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.
A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
A New York philosophy grad student turns into a vampire after getting bitten by one, and then tries to come to terms with her new lifestyle and frequent craving for human blood.
Director:
Abel Ferrara
Stars:
Lili Taylor,
Christopher Walken,
Annabella Sciorra
A modern day Romeo & Juliet story is told in New York when an Italian boy and a Chinese girl become lovers, causing a tragic conflict between ethnic gangs.
Director:
Abel Ferrara
Stars:
James Russo,
Richard Panebianco,
Sari Chang
A New York City film director working on his latest movie in Los Angeles begins to reflect the actions in his movie and real life, especially when he begins an affair with the lead actress.
Strippers in Manhattan are being stalked and maimed by a psycho-killer. A conflicted ex-boxer-turned-talent-manager and his business partner and friend, who represent some of the girls, set out to find him before he strikes again.
Director:
Abel Ferrara
Stars:
Tom Berenger,
Billy Dee Williams,
Jack Scalia
While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.
Director:
Abel Ferrara
Stars:
Harvey Keitel,
Brian McElroy,
Frank Acciarito
A debauched Hollywood movie actor tries to piece together one wild night in Miami years earlier which remains a drug-induced blur, and soon finds out that some questions about his past are best left unanswered.
Director:
Abel Ferrara
Stars:
Matthew Modine,
Claudia Schiffer,
Béatrice Dalle
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.Written by
Elfin Slade
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. See more »
Goofs
While the Driller Killer prepares to drill a homeless man in the head, the homeless man continuously changes position between shots, in spite of sleeping soundly enough to not hear the Driller Killer revving his drill. See more »
Quotes
Reno Miller:
Oh, so it's finished? Thank you. It's finished... Since when did you become such an expert on painting? I mean, you're telling me it's finished? What do you know about painting, anyway? Really, what do you know about paint? I'll tell you what you know about paint, man: you don't know nothing about paint, man. You know what you know about? You know about how to bitch and how to eat and how to bitch and how to shit and how to bitch! But you don't know nothing about paint, so don't tell me when ...
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Crazy Credits
Movie opens with message "THIS FILM SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD." See more »
Alternate Versions
The film has had a rough time in the UK. Before 1984, when videos were not subject to censorship in Britain, it was released with the killings intact, although a minute of non-violent footage was missing from this version. It then got a reputation as one of the most notorious of the "video nasties", a media-fueled hysteria which led to the UK adopting some of the most stringent video censorship in the Western world. This reputation arose largely because of the video cover, which showed the infamous drill-in-the-forehead scene. After 1984, it became illegal to release a video without a BBFC video certificate, and the films' reputation was such that no-one even bothered trying until 1999, when a version omitting 54 secs from the head-drilling scene and 2 earlier murders was approved for an 18 certificate. The full uncut version was finally passed by the BBFC in November 2002. See more »
Driller Killer has, without question, the best director's commentary of any DVD i have ever seen. Although Driller Killer is a far cry from his second film "Ms. 45" it is a classic. Reno can't seem to buy a thrill. Despite the fact that he lives with two bombshells he can't get his painting finished to collect for the rent. His agent's reaction to his finished painting is absolutely priceless. What's worse is that his landlord has allowed a punk band to move in upstairs, adding insult to injury. The band, Tony Coca Cola and the Roosters, play "The Grand Street Stomp" a guitar riff that has a great driving force. This film really documents the village punk circuit at the end of the 1970's. Conventions are borrowed from Polanski's "Repulsion" and Cassavetes' "Shadows". The hand-held mingling with the street people of the period shows how filthy NYC was at the time. Lots of fun. Driller Killer was meant to be listened to loud!
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Driller Killer has, without question, the best director's commentary of any DVD i have ever seen. Although Driller Killer is a far cry from his second film "Ms. 45" it is a classic. Reno can't seem to buy a thrill. Despite the fact that he lives with two bombshells he can't get his painting finished to collect for the rent. His agent's reaction to his finished painting is absolutely priceless. What's worse is that his landlord has allowed a punk band to move in upstairs, adding insult to injury. The band, Tony Coca Cola and the Roosters, play "The Grand Street Stomp" a guitar riff that has a great driving force. This film really documents the village punk circuit at the end of the 1970's. Conventions are borrowed from Polanski's "Repulsion" and Cassavetes' "Shadows". The hand-held mingling with the street people of the period shows how filthy NYC was at the time. Lots of fun. Driller Killer was meant to be listened to loud!