies. Everything about it is off. The budget was rather small, the cast is unknown and even the soundtrack is pretty shabby. However, all this gave it a certain visceral quality along with the fact it isn’t much gory. This is not director’s Michael Feifer first rodeo because he already made several similar movies. It appears that he’s going down the list of serial killers and Lucas is his latest prey. Still, I think that the best movie in this budget range is insanely disturbing The Gray Man about Albert Fish.

Antonio Sabato Jr., what a fucking name. As one of those C listers, he did a relatively good job as the infamous serial killer. We will learn more about Lucas and his childhood, following him as he starts to get more and more fucked up. And these scenes were fucking stellar. Awkward, long, and with a nasty atmosphere, they show us just how we got this monster of a man. A man who confessed to over 600 murders believe it or not. I will leave the link after the review if you want to learn more about that.

Meet Henry Lee Lucas, a young boy born into a mess of a family. His father was an alcoholic who died from hypothermia, drunk in the snow and his mother was a prostitute. She would beat the shit out of poor Henry and make him do all kinds of twisted stuff. However, we’re now in the present, and Henry is all grown up and looking for his next victim as he slowly becomes one of America’s worst serial killers.

This is the first movie with Mr. Antonio Sabato Jr. I have ever seen and I have to admit that his performance really made a difference. So, no matter how awkward it is, he was channeling something wicked here. I also have to mention Kostas Sommer as Ottis who not only acted the part but also looked the part. Granted, there are a couple of just plain bad scenes but for the most part, Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas is a competently shot movie. Also, it doesn’t deviate much from the real story. This means that most of the events we’re about to witness actually happened. Finally, I know this movie is quite the curiosity and not everybody is going to like it. So, if you’re looking for a better movie about Henry Lee Lucas check out Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.