Hayes Hudson's House of Horror: Blu-ray Review: LUTHER THE GEEK (1989)

Sunday, February 1, 2026

Blu-ray Review: LUTHER THE GEEK (1989)

LUTHER THE GEEK

Distributed by: Troma Films / MVD Entertainment

If you are familiar with Troma Films, you usually know what to expect going into a film. There is a difference, though, in a true Troma produced film and one that Troma just picked up the distribution rights to. A Troma produced film are films such as THE TOXIC AVENGER, TROMEO AND JULIET, CLASS OF NUKE'EM HIGH, and POULTRYGEIST, just to name a few. They are silly and crude (think lot of bathroom humor). LUTHER THE GEEK does not fit your normal Troma Film stereo type, as this is just one that they picked up the distribution rights to. Now don't get me wrong, I love the crazy Troma films and all their non-pc humor, but this film is just not that kind, so I wanted you to be aware of that for sure. While I wouldn't say this is a serious horror film by any means (the killer does bawk like a chicken most of the film), but it is more serious compared to those above mentioned Troma titles.

Before I go any further, here is the basic plot of the film from courtesy of the Troma Films website:

A young country boy is plunged into the depts of homicidal madness after witnessing the strange expolits of a carnival “geek,” a caged drunk so desperate for whisky that he bites the heads off live chickens in front of a freak show audience. Thirty years later, Luther is all grown up and out on parole, after spending his childhood behind bars for a series of grisly murders. Armed with only a pair of razor-sharp metal dentures and only able to communicate thorugh chicken clucks, Luther restarts his bloody rampage as he terrorizes the citizens of a small town and takes a young mother and her family hostage in their isolated farmhouse.

I had no clue what to expect going into this one. As much as I love Troma Films, and collect them, this is one I had never seen. I've owned the DVD for years, but had just never got around to watching it. I was glad when the newly released Blu-ray arrived for review, as it gave me an excuse to watch this film finally. I had been curious about it for years, and after watching it, I'm a little upset it took me this long to see it.

LUTHER THE GEEK is an excellent horror film from the 1980's. While it barely counts as an 80's horror film having been released in 1989, it definitely has the 80's horror movie feel to it. One thing I was really impressed with was the gore and the amounts of it. Luther made himself some dentures with metal teeth filed down to sharp points, so he can really do some damage! And boy does he do some damage! He uses his new metal teeth to go on a killing spree, with his method of choice being to rip out the neck and jugular of his victims. Actor Edward Terry does a remarkable job and plays this part of a twisted killer to perfection. He gives off such a creepy vibe, especially when he is taunting his victims with his clucks and bawks like a chicken.

One thing to note here, this is Director Carlton J Albright's only Directing credit on IMDb. I find that very odd, as this was such a well made film, especially for it's time. I would have loved to see what else he could of done with more horror films. He did write and produce one of my all time favorite (yet little known) horror movies, THE CHILDREN. That film came out in 1980 and is a must see. If you haven't seen THE CHILDREN or LUTHER THE GEEK, get both and make a night of it with an amazing double feature!

LUTHER THE GEEK is available now on Blu-ray and contains the following Special Features: