Luther the Geek

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

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-