Killer Nerd

In the twisted tradition of TOXIC AVENGER, Troma unleashes KILLER NERD!

Harold Kunkle (The inimitable Toby Radloff) is the pitiful, picked-on creature of the title, pushed to an eventual spree of bloody violence. Kunkle is presented as a basket case, suffering from several deficits.

Radloff plays his role so convincingly, that it's hard to believe he could have possibly memorized his lines! His sublime performance goes far beyond "wooden", into petrified forest territory!

With no production values whatsoever, this movie's genius lies in its overuse of its anti-charismatic star.

Watch, and be astonished!...

A prime example of how entertaining a low budget horror comedy can be, Killer Nerd packs quite a punch throughout its ninety minute running time. Howard Kunkle, played to perfection by Toby Radloff, is the ultimate nerd who snaps and goes on a killing rampage to get revenge against those that have ridiculed him. It's an over-the-top black comedy that will delight those who like films by such auteurs as David Lynch and John Waters. Thumbs up on this one!

With that sarcastic remark out of the way, let's get to the review, shall we? This is an odd little movie, to say the least, but I liked it. My expectations were a little too much for this, but it's not too bad at all. It starts out as a goofy, quirky comedy (which would probably only be funny to us geeky people), but doesn't get truly horrific until the end. It's the kind of movie I would love to fool some mainstreamers into watching just to see the look on their faces when it switches gears and becomes a splatter movie toward the end. One thing I'm yet to figure out is whether the horror portion is meant to be humorous in a Freddy Krueger type of way, or to be intense with a guy who loses it and offs anyone who he thinks has crossed him, regardless of who might deserve it or not (which some of the victims don't). All in all, though, I did like it, just not as much as I thought I would. I think the title was what ensnared me, and though we do get what's promised, the delivery wasn't as much of a nasty blast as I had hoped for. If I could give it a rating with stars (which I usually don't like to do), I would sum this one up with about three out of five.

I find nothing so enjoyable as a "good" bad movie. Now, keep in mind the movie must meet several criteria in order to be a "good" bad movie: 1--It can't be a cash cow slapped together to make a few bucks (like Halloween 8 or Jason X). 2--At some point you have to say to yourself "were they really trying to make something meaningful/memorable and they failed so miserably that this film is now fodder for simple amusement?" 3--The special effects have to be not-so-special effects or special defects; such as poorly-executed jump-cuts during death scenes, models that are clearly plastic used in place of humans, and the use of rubber limbs. For these reasons and many more, I wholeheartedly recommend that bad movie lovers (and fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000) rent or purchase this classic film. Let's examine the criteria: 1--I don't think Riot Films was looking to make big bucks on this one (though they do throw Toby Radloff's name around quite frequently on the box). 2--Nerd, (pause for emphasis) what a stupid word. (Watch it and you'll see what I mean). 3--Watch it--'nuff said. My rating--9/10--my roommates from college and I ran around our apartment shouting "NERD NERD NERD" and "BLOOD RED WITH BRAINS" for days. Coincidentally, I purchased this film off eBay from one of the producers of the film, and he was a real nice guy.

This movie was amazing. I don't think I've ever seen anything with the magic of Killer Nerd. Toby Radloff played an excellent nerd, and the acting was great. Although the budget was a little big for my taste, it was still one of the best nerd movies ever made.