The Cover of the Movie

If I'm not mistaken, Roger Corman's New Horizon distribution company released the movie on video after SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, using the mask idea as their marketing hook. As I recall - it was a long while ago - Burns told me that no one in the United States would distribute the film. It was just too much; no one would touch it. Seems to me it did go in Europe sooner, and actually gained a minor name for itself there. I would assume that after SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, Corman, who may have already had the rights, put it out with this cover, which has absolutely nothing to do with the film. I also believe that was the only time it's been distributed in the United States. I bought a used VHS somewhere, own it, and have, for my own library, made a DVD copy. I remember how it disturbed me the first time I watched it. But as often is the case, when I am disturbed by a film I'm drawn to look at it again critically; I want to know why it disturbed me. By the time I had seen CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL KILLER, I'd also seen HENRY and of course LAMBS, and many others. HENRY was supposed to be this terrifically disturbing film, but seemed to come prepackaged with art house credibility. We're constantly put in a position to the character Henry that makes us think we'll somehow glimpse a shred of humanity; we'll understand what makes the guy tick. But of course, the movie never does it, never really reveals anything about the guy. In CONFESSIONS, though, there's nothing to distract or distance us from the main character played by Burns. We are plunged into his world, and as the movie progresses, we begin to understand just how he thinks. The come-on in HENRY is actually fulfilled in CONFESSIONS, and without any safety nets. The look on the old time sheriff's face, despite his never faltering tone of voice, is the film's one, extremely powerful, moral yardstick. In its own way, this is a remarkable film.

The cover is a mistake imo. Makes the film look like a really bad SOTL knock off.