Igor and the Lunatics (1985) User Reviews

One of Troma's worst.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 19 November 2016]

Troma movies are rarely praised for their acting, but you would be hard pushed to find a performance in their entire back catalogue of B-movie trash quite as terrible and as grating on the nerves as Joe Niola's Igor, who is the biggest lunatic in this virtually unwatchable mess of a film. Niola plays the youngest and most violent member of a Manson-like cult led by self-proclaimed messiah Paul (T.J. Glenn), and his screeching and grimacing is so irritating that you'll be longing for him to suffer, which he does, but not nearly soon enough. Worst of all, despite finally getting a blade in the head and a crossbow bolt through the skull, the raving dolt returns for a ridiculous epilogue that shows him alive and well (and still behaving like Bobcat Goldthwait on acid!).

Not that any of the other members of the cast in this dreadful film are much better: this is one hell of an amateurish effort with poor performances from almost all involved, the whole experience made even more painful by terrible direction and editing from W.J. Parolini working from a script that is all over the place (or maybe not working from a script at all!). Admittedly, the film is nasty in concept at times, with many vicious killings, which might appeal to splatter fans, but it's all done on the cheap, the result being laughable instead of disturbing (Parolini is so proud of one death scene—a shop mannequin being sliced in half by a huge rotary saw—that he shows it three times).

Perhaps the worst thing about the whole film is that it is boring. Movies like this often prove entertaining thanks to their sheer ineptitude, but that's not the case here. Igor and the Lunatics will test the patience of even the most avid viewers of crap cinema (even die-hard Troma fans).

lame low-budget, incoherent horror flick about a small murderous hippie religious cult

[FieCrier · 2/10 · 20 January 2005]

Pretty incoherent movie about a man who belonged to and left a 1960s superficially hippie religious cult, who fights them sixteen years later. The man has a child with one of the other cultists, who during a raid by the police is hidden away, and taken by another man named Hawk who lives in a small cabin by the river. The cult kills some of its followers or some of the people in town. It's hard to keep track of who characters are, or what time period the scenes are supposed to be taking place. The leader gets paroled sixteen years later (I got that from the box - I missed the amount of time in the movie). Nobody is made to look any older, not noticeably, anyway.

One murder is done with a large circular logging saw, others are done with knives or a crossbow. I never heard the title character's name mentioned in the movie, but he's the one who overacts the most, hooting and hollering.

The movie is patched together pretty poorly, with voice-over helping (not much) to explain what is going on. Some of the sound effects were pretty bad. A man is getting punched, and we hear the sound of a whip cracking. A woman fires a gun, and we don't hear it fire, but hear a ricochet instead! It doesn't seem to have been done for comical effect.

You'd have to be loony to watch this trash.

[Coventry · 2/10 · 17 December 2009]

"Igor and the Lunatics" is a totally inept and amateurish attempt at a crazy-hippie-cult-killing-spree horror movie. Apparently even nearly twenty years later, Charles Manson was still inspiring overenthusiastic but incompetent trash-filmmakers. This is a typical Troma production, meaning in other words, there's a lot of boring and totally irrelevant padding footage to accompany the nonsensical plot. There's a bit of random gore and gratuitous nudity on display – which isn't bad – but it's all so very pointless and ugly that it becomes frustrating to look at. "Igor and the Lunatics" is so desperate that it's even using a lot of the footage twice, like the circle saw killing for example. The incoherent plot tries to tell the story of a hippie cult run by the drug-addicted and Charlie Manson wannabe Paul. One of Paul's lower ranked disciples, named Igor, becomes a little bit too obsessed with the Bible stories and drug orgies and gradually causes the entire cult to descent further into criminal insanity. Just to illustrate through a little example exactly how crazy Igor is: he tears the heart straight out of the chest of a really sexy black hitch-hiker girl! There's an annoying synthesizer soundtrack and some truly embarrassingly lame pseudo-artistic camera tricks, like slow-motion footage and lurid dream sequences. Maybe there's one sequence that more or less qualifies as worthwhile for trash fanatics and that' is when a poor girl is cut in half with a machete. For no particular reason, the camera holds the shot of the blade in the bloodied stomach for fifteen whole seconds.

Some Backstory on Igor

[peteriasillojr · 5/10 · 7 May 2006]

My name is Peter Iasillo and I played the part of the hippie "Felix" in the opening shots of "Igor and the Lunatics". The film was originally titled "Like Father" and this was my first time acting in a movie. The scene I was in was directed by Brendan Faulkner (Spookies) as were most of the "action and horror" sequences. In the film, Brendan is the goofy, bearded deputy and director Tom Doran is his partner. Many of the actors that appeared in Igor also appeared in "Spookies" including Peter Dain and Joan Ellen Delaney. The buzz saw scene was filmed at Schultz's Cider Mill in Brewster, NY as were all the scenes for the never released "Killer Dead" also directed by Faulkner and Doran. (SPOLIER ALERT) "Igor & The Lunatics" may well be the only film in history were the girl is cut in half by a buzz saw without being rescued by the hero in the nick of time. A plastic torso filled with fake blood and guts was used for the girl to be cut in half. When it came time to shot the gag, the torso lurched upwards when the buzz saw hit it making it chillingly realistic looking.

Really bad, even for Troma

[Wizard-8 · 21 December 2013]

It quickly becomes evident that "Igor and the Lunatics" had more than its share of production problems. The credits have a listing for the direction of "horror, action and suspense sequences" as well as a normal directing credit. I don't know what went wrong behind the scene, but the end results are really bad. The story only makes a little sense, for one thing, and they have the chutzpah to play one lengthy sequence TWICE. There are quite a few times when freeze-frames of buildings are used when cutting to a new scene. There's bad continuity, such as when one scene mixes footage shot in the daytime with footage shot at night. The movie further annoys with a really obnoxious musical score, as well as with really cruddy acting. I'm really amazed that Troma Films' president Lloyd Kaufman (who also produced the movie) thought that the end results were releasable. Though it tells a lot that in his autobiography he makes no mention of the movie anywhere, even in his list of "all" Troma Films at the back of the book.

This movie is not worth the time spent watching it

[wingedcobra · 2/10 · 8 June 2007]

First off, the title character is not even the main character of the movie. He is the sidekick of the cult leader. The actor who portrays Igor believed that screaming loud, laughing hysterically, and having a crooked smile while bugging out your eyes would be an excellent way to scare people. Igor also had the annoying habit of yelling (because he never actually just spoke) in a high pitched voice. He would also say idiotic one-liners. For example when the cult leader murders one of his followers with a buzz saw, Igor upon seeing this, yells out "Paul! No Paul! Why'd you do it? I could have cut her clean! So clean!" In another scene Igor tells a victim that she would have to 'get her own tools for surgery because right now, it was his time to operate.' Aside from the bad acting, the ending did not make sense because while the story builds up what little steam it has towards the climax, which is Igor getting a crossbow arrow to the head and the rest of his lunatic buddies being killed, he shows up again two more times to kill the remaining 'good guys'. The movie offers no explanation of this, only telling the viewer that Igor escaped from the mental hospital. What??? Bottom line is do not waste your time watching this movie. I wish I could get back the moments I lost watching this.

I AM NOT A CULTIST

[nogodnomasters · 1/10 · 10 December 2018]

This is an early Troma attempt at making bad films that we like. The production modestly opens up with "Troma, movies of the future." The film starts off with Sara (Constance Rodgers) getting her topped ripped off and then tied down and sawed in half with the proverbial buzz saw. Don't worry if you missed the scene, they need to show it a few more times to fill up the 82 minutes of the movie.

The film is in part told as a confusing flashback with a woman reading a diary of past events to explain things to her, although she is part of those events and know what is going on. Film editors shouldn't do drugs. Paul is a religious cult leader. Tom leaves the cult and when Sara wants to leave, we get to see the opening scene again. The cult goes to prison, then when they get out, they go on a killing spree, with Tom as one of the targets...I think that is what it is about.

Troma has not yet perfected its body organ effects as yet and concentrates more on blood than guts and head rolls. Product placement and women getting their blouses ripped open are the highlights of this production.

The DVD extras are basically the ones included with all Troma films.

Parental Guide: F-bombs, nudity, no sex.

Revenge thriller, courtesy of Troma

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 12 April 2017]

IGOR AND THE LUNATICS is the usual slice of Troma trash that makes little sense as a proper film. The plot is supposedly about a criminal gang leader who is released from prison and arrives in a small town, seeking revenge by having his goons terrorise the townsfolk. The opening scene is the most memorable part of it, including a topless girl being bisected by a circular saw, although for some bizarre reason this whole sequence is subsequently repeated (a cheap a way of padding out the running time as ever I've seen).

The film is the usual mish-mash of bad editing and wooden acting, only coming to life towards the end when it becomes a kind of revenge thriller. Some of the practical gore effects aren't too bad, but IGOR AND THE LUNATICS is definitely a barrel-scraping movie otherwise.

God Awful

[spellbinder1313 · 1/10 · 4 February 2007]

This movie is truly one of the worst pieces of garbage ever. It really is surprising that something so completely terrible could be made. But, if you can stand the mind-numbing plot, character development, and direction, you may get a kick out of the soundtrack which is so appalling that it is funny. The movie begins terribly and quickly becomes unwatchable. Someone should give anyone involved with this movie some sort of consolation because their career was probably ruined because of involvement in this movie. If you do end up seeing this movie or have seen it already (I feel your pain) then these words have come too late. For anyone else, Stay away at all costs or realize that the movie is so bad that it will waste 2 hours of your life. Then at least you can clean up or something while viewing it.

Too many decades

[helfeleather · 5/10 · 11 November 2002]

If this movie had stayed in the sixties, where it started, it might have been a bearable story, but obviously the writers couldn't stretch their imaginations far enough, so they had to fast forward to the eighties to keep the story going with a horrible heap of cliches.

Wow...how bad can it get?

[BandSAboutMovies · 2/10 · 16 October 2021]

You know, some great Mad Max-style poster art was enough to get me into this movie, despite the nauseating strains of the Troma opening, which has been enough to get me to shut off numerous films.

The funny thing is the real leader of the cult of lunatics is Paul, but Paul and the Lunatics just doesn't have the same zing I guess. So Igor got pushed to the front despite just being a foot soldier in this army of goofballs who like to use giant saws to cut women in half.

Anyways, the gang all goes to jail and somehow gets probation fifteen years later because I guess you can atone for using a giant saw to slide a woman in half. And then we get to see it twice, because hey, this movie is barely edited.

The bulk of this movie was directed by Billy Parolini and then years later, Thomas Doran and Brendan Faulkner would go back and direct the horror, action and suspense sequences.

This movie is, charitably, a mess and is saved by the really great posters. I mean, Tom -- the former gang member gone legit -- has come back to town just in time for Paul to get out of jail, which leads to that maniac ripping out a woman's heart and killing Paul's old girl -- now a prostitute because this town is pretty much where I grew up -- and making a tape recording of it. And oh yeah -- Tom has a kid who has been raised by a Native American who lives in the woods.

If the names Thomas Doran and Brendan Faulkner are familiar to you, that's because they made part of Spookies. Just like that movie, this has numerous continuity issues, plus even more weirdness like characters suddenly getting new names.

It's an interesting watch. Not a good one. But hey, you have to do the work if you want to find the good ones.

A little bit of soundtrack, a little bit of gore, a bit of atmosphere!

[Overtheredskies · 7/10 · 24 January 2020]

This movie is downright sick and cheesy but the atmosphere and soundtrack save it from being completely bad...whoever composed that soundtrack had a little bit of Carpenter in them... Just a tiny tiny tiny bit. But yea definitely a low grade film lol. Body count was about 13

Not true

[talkpingp1 · 3 October 2005]

Whatever can be said about this wretched film, it is utterly UNTRUE that half-way through the movie a different set of actors took over. The same actors who started out in the film, continued through-out. There is a span of many years having passed as indicated in the film (when one of the characters goes to prison and is released years later to restart his murder spree), and of course some of the characters would look different...but they are the same actors in the same parts. A look at the credits will show this. The guy who played Paul (whose look does change after years in prison) is the guy who plays him through out. Same for the guy playing Igor - one of the cops, the guy living in the woods - the girlfriend of Paul - the "hero", etc., etc. It may be notorious for many, many things...but cast changing isn't one of them. THE CAST DOES NOT CHANGE HALFWAY THROUGH THE FILM! Stop repeating false stories.

"If you enjoyed this film, we've got more like it..."

[polysicsarebest · 7/10 · 21 May 2008]

It's unbelievable to see how many amazing films Troma has put out in the past 30 years. I'm not going to pretend that every film they've ever touched has been golden (see I Was a Teenage TV Terrorist, Deadly Daphne's Revenge, Blood Hook, etc...), but more often than not they're always at least worth a watch... and this film is definitely amongst their better productions.

First of all, this is not high-brow entertainment. The whole film is a mess; in fact, the actors in the second half of the film are completely different than the first half (but playing the same characters). Second of all, there isn't much gore in this film (despite the back of the box saying that the film climaxes in the most violent bloodbath in the history of film).

But if you like a little bit of humor, some silly violence, and plenty of Charles Manson homages (which, in all reality, is all that John Water's early films were), then this is for you. The whole film is played very straight and not for laughs, which makes it even better. Trust me, this film is completely hilarious, one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. And there's some rape and torture for those that like that kind of stuff too -- but, again, not too much.

I appreciated the murky, backwoods surrounding of the whole thing, and the hippie atmosphere. And, really, there's not a boring moment to be had in the whole film. So, yeah, of course I recommend it... if you're looking for a serious horror film, though, you won't be pleased.

Also, to let you know what you're getting into here, the leader of the group isn't even named Igor -- he's just a member of the group.

"Not So Pretty Now, Huh?!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 9 August 2020]

In IGOR AND THE LUNATICS, a Manson Family-like cult of drug-addled hippies terrorizes a small town. Bloody, gory nonsense ensues.

One of the cultists, the titular Igor (Joe Niola), raves, howls a squawks his way through the film. He's one of the most laughably absurd characters in horror movie history! Igor is Squiggy from Laverne And Shirley, Jerry Lewis, The Tasmanian Devil, and a rabid hamster, all in one economical package. While all of the characters in this movie are godawful, Igor wins the "Most Convincing Portrayal Of Living Brain Death" award, hands -and feet- down!

Igor's screeching rants are matched only by his two basic facial expressions, rocketing between stunned idiocy and cackling jack-o-lantern!

Dismal, dreadful, and dumber than a boulder with ears, this movie must be seen, since no human could possibly describe its moron-itude! The violence is hilarious! The sounds of punches, and strikes with heavy or sharp objects are like the noises made by sides of beef hitting a barn door!

Smmackk!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: Learning the Igor yowl, "Hrrrhh-Aaaahh-Yaaa!"...

Is 30 grisly seconds worth 82 minutes of your life?

[roarshock · 7 July 2000]

This movie has virtually nothing to recommend it. What little creative talents the movie makers had was expended in trying to make a bit of gore, usually poorly... except for one scene. It involves a big old buzz saw, a real one, really sawing, and I found it surprisingly disturbing. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole movie was slapped together simply to justify the effort they put into the filming of that scene. For a dollar or less, you might find it worth renting, especially if you want to steal that scene for your own project.

Much more funny than scary!!!

[filmluvr-4 · 10 June 1999]

IGOR AND THE LUNATICS is a sorry movie that any horror movie lover would regret spending any money to watch, except maybe for a laugh. The film was fun to laugh at but contained no plot, that was evident, and no character build-up. The movie was altogether more funny than scary, and if I were to rate it on a scale from 1-10, a 2 would have to be giving the film credit.

the cast changes about half-way through the film

[silentgmusic · 29 August 2002]

This film is stupid, insulting, and without continuity. IGOR became infamous as a film that, midway through, uses a whole different set of actors to portray the characters, without an explaination as to why! Most of the actors don't even look the same.

With a film as bad as IGOR, though, probably nobody would notice the difference. This is among the worst that Troma has ever released, although as the other comments here have said, there are also some laughs.

But, is it worth it?