Luther the Geek

Odd, original and entertaining horror. The film concerns the disturbed Luther, who witnessed a Geek perform as a child and also lost his teeth. Eventually the weirdo kill numerous chickens and 3 people, and is incarcerated for 25 years. Paroled, the first thing he does is tear an "old" woman's throat out with his homemade metal dentures and escape to the country to terrorize a woman and her daughter. He never speaks, clucking and behaving like a chicken. Surprisingly well acted, with great fx. Despite the unintentional humor provided by what must be the stupidest cop in the state, it's a very well made and interesting film.

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...

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"!

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.

I can remember back in the early 1990's bootleg VHS copies of this going around, that was the only way you could see this here in the UK. I didn't bother but 30 years later I have just watched the official Blu-ray release, it was kinda worth the wait. Sold as a slasher but there is no slashing, Luther uses his metal teeth to not only rip the heads off chickens but also to make a very bloody mess of peoples' necks! He also drinks blood so arguably he is part crazed vampire but without any supernatural elements. The timeline is all wrong, we first see Luther as a young boy in 1938. He is convicted of several murders in his late teens and serves 20 something years in jail before being released. I would date that sometime during the 1970's but this is clearly set/filmed in the late 1980's! Most of the film has Luther holding a woman, her sexy daughter and her lucky boyfriend hostage in their farmhouse, so it is in part a home invasion movie. Although the acting is rather amateur Edward Terry puts in a memorable performance as the horrible. Freakish Geek. I often side with the bad guy in slasher movies, for example Jason in the Friday the 13th's, but Luther is truly vile and I wanted him to suffer. Sadly his victims make so many dumb decisions that I found it hard to side with them either. Stacy Haiduk gets naked for some almost soft pornographic sex scenes and she looks amazing. Despite its failings Luther the Geek packs in some serious gore and should appeal to most splatter movie fans.