A deranged, clucking man with metal teeth descends on an isolated farmhouse in Carlton J. Albright’s 1989 cult flick Luther the Geek, re-released on Blu-ray by Troma.
The Film
Luther the Geek is what I call a Fifth Pick Flick. For those who remember video stores, especially the over-stocked with so-much-genre mom-and-pop stores, they’d offer 5 bucks for five flicks. Get a few classics and some random oddball to maybe fall asleep to, maybe keep up with surprisingly goodness. Luther The Geek, written and directed by the fellow Troma release The Children’s Carlton J. Albright, is a pretty good one. The 1989 flick is a slice of oddity with a going-for-it weird performance, a small cast and location, a couple of nice, bloody deaths, and just a good and cheap time. For what it is, it’s a fine flick. Perhaps on a wider view, not a good one. But an entertaining one. Luther the Geek is a Troma pick-up (after a poor theatrical/VHS distribution, it was previously released by Troma on DVD in 2005, then Vinegar Syndrome in 2016, now back to Troma), so for that aim, yeah, it works.
The film follows Luther the Geek (natch) as he gets out of prison for a bunch of murders (unseen), chomping into the victims with a set of metal teeth. In the opening, he lost them as a young man, watching a carnival geek (the chicken-biting type, not the pop-culture niche sort). After terrorising a grocery store and attacking an “old lady” (a young woman in hilarious old-age make-up), he lays siege to a farmhouse with Hilary, played by Joan Roth, her 20-something daughter, an early role for soap star Stacy Haiduk, her daughter’s boyfriend, along with some cops and others. That’s pretty much it. He stalks around, clucking all the while; they fight; upper hands come and go. We get some bewbs, a solid amount of blood (mostly from Luther’s biting), and a decent little flick. I loved Edward Terry’s take on Luther. Man’s got the wide murder eyes and clucks about. It’s certainly a strange performance, and it makes the standard plot otherwise much more watchable.
A little spoiler to follow here, but …gotta love Joan Roth’s method of getting the edge on Luther. She goes full Amy Steele in Friday the 13th Part 2 (my favorite of those flicks, btw). Instead of imitating the beheaded Mrs Voorhees, she links to Luther’s love: chickens, clucking her way to confusion and victory. Hilarious.
Luther the Geek is a bizarre, small slasher that does things a little differently, and that goes a long way. It is what it is; for a film like this, if it grabs your attention, you’ll dig it. Give it a bite.
The Package
Luther the Geek arrives via Troma in a standard blue Blu-ray case with a new black-and-white sleeve with a “Tromatic Special Edition” moniker that carries into the menu presentation. However, this 2026 release of Luther the Geek is essentially the same as the 2016 Vinegar Syndrome release, with some general Troma bits added. The disc automatically plays a Toxie defeats the Russian Invasion of Ukraine short (also starts on all new Troma discs).
The Presentation
Unfortunately, the film doens’t look great. Perhaps a step above a standard DVD, it’s often a little fuzzy, and there is a noticeable grain over it all. This is especially notable in the blacks, as so much of the film is at night, the white fuzzy grain harkens back to those Fifth Pick Flick VHS days. Subtitles are English.
The Features
As noted, the Luther features are identical to the 2016 Vinegar Syndrome release; however, for newcomers, this is a good set. The Troma-based features are ported from their 2005 release.
Commentary (2016)
Writer-director Albright sits with a moderator from Vinegar Syndrome for a good talk of working with small budgets to get results, the performance of Terry, working on The Children, and the issues of distribution.
Introductions
1 – Lloyd Kaufman – Troma head honcho is very excited to present the flick under his label, and scours the offices to look for freaks and geeks. You’d think he’d find more with Troma and all! (5m) (2005, not on the Vinegar Syndrome release)
2- Carlton J. Albright – Welcoming to his flick, now out from the thumb of previous distributors. He’s mad at the crooks and tells you so! (1m) (2005)
Interviews:
- Classic interview with Carlton J. Abright (2005): Albright speaks mostly about where the ideas came from for the film and a little production notes. (5m)
2. Classic interview with William Albright (little Luthor) (2005): Definitely little no more, as was 10 in 1989! He talks of working on set with dad and hanging out with Big Luther Terry. (3m)
3. Conversation with Carlton (2016): A newer interview with Carlton Albright. More on the troubles of making it and the reception since it became more available. (7m)
4. Fowl Play: An Interview with Jerry Clarke (2016): The State Trooper actor talks about his career, his art, and gives some funny behind-the-scenes stories of making Luther the Geek. (10m)
Fowl Takes (2005)
Albright breaks down four scenes from the film. Cool to have a little more insight to various moments; presented with dailies/behind-the-scenes video. 1: Luther fights the state trooper (9m) 2: Luther bites the “old” lady (3m) 3: Luther gets shot (1m) 4: Shower scene (bewbs! And butts!) (7m)
Troma’s Freaks (2005; not on the Vinegar Syndrome release)
Those freaks Kaufman couldn’t find in his introduction were hidden down here! A few short clips of people with incredible and strange skills!
The Archery Freak (2m); The Man Who Walks on Blades (1m); The Sword Swallower (1m); Tim the Torture King (2m)
Additional Troma-based features are also found on Frightmare and discussed on the #Shakespeare’s Shitstorm discs: Innards music video, Radiation March, Troma in Times Square, TA in 4k!, and Coming Distractions (Troma trailers).
Final Thoughts
Luther the Geek is a highly enjoyable, small, build-from-the-ground-up kinda-slasher. For what it is, it’s rather enjoyable. If you have the 2016 release, there’s not much more to add unless you want about 12 minutes of additional Troma features. If you skipped that one but dig the flick, Troma’s new 2026 release of Carlton J. Albright’s Luther the Geek is worth biting into.
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