The Driller Killer
Tags: cruelty, grindhouse film, murder, cult, horror, violence

Plot synopsis:
New York City. Reno Miller, a scruffy young artist, enters a small Catholic church in Spanish Harlem where he walks to the front where an elderly bearded man is kneeling and chanting "pity the sinners" over and over. Reno seems to recognize the man as his long-lost father, whom is now apparently a derelict. The old man unclasps a hand and grabs Reno's hand. Reno runs, grabs his girlfriend Carol, who accompanied him to the church, and leaves. They ride in a taxi towards downtown, and Reno calls the man a "degenerate" and a "bum". Evidently, the derelict had a piece of paper with Reno's name and phone number and requested a meeting at the church to talk to him. Reno, despite knowing that the derelict was his father, denies knowing him to Carol. Reno and Carol go to pick up Pamela, their other roommate, who is in a local bar watching a punk rock band perform.The next morning, Reno hears Pamela trying to drill a hole in the door, and he does it for her since Pamela is constantly spaced out being an ex-junkie. Reno, Carol, and Pamela all live together in a seedy apartment in the Union Square area of Manhattan and are struggling to get by. Reno complains about the bills for the utilities they get from the water, to the electricity, and to the telephone bill and of the long distance, hour-long, phone calls that Pamela and Carol made in the past month. In frustration, Reno throws the phone out a window.Later, Reno has a dream about the mysterious bearded man and about the power drill that he used earlier. Reno hates his neighborhood where homeless derelicts reside on the streets around his apartment building. Reno goes to see Dalton, a flamboyantly gay art gallery owner and tells him that he is currently working on a masterpiece painting (which is a giant painting of a buffalo against a multi-colored landscape). Reno says that he needs another week and asks for a loan of $500 to pay for his rent. But Dalton refuses, saying that he had lent enough money to Reno this past year from a variety of reasons from medical bills to urtilty bills, to Reno's artwork which includes paint and numerous canvases. But Dalton tells Reno that if he finishes the painting in one week and if he likes it, he will buy it and give Reno whatever money he needs to financially help him out.Strapped for money, since neither Reno or Pamela have bank accounts, Carol writes a check for $500 for the rent and gives it to the grumpy landlord Al, which she claims that it is her alimony check that her ex-husband gives her. The landlord takes the check, but tells Carol that they are still a month behind on the rent, and in a few days, on the 1st of the month, they will be two months behind and he wants the rest of the money soon.The following day, Tony Coca-Cola and the Roosters, a punk rock band that Pamela hangs around, move into an apartment nearby Reno's and soon begin practicing their music. The loud music from the band drives Reno more unnerved and frustrated. That night, Reno, Carol, and Pamela watch TV since they have no money and cannot go out since Reno has to spend what little money he has on utilities, and Pamela apparently squanders what money she makes on drugs. During the commercials, they watch a TV advertisement for a Porto-Pack, a battery pack with allows a person to walk around with electrical appliances.At 2:00 AM in the morning, while trying to work on his painting, Reno becomes more agitated from the loud music that Tony and his band continue to play. He sees an image of himself saturated in blood, and goes outside into the dark streets for a walk. At the foot of a garbage-strewn alley, Reno sees an elderly derelict sleeping, and stands him up. It seems that Reno is going to accost the man, but he ducks into the alley with him when they see a group of teenage gang members chasing another bum in the street and run right past them. Reno drops the bum to the ground and walks off, vowing that he will not end up like him or his derelict father.The next day, Carol gets a letter from her ex-husband Stephen, who sends her a photo of them together as well as a $100 note, saying that he misses her and wants her to return to him. Meanwhile, Reno becomes more angry and agitated when Tony and his band continues to play their music day and night and complains to the landlord about the loud music. But the landlord refuses to do anything because Tony and his band doesn't bother him, (which implies that the band pays their rent and probably bribe money, whereas Reno doesn't). However, the landlord gives Reno a gift of a skinned rabbit for dinner to show that there are no hard feelings. Reno takes the carcass of the rabbit home to his apartment, and while preparing it for dinner, repeatedly stabs it with a knife (shades of 'Repulsion').The next day, Reno eyes the Porto-Pack sitting in the window at a small hardware store on sale for $19.95. After checking to see if he has enough money on him, which apparently he does, Reno goes inside the hardware store and purchases the Porto-Pack. Later that afternoon, a troubled Reno tries to sleep when the band finally stops playing loud music for a short while, but he hears voices calling out his name, and he sees an image of Carol with her eyes cut out. That night, Reno takes the Porto-Pack and goes out, with the drill attached to it. Reno sees another homeless bum sleeping inside an abandoned building, and he drills the bum in the chest, killing him.The following evening, Reno, Carol, and Pamela have tickets to see Tony Coca-Cola and the Roosters at a local nightclub. At the club, Pamela hangs out with the band, while Reno and Carol talk about where they stand with their relationship and Carol tells him that her ex-husband has been writing to her asking her to come back to him. A little later, while Reno plays a pinball machine, Pamela asks Reno about the painting that he's working on and suggests that in attempt to get more money for the rent and bills, Reno have sexual relations with Dalton. Reno shrugs it off with slight disgust. The band finally gets to play, where Reno quickly becomes more agitated from the loud music and the crowd around him. Reno leaves the club unnoticed while Carol and Pamela dance and make out with each other.Driven to the edge, Reno returns to his apartment, grabs the drill with the battery pack, and goes out on a "drilling spree". All night long, Reno runs through the streets killing one homeless bum after another, first starting with a bum sleeping on the sidewalk, then another bum in a subway station, then a drinking derelict on the street. Reno passes a small bus stop where he sees a weird and spaced out bum hanging around and harassing two men waiting for a late-night bus. When the men board the passing bus, leaving the bum alone, Reno attacks the bum, drilling him in the back. Reno further attacks two more bums, drilling one and chasing the second down the street, and drilling him in the back. He ends his killing spree by approaching a derelict asleep in a pile of garbage bags, and drills the man in the forehead. Reno returns home for the night to sleep.Sometime later, Tony visits Reno at this apartment where the spaced out rock star comments on his paintings and asks Reno to paint a portrait of him. After Tony reluctantly agrees to pose for Reno's demand of $500 (rent money), he says that they need to start right away.The next morning, Carol reads the newspaper which has one article of a man killed with a power drill. Reno sees an image of his initial drill killing and his own bloody image, and he snatches the paper away from Carol and accuses of her trying to drive him crazy. Later, Pamela brings home a take-out pizza for dinner. As Carol and Pamela eat their plain cheese slices, they watch with slight disgust as Reno gobbles down slice after slice of pizza with green peppers on it like some famished animal. While scarfing down his fourth pizza slice, Reno tells Pamela to ask Carol if she wants some pizza with green peppers on it (even though Carol is sitting right beside him). Carol angrily throws a slice of pizza in Reno's face and leaves. Carol goes out to a nearby payphone and calls Stephen and tells him about wanting to leave Reno. Carol returns to the apartment to find a silly picture proclaiming "I'm sorry".Reno paints Tony has he poses, and at various times, plays his guitar and even makes out with Pamela who shows up. Nearby, a bum in a nearby alley, restless and indigent due to all the noise Tony made, is attacked by Reno who drills his hands to a wall in a crude crucifix pose and then kills him. Afterwards, Reno goes to work on his painting and after nearly all night of working, he approaches the sleeping Carol and Pamela in bed together and tells them that his painting is finally finished.The next day, Reno and Carol show the completed buffalo painting to Dalton. But Dalton declares the work of art "unacceptable", and leaves. Carol then yells at Reno for she is angry that he just sat in his chair with a blank expression on his face while Dalton yelled at him. The next morning, Reno awakes to an empty bed, and he chases Carol as she walks down the street with her suitcase, saying that she is finally leaving him and going back to her ex-husband. Reno tries to talk to her, and even grabs the suitcase away, but she keeps on walking. Pamela is devastated that her best friend and part-time lover has left, but Reno is beside himself with rage. He tries calling Carol and talks to her on the phone, but he is only talking to a dial tone.That evening, Reno, now completely demented, calls Dalton and invites him to come on over for he has something else to show to him, and Dalton (mistaking thinking that Reno is coming onto him) agrees to be there later with some wine. Dalton arrives at the apartment that evening, while Tony and his band are continuing to play their loud music, and Reno, dressed in all black clothing with his face pasty white and wearing blood-red lipstick, drills Dalton to death. A little later, Pamela returns to the apartment after hanging around Tony's band when she sees a bloody drill bit in the door and a dead Dalton hanging from it on the inside. Pamela backs away screaming, but Reno grabs her.Across town, Carol is back with Stephen at his apartment and while she goes to the bathroom to take a shower, Stephen prepares some tea. Reno sneaks into the apartment and drills Stephen in the back, and hides his body behind the counter. Carol, done showering, walks to the bedroom where Reno is lying under the bed covers. She turns out the lights, gets into bed, and tells "Stephen" to "come here..."

Review: This is probably best looked at in the context of Ferrara's other work, rather than in the context of the rest of the British video nasties list, because it is actually a surprisingly good film.
Along with Uli Lommel's little seen 'Blank Generation' there are very few other films that successfully document the mid 70s NYC punk scene of The Ramones, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, The Cramps et al, and 'The Driller Killer' is worth viewing for this reason alone.Ferrara himself plays the lead character, tortured scumbag artist Reno.
When a punk band moves to his building playing day and night, Reno cannot sleep and drives insane, going to the streets with a driller, killing homeless derelicts.
When the art dealer calls his painting a mockery, and Carol returns to her husband, leaving him alone, Reno goes totally mad."The Driller Killer" is polemic, forbidden in England in the 80's, but it is a good low budget slash movie.
True, when the disgruntled artist Reno(played by first-time director Abel Ferrara) first goes on a rampage armed with a drill and 'porto-pak', the film does manage to touch a raw nerve, but soon it descends to laboriously-paced repetition and struggles to hold attention.Will be remembered as the debut feature of director Ferrara, who has since never been afraid to court controversy with films like Ms. 45 and Bad Lieutenant; and probably as one of the films that sparked off the 'Video Nasty' hysteria in the UK in the 1980's; but for little else.4/10.
Reno is an artist,who living with a bisexual girlfriend and his girlfriend's girlfriend in a squalid little New York apartment.When a punk rock band moves in nearby and begins annoying him until all hours he becomes mad.He buys a cordless drill and goes berserk with it starting on a killing spree that begins with the derelicts on the streets below him."The Driller Killer" is an ugly film often connected to "The Taxi Driver" with its depiction of urban alienation and corruption of the mind.The tone of the film is murky and constantly solemn and the story takes a lot of time to unfold.There is very little tension and even less bloody violence.Still if you are Abel Ferrara's fan give it a try..
The Driller Killer hasn't gained itself as much fame or notoriety as those two, but don't let that fool you; it is still a very good movie.The story follows an artist, who, through the pressures of his work and various things going on around him, is slowly driven insane.
Because of this, we can see that there is a reason for the brutality that is later shown in the film, and therefore this movie can take credit for having a story behind it's violence, and not just having brutality for the sake of it.The Driller Killer was originally banned as a "video nasty" because of the notoriety it gained for it's cover art, as opposed to it's content.
Of course, as the title suggests; this film features a drill being inserted into various places on the human anatomy; but unlike a lot of other movies of this ilk, the horror doesn't come as a result of the huge amounts of gore spurting from the wounds, but rather from the noise that the drill makes while being used, and the insanity of the main character.
This movie is about this guy in New York slowly going crazy and viewing all these things around him (his painting gets rejected, a punk band just moved in next door, etc...) and being disgusted by the filth.
Some of it is goofy (he drills a guy, and the guy then assumes the "I'm-being-crucified!" position, kind of making reference to a scene early in the movie when he looks at a cross), some of it doesn't even make sense (he drills through glass to kill a guy who is standing about 5 feet away from the glass to begin with), and I think the director was confused a lot and on drugs.
Abel Ferrera who directed this film also plays the main character Reno Miller who is a struggling artist with two female roommates (Carolyn Marz & Baybi Day).
New York Punk Art School Giallo - Dark and Beautiful Tale of Woe. Abel Ferrara is incredible, both as director and star of this no budget thrill kill masterpiece.
A deliciously grimy and dirty debut from Abel Ferrara ('Bad Lieutenant'), 'Driller Killer' follows an artist (played by Ferrara himself) whose frustrated attempts to make ends meet and find creative satisfaction against a backdrop of urban decay and the interminable punk-rock cacophony of a band in the apartment above him eventually get the better of him and lead him to emotional breakdown and maniacal, grisly homicide.The story of a city-dweller (New York, no less) who can't take it any more and snaps clearly owes much to 'Taxi Driver' but, in contrast, 'Driller Killer' is distinguished by an almost total lack of the psychological and technical finesse so characteristic of Scorsese's film and makes its point through a relentless inarticulate bludgeoning of the viewer which could be said to be an (ahem) acquired taste.
Having said this, the film isn't as gory as its cult status on the list of "video nasties" compiled by the Director of Public Prosecutions in England in the early eighties would lead you to believe and in lacking both the searing transgression of films like 'Cannibal Holocaust' or the all-out gore of films like 'The Beyond' or 'Evil Dead' some may well be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about.However, all things considered the film is an enjoyable psychotic romp (in a masochistic sort-of-way) and I have always found its limitations to be an indispensible part of its appeal as the low budget and technical bludgeoning are central to evoking a genuine sense of the stifling degeneration of New York at its nadir.
Nope, he buys a certain power tool to "relieve stress", if you catch my drift."The Driller Killer" is an interesting case in the fact that it gained notoriety in England in the 1980's due to it landing on the infamous "video nasties" list, or horror movies that certain people (Mary Whitehouse and Margret Thatcher) felt were destroying the youth.
In fact, apart from the obligatory power drill murders, there isn't a whole lot to appeal to horror fans, and art-house aficionados will be left scratching their heads.As a whole, "The Driller Killer" is an interesting but in the end not completely satisfying attempt at mixing art-house ambitions with slasher movie gore.
It's a movie that's easier to appreciate than enjoy.Abel Ferrara would go on to direct the rape-revenge classic "Ms. 45" and several straight to video movies, as well as episodes such of "Miami Vice." Then in the 90's, he finally found credibility from critics and the like with movies such as "The King of New York" (starring Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne and Wesley Snipes), "The Bad Lieutenant" (staring Harvey Keitel in one of his finest performances) and "The Funeral" (starring Walken, Chris Penn Vincent Gallo,Isabella Rossellini, Gretchen Mol and Benicio Del Toro.).
This isn't a horror film in the sense of the big build up to anticipation (although in a few instances, such as with the annoying guy at the bus-stop, Ferrara gets to have a little brilliant set-piece as he sneaks up behind him and drills into his back through the glass), and its gore/blood factor, which is high, is what really gets it into the genre category.
Ironically it's never the human killings, but rather the image of a dead and skinned rabbit- and Reno's predilection to hammer away at the poor bunny's skull- that sticks with the audience after it ends.The 'artifact' nature of the film, of the punk rock scene that no longer exists, is also fascinating, if at times a little tiresome to watch (it depends on what music is playing really, some of it is good in that dirt-cheap way of The Germs).
Yet Ferrara wants us to see that, even though these kids are quite happy with themselves and are seemingly living the high life, he sees their lives as being as pathetically hollow as the homeless guys.You might expect from the plot outline a story that starts out with the character having a rough time, until two-thirds through the movie when he snaps and goes on a vindictive murderous rampage a la Taxi Driver.
Intriguing premise that is dragged down with uneven script and directing.'The Driller Killer' is not gory enough to attract regular slasher fans, or deep enough to gain much appreciation from art-house crowd, but it definitely pleases hardcore Ferrara fans.Plus, it features cool backdrop into 1970' New York punk scene..
"The Driller Killer" follows Reno (Abel Ferrara), a struggling artist in late 1970s New York City.
While it's not a grand slam masterpiece, I'd question anyone who called it the "worst film they'd ever seen." It is in an extremely similar vein as Joe Spinnell's 1980 New York psycho character study "Maniac," though slightly less gory; that said, it does depict some startlingly realistic murder scenes that are even enough to provoke a wince to this day.The film captures the late-seventies sleazy side of Manhattan, a world long gone but nonetheless notorious.
Although there are some well shot scenes, like when Reno (Ferrara) slowly loses his sanity and starts drilling people for almost ten minutes straight, which I might add the gore scenes are extreme and should please horror fans.
But on further viewings, I gave this movie a few chances, I still don't really see what the fuss is all about.The plot = An artist who lives in a run down New York apartment with his girlfriend and her friend, where things start to go wrong at every turn for him, he can't pay his bills, his relationship is failing and he begins to crumble and lose his mind and sets out on a murderous rampage.Okay firstly the good points of this movie is that it does show creativity by showing the main character's worsening mental state which I found totally believable, and the murders are quite graphic but it does take too long for that to happen, and showing so much of the main character's spiral into madness does become uneasy and unsettling to watch, it just borders on loudness.
The only thing worthwhile in the entire film was Carol (Carolyn Marz) and Pamela (Baybi Day) having fun in the shower.Too bad I have two more Abel Ferrara movies in my queue..
The only thing worthwhile in the entire film was Carol (Carolyn Marz) and Pamela (Baybi Day) having fun in the shower.Too bad I have two more Abel Ferrara movies in my queue..
THE DRILLER KILLER stars Ferrara himself (under the pseudonym 'Jimmy Laine') as Reno Miller, an artist being driven mad by the pressures of New York life who takes to the streets and begins murdering derelicts with a power drill.
Isn't it about time people give Driller Killer another chance most people expected this to be your regulation slasher movie, not to be.It's a hell of a lot more intelligent than most non-horror films.Check it out if you like interesting low budget films..
Director Abel Ferrara would move on from this rubbish and produce some genuinely great movies, after this, my third viewing, I just can't see where this so called conscientious statement on urban life is?The plot, as it is, concerns struggling artist Reno (Ferrara working under an alias of Jimmy Laine), fearful of being washed up and constantly blighted by the Punk Rock band rehearsing downstairs, he finally cracks and takes to the streets with his trusty power drill to murder the bums of the streets, then, shock horror!
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.This is the first great film of director Abel Ferrara, and with him he brings long-time collaborators writer Nicholas St. John and cinematographer Ken Kelsch.
Director Abel Ferrera actually got some filming done inside CBGBs in the classic days and while the music isn't that great it still provides a good homage to Hilly and his little cultural Mecca at Bowery and 2nd Ave.Much noise is made about the punk scenes and the killing scenes, which are fun to be sure, but to me the two best scenes in the movie are two quieter moments that talk about the dystopian horror of life as an artist in NYC.
The mix of exploitation and art-house on a low budget is certainly interesting but ultimately a bit aimless.If you are a fan of exploitation cinema then certainly check this movie out but please be aware of what this film is not - it isn't a mindless slasher or serial killer gore-fest.
A film that I would really compare it to would be Taxi Driver, because Abel Ferrara's Reno character slowly goes insane and takes his aggression out on the ones that are making his life difficult.
He's sometimes haunted by hallucinations as he may think he's loosing his mind and not even his girlfriend understands it and she's starting a band, however he goes nuts and uses a power drill to kill off people during the night.Very interesting and brutal low budget horror crime drama that is quite an unpleasant and unsettling movie that has became a cult classic and one of the most infamous "video nasties" of all time.
There's scenes of graphic gore and some tension to make the viewer feel a little disturbed, what i think for debut director Abel Ferrera isn't really a slasher flick but more of a gruesome character study and about descending into madness that isn't for the faint of heart.Also recommended: "High Tension", " Pieces", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", " Pefect Blue", "Black Christmas", " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Series and 2003 remake", " The Hills Have Eyes ( 1977 and 2006)", " Se7en", "Taxi Driver", " Slumber Party Massacre", "Day of the Dead", "Hostel", "Bloodsucking Freaks", "Caligula", "Blue Velvet", "Last House on The Left", " Maniac ( 1980)", " Don't Look in the Basement", " The Toolbox Murders ( 1978 and 2004)", "Blood Diner", "Dawn of the Dead ( 1978)", "Scarface", "From Dusk Till Dawn", " Silent Night Deadly Night", " Phenomena (a.k.a. Creepers)", " Scanners", "Angel Heart"," Halloween", " Nightmare on Elm Street", " House of 1000 Corpses", "Cabin Fever", " The New York Ripper", "Ichi The Killer", " The Devil's Rejects", " Men Behind The Sun", " Blood Feast 1 & 2", "The Exterminator", "Saw 1 & 2", " Two Thousand Maniacs ( 1964 and 2005)", "Leon: The Professional", " Sin City", "From Hell", "Reservoir Dogs", "Pulp Fiction", " Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky", "Battle Royale", " The Godfather", "House on The Edge of the Park", "The Toxic Avenger", " Basket Case", " Terror Firmer", " Tenebre", " The Gore-Gore Girls", " Cannibal Ferox", "Cannibal Holocaust", " American Psycho", " The Shining", "My Bloody Valentine", " Intruder", " House By The Cemetery", "City of the Living Dead ( a.k.a. Gates of Hell)", "The Beyond", " Tromeo and Juliet", "Street Trash", " Psycho ( 1960)", "The Prowler", "Wild at Heart", "Opera", " Deep Red", "Suspiria", " The Bird with the Crystal Plumage"," The Burning", " "House of Wax ( 2005)", "Demons", "Silence of the Lambs", " Natural Born Killers", "Fight Club", " Wolf Creek", " Freddy Vs. Jason", " Hellraiser", "Hellbound Hellraiser II", "Cemetery Man", "Demons", " Shogun Assassin", "Inferno", " Possession", "Dead & Buried", " " Wrong Turn", " Tourist Trap", "Just Before Dawn", and "Stage Fright"..
Knowing it was an Abel Ferrara film, I was expecting this to be much more gorier, (his gore always shocks) watching some nut go around killing people with a drill.
You know a film is in trouble when repetitive music scenes primarily there as a diversion is more interesting than the central story of a man drilling into people's skulls with a power tool.The Driller Killer was single-handedly responsible for the video nasties list, so I guess we can 'thank' it for that.
With his girlfriend Carol (Carolyn Marz) on his case, and a punk band in the apartment next door interrupting his concentration with their late night jam sessions, Reno cracks under the pressure: buying himself a portable battery pack, he takes to the streets with his trusty power drill to do a little therapeutic handiwork on some unsuspecting hobos.Abel Ferrara's directorial debut, one of the best known titles on the UK Video Nasties list, features a fair amount of mean-spirited violence, with most of Reno's attacks being on members of the city's vagrant community who, let's face it, are already having a pretty crappy time without some nutter sticking a whirring drill-bit through their cranium.Unfortunately, even though the film does deliver the expected nihilistic nastiness, it takes far too bloody long to do so, spending a large chunk of its running time focusing on the artist agonising over his art, exploring the dull relationship between Reno and Carol, and presenting us with repetitive scenes of punk band The Roosters rehearsing their uninspired numbers.
Oh, and one overlong and incomprehensible scene that sees Reno and Carol's bubble-headed flatmate Pamela (Baybi Day) unable to decide where she would like to have a hole drilled in a door (WTF was that all about?).For those interested in an authentic look at the New York punk scene at the end of the 70s, I guess The Driller Killer is mildly interesting, but as a piece of gritty and disturbing horror it is pretty disappointing, with the murders—when they finally arrive—being way too rushed and rather amateurish in execution.
And, strangely enough, he bears a slight resemblance to Reno (Jimmy Laine, aka writer-director Abel Ferrara), the starving artist driven to madness in "The Driller Killer." This film, one of the more notorious titles on Great Britain's 'Video Nasties' list, is nihilistic, grisly, and darkly funny...but also shallow and ultimately unsatisfying.