Luther the Geek

I rented the out of print video version of this about a year and a half ago from a mom and pop video store down the road from my house. I watched it and liked it. I asked the old guy who ran the place to sell me the video but he declined. A couple of days ago I saw Troma re-released this and I quickly snatched it up. I'm glad I didn't buy the video. The Troma DVD has some really good extras (love the shower scene outtakes). Anyway, this is a pretty good horror movie and the first hour has plenty of out-of-nowhere twists and turns and the villain in this is entertaining to watch (he clucks like a chicken). The gore is spaced out but heavy and the story moves at a fast pace even though it's pretty slim. A chunk in the last half hour features a cop sleuthing through a dark barn and the scene takes an eternity (my girlfriend then fell asleep). Thats the only downfall of the movie. Otherwise, an original, gruesome, fast-paced time-waster that I don't mind watching now and then. Features gory neck bitings. Three stars.

...and they both belong to Stacy Haiduk! Largely a piece of garbage, this low-budget horror film is only memorable today due to the wonderful nude scenes of beautiful Stacy Haiduk. The story is about a freak who clucks and bites the heads off of people. Basically it's a slasher only the weapon of choice for the killer is metal teeth this time. Anyway, nobody cares about this movie's stupid plot. The selling points to this crapper are Haiduk's large breasts, which are pretty close to perfect. So sit back and enjoy what God made and surgery can never duplicate. Just remember the FF button is your friend. The DVD has more of Ms. Haiduk's glory, so check that out. A must-see for big boob enthusiasts!

One thing's for certain: there aren't a lot of horror movies like this one. If this is a good or a bad thing however is for you to decide. Although Luther The Geek isn't your average splatter film, it obeys the basic rules of the genre and provides its viewer with all the classic ingredients. There is the psycho killer, remorseless and cruel, slashing his victims' neck with razor sharp metal teeth. There is the woman living isolated on a farm in the middle of nowhere, resembling the perfect victim. There is her beautiful, busty daughter who brings along her college boyfriend for some nude and even sex scenes. And there is the small town cop, who heroically takes on the killer all by himself due to his evident lack of intelligence.

It's all there - yet, this movie definitely is different. You'll quickly recognize the unusually silent atmosphere. Furthermore, the movie maintains a slow pace which reinforces the intensity of the pictures and leaves the viewer alone with the strange and sometimes pretty sick action he is forced to witness. A good example is the opening sequence when little Luther meets the chicken killing circus geek in a dark barn. There is no distraction from the picture, no cheap dialogue to fill the silence, no fast cuts. In a time when the typical splatter movie maintains a fast pace, has a high frequency of cuts, is filled with senseless dialogues, with screams and dramatic music, Luther The Geek manages to disturb its viewer by doing quite the opposite. And if this wasn't enough, Luther's behavior does the rest, walking around clucking like a chicken throughout the whole movie.

I don't know if you should consider "Luther The Geek" a classic but it's certainly a memorable movie you won't forget that easily. If you're really into horror movies and especially into those that are somewhat strange and different from mainstream films, you'll like this one. If you're looking for a "cool" scary movie - go and look somewhere else! Anyway, if you consider yourself a splatter film fan you just have to give this one a try! Me? I liked it! Well, kind of...

Even though this is an 1990 movie, it still feels and looks like a typical '70's exploitation flick/slasher. It uses the same sort of style and approach and it is more successful in this than most other modern attempts that try the recreate the '70's style of slasher.

And really, as far as low-budget horror film-making goes, this is quite a good movie, that is only being held back by its writing.

It's really only the writing that makes this quite a weak and stupid film to watch at times. First of all, its main premise is already quite flawed. Here we have a psychotic killer, that doesn't talk at all and acts like a chicken, that is nevertheless getting released from prison because it is thought he is no longer being a danger to the society. Why? It's not like this guy ever does anything normal. And all that the rest of the movie basically is, is the guy biting people in the neck and terrorizing a family at the countryside. No, there isn't that much to the story really and to be honest, it all gets progressively worse.

About half way through the movie isn't that interesting to watch anymore because it sticks to mostly just one location, with all of the same characters, who never seem to be doing enough to get or kill the Geek. But if they did the movie of course would had been way shorter than its already mere 80 minutes of running time.

It's still a fun movie to watch for the lovers of slasher/exploitation flicks. It's no better or worse than the average genre attempt and it besides also has some good gore in it.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Man, what an odd movie. It's one of those horror films that's so off-the-wall that I had to watch it more than once to figure out if I liked it or not. I have decided that I really do like it. Can you believe a killer with steel dentures who thinks he's a chicken and bites people's throats out like a carnival geek? Even if you can't, this movie is warped fun. The acting is pretty much top-notch in my opinion, and the gore FX are good enough to exceed the low budget. Interesting also is the fact that most of the movie is achieved without a whole lot of dialogue, making it all the more strange. And to boot we get some great nudity and sex scenes, as well as that sexy Joan Roth tied spread on the bed and gagtalking! Mm-mmph-good! A neat, weird little horror/exploitation movie that deserves some major cult status. What have you been waiting for? See "Luther the Geek"!