Killer Nerd

Harold Kunkle [Toby Radloff] is a lonely, socially awkward nerd. The film opens with a dream sequence where a Dream Girl dances around. Harold wakes up to the reality of his isolated life, and on the way to work he is harassed by TJ and Leelee, two punk drug dealers.

Harold has a crush on Sally [Heidi Lohr], a co-worker, but when he asks her out, she makes up an excuse. Sally’s admirer is Jeff [Richard Zaynor], which only heightens Harold’s insecurity. Harold also visits his overbearing mother, Helen, a visit that underscores the resentment he harbors toward his family life.

Seeking a change, Harold spots an ad on TV for a tape collection on how to be cool and orders it. When it arrives, he follows the steps and then goes to a salon for a makeover. He gets a new hairdo and buys flowers to impress Sally, but when he arrives at her house, he finds her in bed with Jeff.

Feeling defeated, Harold heads to a nightclub where he meets Jenny [Lori Scarlett] and Lilac, two punks who treat him with unexpected kindness. The pair dance with him and take him along to buy marijuana from their friends. They head to an abandoned factory, and it’s there that the friends are revealed to be TJ and Leelee [Tony Zanoni]. They tell Harold they’re taking him on a beer run, but the night quickly turns violent as they beat him.

Back home, Harold channels his pain into a plan for revenge. He returns to Sally’s house, where he pretends to be a cat to lure Jeff outside. When Jeff steps into the trap, Harold cuts his head off. He drags Jeff’s severed head into Sally’s room and then douses Sally with acid, a shocking act that marks the beginning of Harold’s brutal rampage.

Next, Harold goes to his mother’s house. There he ties her up and reveals that she let his stepfather beat him. He makes Helen drink bleach and uses a cleaver to sever her head, a horrifying moment that underscores the depth of Harold’s fury.

Harold then returns to the factory to finish the job. He stalks Lilac and kills her, then knocks Jenny out and slices her stomach open. He knocks TJ and Leelee unconscious as well. TJ and Leelee wake up bound in an abandoned infirmary with dynamite strapped to their heads. Harold forces TJ to declare that he is a “sissy boy,” echoing the cruelty they had shown him earlier. He detonates the devices, blowing up TJ and Leelee’s heads. With his revenge complete, Harold leaves the scene. The film closes with a final shot of the Dream Girl from the opening sequence lying dead on the floor, a stark image that reinforces Harold’s descent into violence.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:54