Luther the Geek is a 1990 American horror film written [as Whitey Styles] and directed by Carlton J. Albright (writer and producer of The Children (1980). It stars Edward Terry, Stacy Haiduk and Joan Roth. Vern Carlson (Galaxina) provided the synth score.
Following a brief American VHS release by Quest Entertainment, film was picked up by Troma Entertainment.
Young Luther Watts has a fascination with carnival geeks. When he loses his teeth while at a geek show and has them replaced with a pair of sharp metallic dentures, he acquires a liking for human blood. He begins murdering people by biting their heads off, but is captured and placed in prison.
After being in prison for over twenty years, Luther is paroled and released. He begins roaming around his hometown, killing people by eating off their heads. Luther invades a farm, where he holds a mother and her daughter captive…
In the US, the film was released on Blu-ray + DVD by Vinegar Syndrome on January 19, 2016. A British Blu-ray via 88 Films is due out on 11 September 2017.
Buy: Amazon.co.uk
Reviews:
“Luther the Geek eventually becomes a home invasion story of sorts, with the titular ghoul beating Hilary into submission, chasing the poor woman around her own property before claiming his prize. Albright isn’t much for elaborate visuals, but he has a way with mood, finding eeriness with Luther’s general presence, with viewers never quite sure if the monster is simply out to kill or perhaps engage in a few cruelties before he gets down to murder.” Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com
” …has an original madman who remains menacing despite his clucking and crowing, some surprising gore (the animal violence is entirely simulated), and a suspenseful third act followed by one of the most WTF resolutions. The film’s slick lensing is the work of David Knox who got his start on The Toxic Avenger and then served as camera and Steadicam operator on a several mainstream films throughout the nineties…” Eric Cotenas, DVD Drive-In
“Dialogue in the film is minimal – the clucking may very well outnumber the words spoken – but the acting is admirable. Terry owns the role of the cannibalistic Luther, losing himself in the crazed character. Joan Roth, in her only feature acting gig, provides a fairly strong “final girl” performance, even when the script doesn’t give her much to work with.” Alex DiVincenzo, Broke Horror Fan
“There are elements of dark humor scattered throughout the movie, much of which revolves around the fact that our titular character doesn’t speak but instead clucks like a chicken, but the story plays things pretty straight for the most part. The ending is nuts, as it should be, but it works in the context of the story that Albright and company are telling, while a few gruesome gore effects help to keep things appropriately icky.” Ian Jane, Rock! Shock! Pop!
Choice dialogue:
“Alright, chicken man. Colonel Sanders wants to fry your ass.”
Filming locations:
Sterling and Tampico, Illinois, USA
Running time: 80 minutes
Trivia:
The film’s working title was The Freak
