The Geek is a famous freak show attraction that would bite the heads off of chickens for shock value, This film takes a interesting twist on the Geek legend. Troma sometimes manages to put out some more serious horror films , movies that manage to successfully develop decent stories and characters along with a more dark approach much like Combat Shock and a few others. Once again here Troma strays from there typical splatstick approach and this one pays off to a certain extent.
Luther the Geek opens in 1938 where some townsfolk gather around too watch a geek bite the head off of a chicken, during the show, young Luther who seems to be obsessed with the freak is knocked down and loses his teeth while trying to catch the show. After the crowd clears the boy takes a taste of the chicken blood before his mother hauls him off. We then flash forward to present day we learn that Luther turned out to be quite the troubled youth and ended up getting himself imprisoned in a mental ward after murdering several people by biting their necks with some homemade Steel false teeth. 25 years have passed since his incarceration and his release date is up, After a jury vote he is released due to good behavior. upon release it quickly becomes apparent that Luther may not have been rehabilitated as he certainly has troubles adapting to the outside world. Right away he runs into some trouble for eating raw eggs in a grocery store and after being kicked out he attacks an elderly women and murders her in the parking lot in broad daylight. Once the police arrive ,Luther manages to sneak into a car in the lot and makes his escape hidden in the backseat. This is where the real story begins.
Mrs.Lawson unknowingly takes Luther back to her farm and once she arrives home she hears strange noises coming from her chicken coop were Luther has taken as a hiding spot until he makes his presence known by breaking into her house and assaulting her. After a struggle and a failed attempt to shoot Mrs.Lawson, Luther manages to capture her and tie her up in a bedroom when Lawson's daughter Beth and her boyfriend Rob arrive home to visit from college. After Luther takes to hiding in a closet and we are treated to a sex scene between the young couple, Rob hears someone outside stealing his motorcycle. Rob spots Luther trying to flee on the bike but he has troubles getting steady so Rob gives chase on foot. After a crash Rob catches up with the madman and a fight ensues leaving rob knocked out. Back at the house Beth has found her mother tied up in the bedroom and while she tries to free her captive mother ,Luther returns and Beth is forced to hide out.Luther does not stick around long though as he just comes in to steal a gun and some ammo before taking the family car to go finish off Rob.
When Luther arrives to take out Rob a chase ensues which leads them into the woods where Rob gets shot on accident by a passing hunter. Luther then springs to action and kills the hunter.Luther again returns to the house now with a wounded Rob as bait to get Beth out of the house. Shortly after she shows her face a police officer shows up which leads Luther to take the hostages into the house and force Beth to get rid of the cop. She tries to show signs of worry but it goes somewhat unnoticed . After the Officer leaves Luther attacks Beth and Rob , but when going for the mother she manages to get him locked in a room. This is when Mrs.Lawson comes to the grim realization that both Rob and her daughter have been killed. Luckily for her the officer returns and she notifies him of Luther's whereabouts. After a scuffle Luther flees into the chicken coop and a standoff takes place between Luther and the Officer. After a long suspenseful game of hide and seek, The cop is killed when trying to handcuff Luther. Mrs.Dawson manages to hide unseen until the following morning when Luther comes back to steal a few chickens for the road. When she is spotted Luther goes in for the kill but she puts him off by making chicken sounds and Luther begins to believe he may have found a potential mate, After he does some chicken style showing off, Lawson sneaks out her shotgun and blasts Luther away. Unfortunately for her she seems to have completely lost her mind in the process, as she squawks like a chicken crying as the credits roll.
Luther the Geek is a film that manages to make allot out of nothing, The limited budget and sets is made up for with atmosphere and a genuine claustrophobic feel at times. Now to be honest this film is by no means is this an instant classic but it does successfully pull off a nice little quasi-slasher flick. The character os Luther is goofy but at the same time truly creepy with his chicken like movements and noises throughout the film. The rest of the cast here is pretty standard and par for the course with most involved in the small cast serving as just padding for the films still rather small body count however The actress playing Beth puts on a good performance and surprisingly went on to have a pretty nice acting career after this ,even still to this day being featured on several T.V. shows and Soaps. Mrs.Lawson also provides a believable performance as a mother who has been pushed to her limits. What this movie lack in body count it does make up for in gore effects and a bit of built up suspense. If you are a fan of troma this one is worth checking out but keep in mind it is not the typical Troma style as it is much more serious in tone than most of their other films and as a slasher film this one s pretty decent and you could do much worse. If you are looking for a different twist on the typical slasher flick this one is more than worthy of your time, but again don't go in expecting anything mind blowing or worthy of being placed on a favorite movie list, and this one will not disappoint.
Gore:6
Nudity:4
Characters:6
Story:5
Overall: 5.5 out of 10
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