Luther the Geek

Luther the Geek (Alternately spelled Luther, the Freak) is a 1989 American Horror film directed by Carlton J. Albright and released by Troma Entertainment. It stars Edward Terry in the title role, with Stacy Haiduk and Joan Roth playing supporting roles.

Luther the Geek
DVD cover
Directed byCarlton J. Albright
Screenplay byCarlton J. Albright
Produced byDavid Platt
StarringEdward Terry
Stacy Haiduk
Joan Roth
CinematographyDavid Knox
Edited byRick Smigielski
Music byVern Carlson
Production
company
Albright/Platt films
Distributed byQuest Entertainment
Release date
July 1, 1989 (Limited release)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

In the film, a man fascinated with carnival geeks starts decapitating people with his metallic dentures. Following his release from prison, he invades a farm and takes two female hostages. But one of the hostages fights back and kills him.

Plot

A 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. Eventually, he is shot dead by the mother while inside the farm's chicken coop.

Cast
  • Edward Terry as The Freak
  • Joan Roth as Hilary
  • Stacy Haiduk as Beth
  • Thomas Mills as Rob
  • Jerry Clarke as Trooper
  • Tom Brittingham as Geek
  • Carlton Williams as Little Luther

Production

Luther the Geek was filmed in Tampico, Illinois and Sterling, Illinois.[1]

Edward Terry, who portrayed Luther, only stood 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m) in height and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg), so cameras were strategically placed to give the illusion that Luther was larger than Terry was.[1] In addition, the elderly woman that Luther murders outside of the grocery store was, in actuality, a young woman in a wig and makeup.[1] However, Luther the Geek's makeup artist requested to not be credited on the film.[1]

Release

Home media

Luther the Geek was released on DVD by Troma Entertainment, as a special Director's Cut[2] on February 22, 2005.[3] It was later released on DVD and Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome on January 19, 2016.[2]

Critical reception

Luther the Geek received mostly negative reviews from critics.

Richard Sopko of HorrorNews.net stated that the film was "aimed at only those looking to view the complete Troma repertoire", calling it "a strange mix of sadism and comedy with a low budget and little talent".[4] VideoHound's Cult Flicks & Trash Pics called the film "[a] pointless, sadistic, stupid horror sleaze".[5] Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews rated the film a grade C, calling it "a thoroughly awful film that just might have an appeal to those who find the freak (Edward Terry) intriguing and don't care about the sloppy plot, terrible acting, or of how dumb it is even for the usual exploitation film.".[6]

The film was not without its supporters. In his book Slimetime: A Guide to Sleazy, Mindless Movies, Steven Puchalski praised Luther the Geek, saying: "Good title. Good film. And it managed to avoid being your basic slasherama with its wonderful title character."[7] It was later included in Adam Lukeman's 101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen.[1]

References
  1. Lukeman, Adam (2011). Fangoria's 101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen: A Celebration of the World's Most Unheralded Fright Flicks. Random House. ISBN 978-1400047499.
  2. "Luther the Geek (1990) - Carlton J. Albright". Allmovie.com. Allmovie. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  3. "Amazon.com: Luther the Geek: Edward Terry, Joan Roth, Stacy Haiduk, Thomas Mills, Jerry Clarke, Tom Brittingham, Carlton Williams, 'Chicken' Klabunde, Gil Rogers, Karen Maurise, Jerome Borgos, Michael Boyle, David Knox, Carlton J. Albright, Richard Smigielski, Beth George, David Platt, Ernest Shapiro: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Amazon. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  4. Sopko, Richard. "Film Review: Luther the Geek (1990)". HorrorNews.net. Richard Sopko. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  5. Schwartz, Carol; Olenski, Jim (2002). VideoHound's Cult Flicks & Trash Pics. Visible Ink Press. p. 222. ISBN 1-57859-113-9.
  6. Schwartz, Dennis. "lutherthegeek". Sover.net. Dennis Schwartz. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  7. Puchalski, Steven (2002). Slimetime: A Guide to Sleazy, Mindless Movies. Headpress/Critical Vision. p. 187. ISBN 1900486210.
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