Confessions of a Serial Killer (1985)

Mark Blair's 'Confessions of a Serial Killer' is a rather good film but – whether you like it or not – you automatically compare it to John McNaughton's 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' and then it definitely loses the battle. Reviewing this movie actually states all the more how powerful and unequaled McNaughton's effort really is. 'Confessions...' is very grim, but 'Henry' is at least a dozen times more grim! Rober A. Burns is truly eerie in his role, but Michael Rooker is at least a dozen times eerier in his! 'Confessions...' is disturbing, but... You get the picture! Based on the testimonies of the real Henry Lee Lucas, Burns plays a forty-something Texan hillbilly who quietly and without showing any form of emotions unravels his life as a serial killer to a patient copper. How he picked up multiple hitch-hikers and later dumped their cadavers in peaceful meadows. How he managed to stay out of the police's reach by being on the road all the time, etc... There's very few explicit material featuring in this film and that rather disappointed me. Not that I'm a sick puppy but a documentary about a serial killer is much more realistic when you're exposed to raw, shocking or even downright repulsive footage. Like it was the case in (sorry for bringing it up again) 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer". . The film is suspenseful, however, and the extended sequences of Daniel Ray chasing terrified victims though corn fields are truly unsettling The character drawings of Moon Lewton (Daniel Ray's homosexual accomplice) and his sister Molly are weak and the giant anti-climax is sorely disappointing. It's pretty much like the title says: confessions! You sit and listen to a man clarifying his vile acts, but you never really get inside his twisted mind or guess for the motivations of his insane behavior. Worth seeing but certainly not a must.

I've just finished watching this dribble! It must be the WORST film I have ever seen, the quality was non-existant the audio on the region 2 disc had the swear words blanked out. If your think of buying or renting this.....DONT get Ted Bundy its far better.

i watched this movie just some time ago and i believe its nothing but an attempt to cash into serial killer movies. i admit i was attracted of the title and i have not heard of this movie before, but now i am very sorry i had a chance to see it. i moaned and yawned my way painfully into the first thirty minutes of the film until i realized that my life could not get any worse than this. i really tried to understand and swallow the message (if there ever was one) that it tried to convey, but i really could not get myself to do so. this film should have a curse in it, like in 'the ring': anyone who will see it will die. and believe me, everyone would want to kill themselves after they have seen this garbage.

This film takes the glamor out of serial killin'. The titular murder is a simple man, and his country-boy manner and affability caused me to like him in the scenes where he was not hacking at women and then copulating with their corpses. The happy-go-lucky sidekick character--an essential element of the Henry Lee Lucas story--is especially sleazy in this film, which is a nice touch, I think. The fact that he is named "Moon" only sweetens the pot. I am a fan of disturbing cinema, and this film definitely disturbs. I found "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" absolutely unwatchable, simply due to its lack of plot, characters, and satisfying gore. This movie, on the other hand, boasts down-home characters, good performances, vile acts of posthumous sodomy, and paints a gritty portrait of what it is like to house an insatiable bloodlust. The other obvious advantage over "Henry" is that the more acclaimed picture lacked the proper plot structure necessary for such a film. This movie, on the other hand, with its flashback setup, is a tasty treat from start to finish. I give it three stars out of five.