The Driller Killer (1979)

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John (writer)

Release Date:

15 June 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

It will shatter you!

Plot:

An artist slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the streets of New York after dark and randomly killing derelicts with a power drill.

Plot Keywords:

Painting | New York | Artist | Painter | Power Drill

Cast

Abel Ferrara	...	Reno Miller (as Jimmy Laine)
Carolyn Marz	...	Carol Slaughter
Baybi Day	...	Pamela
Harry Schultz	...	Dalton Briggs
Alan Wynroth	...	Al the Landlord
Maria Helhoski	...	The Nun
James O'Hara	...	Man in Church
Richard Howorth	...	Stephen - Carol's Husband
Louis Mascolo	...	Knife Victim
Tommy Santora	...	Attacker
Rita Gooding	...	TV Spot
Chuck Saaf	...	TV Spot
Gary Cohen	...	Voice-over (voice)
Janet Dailey	...	Girl at Audition
Joyce Finney	...	Girl at Audition

Also Known As:

Driller Killer (Australia)

Runtime:

96 min | UK:94 min (cut version) | UK:96 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Australia:MA (re-rating) (uncut) | Australia:R | Germany:(Banned) | Ireland:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 (2004) | UK:18 (cut) | USA:Unrated | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:18 (video re-rating) (uncut) (2002)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Navaron Productions

Trivia:

Could have easily escaped the UK 'video nasty' list if the original pre-VRA video cover wasn't so graphic. it featured a very bloody close-up of a drill boring into a man's head with lots of blood. The video cover was featured in video catalogues and received many complaints.

Quotes:

[Reno opens an envelope for the energy bill]
Reno Miller: Holy Christ! What is this? They send us the bill to Madison Square Garden? What are they kidding me, man? How the hell are we supposed to pay this bill? What is this? The bill for three months?
Carol: That's the bill for one month.
Reno Miller: Christ, what have we got here? A refrigerator, a couple of lights?
[opens another envelope]
Reno Miller: Let's see here, telephone. Oh no! Houston, Texas?
Pamela: My mother.
Reno Miller: Look at this, L.A. $1.50... $2.75... $7.50.
Carol: Yeah, they're mine.
Reno Miller: You talked to L.A. one time for two hours and 10 minutes? What are you, out of your mind? Are you crazy? What's this? Philadelphia?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Empire of the Censors (1995) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Grand Street Stomp

The thin line between trash-exploitation and art-house cinema

Despite of its reputation and the repulsive sounding title, Abel Ferrara's The Driller Killer is more of a social drama about life in the big city than it is a horror shocker. Ferrara himself stars as Reno, an unbalanced painter slowly going crazy due to financial troubles, the noisy punk-band next door, demanding employers and housemates, and non-stop images of the pauperized city. He buys a tool and unleashes his fury on the numerous homeless in the area. Driller Killer is truly grim and as much shocking as the classic film it's clearly inspired on (namely: Taxi Driver) but it lacks a fitting tone and a appropriate background drawing. The film opens with a very confusing sequence in which the protagonist is standing at an altar while being approached by an elderly man. This footage is extra since the 1999 re-release and it looks like Ferrara wanted to supply his film with some kind of spiritual depth. It leads nowhere, though. In fact, take out the killings and you're left with a somewhat boring urban portrait. Driller Killer was included in the infamous list of 'video-nasties' and therefore automatically received a controversial cult-status without people even seeing it. Although the substance matter doesn't belong amongst the other titles in the list, The Driller Killer often wanders on the thin border between trash-exploitation and art-house cinema, as it features voyeuristic elements (a gratuitous lesbian shower sequence) as well as sheer close-ups of blood-puddles and whirring drills.

Abel Ferrara without a doubt is one of the most remarkable directors in American cinema history. I'm a huge fan of most of his films like 'The Addiction', 'Bad Lieutenant' and 'The Funeral'…It's not that I didn't like 'the Driller Killer', I just think that the poor production values really show off and that Ferrara did not yet had the professionalism and talent to make up for it by adding the trademarks that made his later films so brilliant. If you're interested by the repertoire of this often discussed director, you better don't start by watching Driller Killer. You're appreciate it a lot more after seeing some of his 90's films.