The Driller Killer (1979)

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.

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John (screenplay) (as N.G. St. John)

Stars:

Abel Ferrara, Carolyn Marz, Baybi Day

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Reno is an artist struggling to survive in NYC. He draws inspiration from scenes of daily street life and occasional random violence. Under pressure to finish his oft-delayed grand masterpiece, his psychotic alter-ego takes over and he begins killing random vagrants to boost his creativity, not quite realizing that it is happening in reality. When an art dealer grimly rejects Reno's finished masterpiece, Reno's mental condition quickly deteriorates.

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | video nasty | psychopath | violence | power drill | 

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Taglines:

Several pints of blood will spill when teenage girls confront his drill

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Driller Killer

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Navaron Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 101 min (pre-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James O'Hara's final film.

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Goofs

When the Driller Killer drills into a homeless man's head, he does not drill far enough to cause death, as evidenced by the depth of blood on the drill-bit.

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Quotes

Reno Miller: Look, I can't even think with these guys playing that music in the place below mine. It's like they play all day and all night. They don't quit for a minute. Hell, they don't even stop to go to the bathroom!
Landlord: It's not my problem. It's your problem.
Reno Miller: What do you mean it's my problem? You're the super around here. It's your job to keep this place quiet.
Landlord: My job? It's not my job. Besides, they don't bother me.
Reno Miller: What do you mean? Why should they bother you? Look what the hell you're doing, fixing spark...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Movie opens with message "THIS FILM SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD."

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Alternate Versions

The uncut version of this film had been banned on three occasions by Australian censors, in September 1982, July 1983, and November 1984. It was finally awarded an R rating in September 1985, after some violence was trimmed, most notably the scene depicting a drill through the forehead. This version was released widely on VHS. The Australian DVD released by Umbrella Entertainment is still the cut version even though a sticker on the cover clearly states PREVIOUSLY BANNED NOW RELEASED UNCUT. The artwork shows as rated MA but the disc shows rated R. The actual runtime is 94.20min whereas the unrated 2 disc region 1 version runs for 95.57min.

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Connections

Featured in At Dawn They Sleep

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Soundtracks

Grand Street Stomp
Written by D.A. Metrov (as Metro), Abel Ferrara (as Laine) and John Paul McIntyre (as MacIntyre)
Performed by Tony Coca-Cola and the Roosters

User Reviews

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.