Everyone has heard of movie maniacs Michael Myers, Norman Bates and Hannibal Lector, but mention the name Lester in regard to the pantheon of cinematic psychos and the most likely reaction will be looks of utter bewilderment. It's a shame, because Lester deserves better: he's just as bats••t crazy and as unpredictably dangerous as his better known contemporaries, has his own catchphrase (But of course!), and even gets to bed some of his attractive female victims before offing them.As a child, Lester is responsible for the accidental death of his disabled brother Caleb, for which his mother never forgives him; years later and guilt has resulted in Lester (now played by Erik Stern) adopting his dead sibling's personality as well as his own. When dressed as Caleb, he is a short sighted, balding gardener with a manky hand, but when he becomes Lester, he is a be-wigged ladies man who punishes any female who has treated his 'brother' with contempt.The film is low budget and exploitative, with any excuse for a spot of bright red gore or cheap titillation, and many scenes verge on the comical, but it still qualifies as a genuinely powerful experience thanks to Stern's intense dual performance, pitiful as Caleb, but completely menacing and merciless as Lester. In the film's most memorable scene, he does away with the film's only sympathetic female character, stripping her naked and repeatedly bashing her with a serrated hoe—it's a real shocker of a moment, a brave move that makes this film all the more impressive, and all the more deserving of recognition.

Stephen Thrower's bible of American exploitation highlights – entitled "Nightmare USA" – is rapidly becoming the most expensive spending I ever made! Not just the book itself is quite costly, but the way he extendedly glorifies certain obscure and incredibly rare movies simply make you crave to own them yourself and you unwarily start browsing the Internet for copies. But hey, so far all purchases were worth every single penny I spent on them and Thrower's reviews – albeit sometimes a little over-enthusiast – are always 100% reliable if you too are into demented and raunchy 70's cinema as well. "The Love Butcher" sounded like one of those titles I simply couldn't afford to miss and indeed it certainly didn't disappoint. This is a wondrous example of cheap, sleazy, grainy and tasteless exploitation madness, with a simplistic but effective plot and a handful of shockingly misogynistic scenes of violence. The creators looked for inspiration in Alfred Hitchcock's notorious horror film "Psycho" (like many aspiring horror directors did around that time) and unscrupulously imitated the concept of a schizophrenic killer. However, this film doesn't keep it a secret until the end. The crippled Caleb works as a gardener in a fancy neighborhood where a lot of pretentious and bored housewives spend their days twirling around in sexy outfits. Caleb is a quite pathetic figure with a shiny bald head, exaggeratedly thick glasses and a malformed hand, so he's usually the target of mockery for his obnoxious female customers. But when Caleb returns home, he talks to his brother Lester – a black foam mannequin wearing a blond wig – and then suddenly becomes him. Self-confident Lester is, and I quote, "the great male Adonis of the universe" and he pays a charming visit to each woman that mistreated his "brother". The result of these visits is a disturbing murder spree that baffles the local police, even though the victims all live on the same block and have the same gardener. I wonder how they could overlook that pattern… As far as I'm concerned, "The Love Butcher" is vintage and delightfully prototypic exploitation stuff. The atmosphere is thoroughly unpleasant, the male characters are despicable yokels (ending every sentence with "yes, ma'ammmm) and the overall tone of the film is extremely women-unfriendly to say the least. The murder sequences aren't as repulsive as I expected (or hoped) but there nevertheless are a couple of highly memorable bits of nastiness, like the creative use of various gardening tools and a brutal butchering in an outdoor swimming pool. Besides, the slight and already forgivable lack of bloody carnage is widely compensated by the awesome and over-the-top demented use of dialog! The conversations between Caleb and his alter ego Lester, and particularly the latter's monologues, and indescribably entertaining to listen to and they even single-handedly uplift "The Love Butcher" to the level op pitch black comedy. The supposedly heart-breaking flashback near the end, clarifying what tragic event overcame Caleb and Lester at young age, is literally the cherry on an already delicious cheesecake. It has to be said the film owes a lot of its powerful impact to the performance of Erik Stern as the schizophrenic. Stern is stupendous and maintains the exact right balance between comical and disturbing during the numerous sequences where he just talks against a foam mannequin or empty gardening outfit. The male supportive cast is pretty forgettable, but the female victims give good performances, most notable Eve Mac (as a lewd Texan co-ed), Robin Sherwood (as the cocky rebellious chick) and Kay Neer (as the cherubic good-hearted woman you really wish she survives the ordeal).

It was the early nineties and me and my 2 stoner flatmates loved hiring dodgy horror movie at the local video shop. From time to time i would pick up this whilst trying to choose a rental in the store, and sing the title to the tune of "The Love Boat" to my whacked mates - I'd usually get a laugh. One day i showed up at home with this under my arm. We blew a joint and watched in awe/horror/hysterics. The 3 of us all found the last scene quite disturbing. So much so that whilst the the credits rolled, one of my flatmates stood up from his chair, walk to the video player, ejected the tape, placed it under an upturned milk crate in the middle of the living room, and left.This movie is gold.

I've seen this movie many times, and I still like to watch it. This movie is beyond bad. I love it.The plot is a sad mutation of a very very popular thriller. The acting is so bad at times The "action" in this movie is awesome. The "Love Butcher" kills all of his victims (all female, of course) with garden implements. Accomplishing this modus operandi could take quite a bit of doing, particularly if the urge to murder comes while indoors. This is not a problem for our killer, though. In his world, people keep hoes and rakes near the fireplace.There are some great lines, atrocious dub-ins, and druken edits. Add to this a deliciously lame disco-era feel, and you've got a winner.If you're a connesieur of bad films, you have to see this one.