This movie could have been great. The character of Luther is pretty terrifying. Those metal teeth and wide eyes are scarier than any latex mask. There's also some genuinely frightening sequences; specifically when Luther first invades the house. But it has just enough problems to be reduced to forgettable schlock.
This movie cuts off ALL the fat. Luther gets paroled and commits his first on screen murder in the first 10 minutes of the movie. The beginning also contains one of the biggest plot holes I've ever witnessed; how on earth did he get paroled? According the the parole board, he was a model inmate and completely rehabilitated. Yet the man only speaks in chicken squawks...
There really should have used more time in the beginning to show Luther attempt to reintegrate into society. But that'd take more work so why bother? The movie comes off as really lazy.
The third act drags in for ages, and my guess as to why is that the shot the first 50 minutes of the film, and realized they didn't have nearly enough footage to qualify as a feature. So we spend the last half hour watching characters who've had absolutely no development wander around in the dark.
So honestly, this movie was too short. They needed to spend time with Luther attempting to cope with his release, and we they needed to take some time to characterize the victims. The only thing we know about any of them is that the Dad of the family is dead, and it was only mentioned in a single line. I get it, writing characters takes work, and who would want to put work into their film?
If they just put the tiniest bit of characterization in, and took 5 minutes to rethink the logic behind a few scenes, this would be a major cult classic. Luther could have been up there with Leatherface. I still recommend it; the first 50 minutes are incredibly entertaining, but I can't help but mourn the wasted opportunities.
This movie cuts off ALL the fat. Luther gets paroled and commits his first on screen murder in the first 10 minutes of the movie. The beginning also contains one of the biggest plot holes I've ever witnessed; how on earth did he get paroled? According the the parole board, he was a model inmate and completely rehabilitated. Yet the man only speaks in chicken squawks...
There really should have used more time in the beginning to show Luther attempt to reintegrate into society. But that'd take more work so why bother? The movie comes off as really lazy.
The third act drags in for ages, and my guess as to why is that the shot the first 50 minutes of the film, and realized they didn't have nearly enough footage to qualify as a feature. So we spend the last half hour watching characters who've had absolutely no development wander around in the dark.
So honestly, this movie was too short. They needed to spend time with Luther attempting to cope with his release, and we they needed to take some time to characterize the victims. The only thing we know about any of them is that the Dad of the family is dead, and it was only mentioned in a single line. I get it, writing characters takes work, and who would want to put work into their film?
If they just put the tiniest bit of characterization in, and took 5 minutes to rethink the logic behind a few scenes, this would be a major cult classic. Luther could have been up there with Leatherface. I still recommend it; the first 50 minutes are incredibly entertaining, but I can't help but mourn the wasted opportunities.