Luther the Geek (1989) User Reviews

Good character stuck in a bad film

[udar55 · 4/10 · 8 April 2005]

Revisiting old films that you thought were average isn't necessarily a good thing. They sometimes get worse. Championed by the Fangoria camp (in Gorezone they labeled it "the scariest film since Texas CHAINSAW"…um, no), LUTHER THE GEEK inexplicably developed a cult following as an "intense" horror picture. Actually, it is just an average stalk and slash…uh, bite film that briefly sets itself aside from the pack by featuring a killer who clucks like a chicken. Yes, clucks like a chicken. To the filmmaker's credit, at least they didn't make the killer sound like a duck a la THE NEW YORK RIPPER. That would just be silly.

Narrative logic is completely abandoned in LUTHER THE GEEK. I'm not saying that slasher films are abound with reason, but at least in HALLOWEEN Michael Myers escaped. Luther is actually paroled after a lengthy scene where people argue he is reformed, even though he clucks like a chicken and has razor dentures (which he apparently fashioned in prison). It is the kind of film where a couple sees a bashed in door and the girl dismisses it by saying, "Oh, my mom must have forgotten her keys. She forgets a lot of things since my dad died." The kind of film where the hysterical mother runs into a cop looking for Luther and tells him, "The killer is in my house!" So what does he do? He grabs her and literally drags her back to the house and says, "Just show me where he is and I'll do the rest." Why not call back up?

It is too bad the film is filled with such horrible action and dialogue because the Luther character is actually pretty interesting. Most of the credit goes to Ed Terry, a dead ringer for Tom Noonan in MANHUNTER, who gives the clucking Luther a genuine air of menace. In the hands of a right director, LUTHER THE GEEK could be on the same level as SONNY BOY or SANTA SANGRE and be a true cinematic oddity. But Albright is not that director and merely places the fascinating character of Luther in tedious slasher trappings.

Yes, I think I'll count this as an exploitation flick.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 5/10 · 27 July 2011]

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/

Almost something special

[eschase · 6/10 · 19 May 2020]

This movie could have been great. The character of Luther is pretty terrifying. Those metal teeth and wide eyes are scarier than any latex mask. There's also some genuinely frightening sequences; specifically when Luther first invades the house. But it has just enough problems to be reduced to forgettable schlock.

This movie cuts off ALL the fat. Luther gets paroled and commits his first on screen murder in the first 10 minutes of the movie. The beginning also contains one of the biggest plot holes I've ever witnessed; how on earth did he get paroled? According the the parole board, he was a model inmate and completely rehabilitated. Yet the man only speaks in chicken squawks...

There really should have used more time in the beginning to show Luther attempt to reintegrate into society. But that'd take more work so why bother? The movie comes off as really lazy.

The third act drags in for ages, and my guess as to why is that the shot the first 50 minutes of the film, and realized they didn't have nearly enough footage to qualify as a feature. So we spend the last half hour watching characters who've had absolutely no development wander around in the dark.

So honestly, this movie was too short. They needed to spend time with Luther attempting to cope with his release, and we they needed to take some time to characterize the victims. The only thing we know about any of them is that the Dad of the family is dead, and it was only mentioned in a single line. I get it, writing characters takes work, and who would want to put work into their film?

If they just put the tiniest bit of characterization in, and took 5 minutes to rethink the logic behind a few scenes, this would be a major cult classic. Luther could have been up there with Leatherface. I still recommend it; the first 50 minutes are incredibly entertaining, but I can't help but mourn the wasted opportunities.

There's two reasons to see this

[utgard14 · 3/10 · 28 February 2014]

...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!

You have to learn to think like a chicken to survive.....

[FATLOSER · 30 May 2000]

All in all, this film could have been much worse. I make this assertion in consideration of it's genre. Scanning the shelves in your local video store's horror section, one can definitely see some truly larcenous attempts at the movieviewer's dollar. This film at least makes an earnest attempt at a feature. The shots used are stable, in focus, and decently lit. It also offers the obligatory (at least in any decent horror flick) female nudity and crudely created gore effects. While the plot is laughable and the pacing is horribly slow the movie is most noteworthy for it's revolutionary use of chicken clucking for sizeable amounts of on screen dialogue, truly one of a kind. Low budget horror fans should give it a peek.

Luther The Geek - A truly strange and disturbing horror movie

[modgode · 7/10 · 21 April 2005]

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...

a Klucking awful movie

[paintedwallpaper · 2/10 · 23 August 2005]

I consider myself a big fan of low budget horror movies. The more bizarre and imaginative the film, the more blood and guts, the better, and i really fall in love with cheaply done flicks if they are done right. Luther starts out well enough... his origin at the circus, a creepy run at a supermarket, an attack of an old lady, and his disturbing occupation of a woman's farmhouse all set the mood nicely. A hot sex/ shower scene ensues when the woman's daughter and daughter's boyfriend arrives at the house. When Luther steals the boyfriends motorbike the movie takes a turn for the worse.

The characters are presented with numerous opportunities to: A) save their loved ones, B) get the police to help, C) escape, or (most importantly) D) KILL LUTHER!!! I can't feel empathy or fear for characters that are too stupid to help themselves. Chareters snub chances to arm themselves with guns and knives while Luther is away. A policeman eventually arrives and is equally ineffective in stopping Luther, even though at one point he has a rifle squarely aimed at Luther while Luther clucks and does his rendition of the polish chicken dance. I found myself futilely coaching my television: "Make sure he's dead!", "Hes gone, get out of there!", or "Just kill him already!"

Luther is a bloodthirsty savage, but he is hardly Hannibal Lecter. If you can't outsmart this egghead, you deserve what's coming to you. By halfway through the movie you'll be so lethargic to the fates of the half-wits that only morbid curiosity will sustain you to last to the mildly amusing ending. This movie was noted as one of Fangoria's 101 greatest movies you've never seen... well Fangoria is half-right in the case of Luther the Geek.

Troma movie with bite!

[Stevieboy666 · 6/10 · 16 April 2022]

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.

This is one mean film

[bainesaj · 5/10 · 9 January 2023]

Luther the Geek is listed here as a comedy/horror. But believe me, there is no comedy in this movie, let alone anything to even chuckle at.

Luther is one disturbed individual with a long wrap sheet, to include multiple homicides who, incredulously, is awarded parole some time later. This dude doesn't speak but rather clucks like a chicken and has fashioned himself some metal dentures. What starts out as a corny premise eventually devolves into a mean-spirited story. As an example, we watch as one terrified character is beaten to death while crying for their mom. Yikes.

There are a number of plot points in this movie that make zero sense and can be blamed on horrendous writing, such as the aforementioned parole of a complete lunatic as well as the actions of a police officer later on.

All in all, this film is nasty, gory and no one is left unscathed.

Bizarre Gem

[GathofBaal · 7/10 · 3 December 2002]

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.

Sick movie

[TheOldGuyFromHalloween3 · 1/10 · 26 April 2022]

The bad guy looks like Nosferatu. There's a dumb cop who looks like Daniel Tosh and a mom who speaks chicken and looks like Elizabeth Olsen but pretty. And there's a daughter with nice boobs and some chickens.

Brilliant masterpiece of cinema.

[lmjmitchell · 10/10 · 10 November 2017]

**This review may contain spoilers.**

I am shocked and deeply saddened that this masterpiece, after nearly 28 years, has yet to win an academy award for best picture. This film revitalized cinema, and sets the bar for acting and direction. The writing is brilliant, and the writer actually learned how to speak chicken to write Luther's dialogue. (Chicken to English translations are available on the Blu-Ray edition.)

The film focuses on brilliant, yet misunderstood youth named Luther. After a lengthy apprenticeship under a master chicken wrangler, Luther is framed by jealous townspeople for a series of murders. Luther's dream to attend dental school is shattered!

Luther is unjustly incarcerated for 20 years, and spends his time learning a new language and studying dentistry. Luckily, the parole board realizes this grave injustice, and sets Luther free.

After his release, Luther ventures into town looking for work at the local grocery store. He is ridiculed by the staff because they are intimidated by his homemade dentures and eloquent verbal skills.

Fleeing the store, Luther stops to help a hungry elderly woman, only for her to attack him. Luther attempts to calm her, but she kills herself in a fit of rage. The townspeople quickly assume that Luther is to blame, and he is forced to flee.

Borrowing a vehicle, Luther retreats to serenity of the countryside hoping to start anew. He soon spots a small farmhouse, and stops by the inquire if perhaps there are any chores he could do in exchange for a hot meal.

Unfortunately, the farmhouse is inhabited by a family of lunatic criminals. Instead of helping Luther get back on his feet, they kidnap and torment him. Luther tries to reason with the family, offering them free dental care and instruction in a foreign language in exchange for his freedom. The family refuses, and begins hunting Luther along with the help of an evil sheriff.

Luther fights valiantly against the racist hillbillies, but is eventually killed by a mentally ill woman.

This is an important cautionary tale for the modern age that details what happens when bigotry is allowed to thrive.

believe it or not but it´s good

[mario-rad · 7/10 · 17 January 2003]

I won´t bother you much with the plot, ´cause there isn´t much in it. But then again if you skin the plot of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY it isn´t much in it either. So, all that is needed to be said about this flick is that it is one of the best splatter horror movies ever made. When I say this I mean exactly that. The point of good splatter horror is to achieve serious, dark and believable atmosphere no matter how much basic idea is laughable. I´ve seen a lot of splatters and almost none of them succeeded in it. There are only three acceptions to this rule. The Last house on the Left, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the third is Luther the Geek. If anyone wants to see suspenseful, visceral, violent and really scary splatter horror flick, go and see Luther in gory action.

Decent Semi-Slasher with Plenty of Grubby Ambiance"

[Rapeman13 · 14 December 2008]

As a child, little hillbilly Luther once witnessed a sideshow geek doin' his thing in a barn and was immediately transfixed by the man's bloody antics. Now Luther is grown and incarcerated on three counts of murder, but he is about to be granted parole...

Pretty much as soon as Luther hits the street he mauls an old lady (who for some reason is a young actress made-up to look old) with his razor sharp set of steel dentures, then while on the run from the police, he jumps into a parked car's backseat to hide. Shortly thereafter, the owner of the car, Hilary, hops in and drives home to her secluded farmhouse to prepare dinner for her daughter Beth, and her boyfriend who are soon to be returning home from college for the holidays. Luther's about to have a feast fit for a king! The first thing I noticed about this film is that it looks like it was made in the late 70s-early 80s; with the faded colours, grainy film stock, and overall atmosphere it really feels just like some grimy piece of trash discarded and forgotten about by the local grindhouse (though I loathe to use this now filthy word!). The other thing that immediately sticks out is that its almost a silent film - there is very little dialog aside from the constant clucks, squawks & crows that emit from Luther's mouth as he does his bizarre chicken act.

Now to the violence and nudity! There's definitely some bloody scenes here as we witness Luther gorily tear into necks, fingers and chests with his grill, but it's nowhere near as ultra-violent as its reputation / reviews suggest. The only nudity here is from Hilary's daughter, Beth, (TV star Stacy Haiduk who played Lana Lang in the Superboy TV series) who has a lengthy shower scene - of which there is a whole seven more minutes of in the outtakes section for all you sleazefiends - and a sex scene.

All in all, a decent semi-slasher flick with plenty of grubby ambiance. Luther is a total freak and it's fun to watch him gore people up and run around like a retarded chicken, especially when he does his wacky victory / death dance after a kill.

One major negative with this disc though, is the idiotic Troma extras: first off we have an utterly witless intro to the film with Troma head honcho Lloyd Kaufman introducing Troma's "freakshow" which consists of some fag that pretends to suck Kaufman's dick and another f@ckwit who tries to suck his own cock, but farts instead. These childish attempts at humour are really not funny and had me p!ssed off before the film even started. Aside from the brainless intro there's also Troma extras like a global warming awareness short and a twelve minute PETA propaganda film trying to convince us all to become vegetarians. I really don't think this kinda proselytizing bullshit should be on a DVD - yes, I understand that Kaufman is obviously worried about the environment and a vegetarian who wants to get the message out there, but I'm sure most of us know what goes on in a slaughterhouse and what the short life of a battery hen consists of, why force it onto the unsuspecting public who just wanna watch a campy horror film?

hometown classic

[chronicbliss2 · 2/10 · 24 September 2005]

This movie has been a classic in my part of the country because it was filmed in my own small town. I now have many friends who are guards at Dixon Correctional, and I myself worked for 3 yrs at the SuperAmerica store next to the Krogers store the old lady was at. However, this is still the dumbest movie ever made, destined to be introduced by Gilbert Godfreid or Rhonda Shearer, if it hasn't been already. A bit of trivia, Illinois doesn't even have parole hearings, and Dixon Prison is a medium security facility housing burglars and vending machine vandals. The classic clucking/seduction scene is perhaps the most amusing piece of writing I've ever seen, especially with the suspenseful build-up

most extraordinary and worrying performance.

[christopher-underwood · 7/10 · 18 January 2019]

Never having heard of this film before and wary of the Troma connection I imagined it would simply be a light hearted diversion. In fact it opens strongly with fairground references and a posse of rednecks culminating in the very convincing biting off of a chickens head. Things become a little more mundane after that and the movie takes on the look of a TV exercise before Edward Terry really gets going with his walking, talking chicken routine. He actually moves about like one of the birds, his bulging eyes and screwy neck constantly in action and his only utterances like those of a chicken. he even crows after any modest success, like almost biting the head off an opponent. As we progress, Terry seems to get more and more into the role and overall the film becomes more instead of less serious and a really creepy atmosphere develops. A completely irrelevant shower scene allows newcomer Stacy Haiduk to display her assets and whilst her straight acting appears uninspired, she has actually gone on to have a substantial career, albeit mainly in television. Unlike the amazing Mr Terry who seemed to burn out after this most extraordinary and worrying performance.

*Insert cast of Arrested Development making chicken noises*

[Aphex_Bob · 4/10 · 18 October 2021]

Francis Dolarhyde gets high on the Colonel's secret herbs and spices and runs amok in a farm house while clucking like a chicken. Finger lickin' good.

A real oddity

[lovecraft231 · 7/10 · 27 January 2008]

When he was a kid, young Luther saw a circus geek (a man who bites the heads off chickens and other small animals for booze money) perform, warping his psyche. Years later, he's in police custody, but he's allowed to leave thanks to an idiotic parole board. That's bad news for a mother, her daughter, the daughter's boyfriend, and a police officer, all who come face to face with Luther-and it's not pretty. Oh, and Luther likes to cluck like a chicken, and has a pair of sharp, metal dentures.

While watching "Luther the Geek", two things go through your mind: 1.) What the hell did I just watch, and 2.) I can't believe that this was made in 1990, and not in the 70's or early 80's.

That's right, "Luther the Geek" is a real oddity in horror cinema, and that's saying something. People do stupid things, poor dialog and acting is delivered (with the exception of Edward Terry, who does a stellar job as one of horror's strangest villains in Luther), plot holes remain unexplained, and various surreal events occur, including an ending that practically defies description.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, "Luther" feels nothing like a 90's horror flick. With it's odd villain, unapologetic sleaze, gore, nudity, sex, synthesizer score, and low budget charm, "Luther" feels like it came from the days of old school Grindhouse style horror. If that's what director Carlton J. Albright was aiming for, than for the most part, he succeeded in making a nice homage to those old movies.

In the end, whether or not you like it, I can guarantee this: you haven't seen anything like it.

Boring Troma movie about a psycho killer who thinks he's a chicken!

[cool_cool_1 · 3/10 · 2 December 2007]

Luther the Geek (1990) is a dull horror movie and is really bad even by Troma's standards!! It's about a freak who bites the heads off chickens, and kills people by biting their necks out, and he actually thinks he's a chicken himself!!!!! Luther gets released from prison after 25 yrs because apparentely he's been a "model" prisoner and deserves another chance in life (which is VERY hard to believe after you see how he acts and treats people throughout the movie).

After killing an elderly lady in a supermarket car park, he manages to sneak into a womans car, and proceeds to torture her, her daughter and the daughters boyfriend at their family home in the country.

Then we get treated to a long winded and boring movie, with awful acting all the way through, before a useless cop turns up to try and kill Luther once and for all!! Oh and the film has a ridiculous and laughable ending too!!! I love low budget horror movies and i think "The Toxic Avenger" is an all time classic, but i'm afraid Luther the Geek is just boring, illogical and dull, not much in the way of gore too, just afew bloody neck bitings and thats about it! 3/10

Unique indie that sputters in the end.

[TrickTaylor · 7/10 · 30 September 2005]

I'm not one to comment on the directorial merits of any film. I judge movies on what they have to offer, and what they seem to be intending to be. So when commenting on a movie like Luther the Geek, re-released by Troma, you know what it is trying to be- comic horror exploitation.

Luther the Geek is of higher quality script wise than one would expect. The plot, though ridiculous, isn't overly campy. Luther's uniqueness is portrayed in a manner that almost make it plausible. The gore is second rate, but some decent chills are had from the situations presented.

The two winners are the actor who played Luther (sorry, too lazy to go back and check) and Stacy Haiduk, the hottie (there's only one). Ms. Haiduk, now a TV vet, but then a nubile late teen, delivers on the exploitation with a shower scene fit for rewind and pause. Her acting? Awful, but who cares. I'm not watching a movie called Luther the Geek to see fine actors.

I don't want to get into plot, or staging, or whatever. For fans of the unusual LTG is a surprisingly fun romp. Might not contain enough scares to entertain true horror fans, but followers of the odd will revel it its independent spirit.

Why you should always avoid Troma Studios

[BloodTheTelepathicDog · 3/10 · 22 December 2007]

This isn't a very good movie, but it is easily the best Troma Studios film I have ever viewed. Lloyd Kaufman - the "brains" behind Troma - isn't concerned with a good plot or even making a moderately entertaining film. His chief concern is making something bizarre. And his definition of bizarre oftentimes mirrors my definition of terrible cinema.

In this film we have the titled character Luther - whose favorite pastime isn't Baseball, but biting the heads off of chickens - receiving his release from lockup. The board has deemed him rehabilitated despite the fact that he doesn't speak - he merely clucks like a chicken - and has a set of razorblade dentures at his disposal. Of course, once Luther is set free, he goes about causing mayhem, first at a grocery store and later at a farm house.

VIOLENCE: $$$$$ (Lots of violence in this oftentimes tasteless flick. Luther sinks his razorblade chompers into a poor elderly lady waiting at a bus stop and then spends the rest of the film terrorizing the mother and daughter at the farmhouse).

NUDITY: $$$$$ (Stacy Haiduk delivers some noteworthy skin in his picture, as the former Lois Lane (I can't recall which Superman edition she was from) gives us a shower scene followed by a romp in bed with her boyfriend - a guy who just doesn't have any chemistry with Ms. Haiduk. The extended shower scene footage in the DVD extras gives the viewer quite a bit more of Stacy. She is quite something).

STORY: $ (Forgettaboutit!!!! Whitey Styles' screenplay may just be the worst ever written. The way in which Luther is released from the asylum completely throws all credibility out the window. His dialogue is something that a pre-schooler might write and the actions he writes for his characters border on the absurd. It's as if Styles spent ten years without human contact and completely forgot how people react in certain situations).

ACTING: $$ (The film belongs to Edward Terry who actually does a decent job as the Geek. He is quite menacing in a stupid barnyard fashion. Joan Roth as the mother does a super job in support but Haiduk and her boyfriend's lack of chemistry made their roles awkward at best).

Surprisingly unsettling low-budget indie horror film.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 20 December 2006]

A crazy freak named Luther is released from an insane asylum,rips off the throat of an old lady and the begins to terrorize a single farm mother,her teenage daughter and the daughter's boyfriend."Luther the Geek" is a gory horror film strictly addressed to fans of cult exploitation cinema.Luther seems to be so obsessed with biting the heads off chickens that he himself thinks he's a chicken,thus we have him clucking like a chicken in various scenes,until he does his infamous chicken dance towards the end."Luther the Geek" is almost entirely dialogue free and offers some nasty gore plus a little bit of graphic sex and nudity.The climax is surprising and as a whole the film is pretty grim.A must-see for fans of bizarre and off-beat cinema.8 out of 10.

A deadly "chicken-man" is on the loose at a farmhouse in the Midwest

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 21 February 2023]

A deranged geek with a penchant for killing with his metal dentures is unwisely paroled and wastes no time returning to his sick ways as he terrorizes people at a remote Illinois farmhouse.

"Luther the Geek" (1989) is a low-budget slasher in the mold of "Blood Harvest" (1987), just with better production values seeing as how it was filmed over the course of five weeks whereas "Blood Harvest" was amazingly shot in a 24-hour period. Both movies have a small cast of about five people with a one-dimensional story focusing on a killer at an isolated farmhouse in the Midwest.

Joan Roth plays the fair mother of the homestead, Hilary, while Stacy Haiduk is on hand as daughter Beth. The latter has some brief nude scenes that are relatively tasteful (just a heads up). I prefer Itonia Salchek from "Blood Harvest," but Stacy is effective enough here.

Some commentaries cite this as a comedy, but it's not. They probably felt the chicken-like odious antagonist was amusing, but that doesn't make it a comedy. This is serious horror on a low budget with Edward Terry convincing as the clucking nutjob. Like "Blood Harvest," it's an 80's slasher artistically done on a miniscule budget.

However, if you have no patience for slow parts that create creepy, suspenseful mood, such as the closet sequence from "Halloween" (1978), don't bother.

The film runs 1 hour, 20 minutes, and was shot in Tampico & Sterling, Illinois, both in the northwest corner of the state. The parole board scene was evidently done in New York.

GRADE: B-

Sort of OK but nasty and dumb.

[jonb-29 · 3/10 · 9 December 2008]

This is an odd movie. On the surface it's no different to many other d-grade gore movies but in at least a few ways it stands out. Firstly, the main killer character is really weird. How the heck a guy who only ever clucks like a chicken got paroled is totally beyond me. What was that female parole board member thinking: "he's totally reformed and rehabilitated". He clucks! Another problem with Luther the Geek is the script/direction for the women. The daughter is so pathetic and seemingly stupid that if she was mine I'ld slap her. In attempting to untie her mother off the bed she struggles with knots and just doesn't seem to think, "I'll get scissors, or a knife". Later on, in a similar attempt to untie her mother she wanders down stairs and starts searching in a box of scrap-booking stuff for some scissors, eventually she gets a knife. By the way, this is after the killer has obviously left in the car and just returned. Bizarre. On the plus side the daughter did get her kit off for the shower scene, so that was nice, although again unusual. It seems that in many of these d-grade gore movies they happily show throats being bitten open with gushing blood but the sight of a female breast is somehow too strong for the audience. In general, it worked but it was annoying and nasty, although the bare breasts made up for some of that.