The Driller Killer (1979)

I know the fans of director Abel Ferrara are out there. They praise his work and compare him to auteurs from the past all the time. And yet to date I've seen one out of the 42 movies he's directed that I kind of enjoyed. None of the rest do anything for me, including this one.The plot line is fairly simple. Ferrara stars as well as directs here, playing an artist struggling to make it in New York City. He's been working on one project in particular, influenced by the violence and street scenes around him and he's being pushed to complete the project. As he continues working to survive and to create his art he slowly descends into madness. Taking to the streets at night he begins killing people with a power drill.So why does this film get mentioned time and time again, why the notoriety? To being with it was part of the infamous "video nasties", a term designating a list of films that at one time were prohibited from being seen in England. That label guaranteed the fact that people would seek out these movies to watch. With that in mind those movies became ones that were watched more than others and thus gained their fame.The movie has so many flaws it's hard to know where to start. The acting is sub-par for even a low budget film. The cinematography is barely passable. The effects are some of the worst with a bright orange blood used in scenes of carnage. The pacing is so slow you may find yourself dozing off from time to time while trying to watch it. The scenes of New York depict the city at its worst. This is not a place you'd want to visit. But for some they love that sleazier, filthy depiction of the city that way and bemoan the fact that it was cleaned up later on. Sorry, not my thing.In the end I found no enjoyment in watching this movie. I've seen a ton of slasher films and enjoyed many of them. I love horror movies. This one left me longing to go back and watch a good one or at least a passable one. This movie relies on its title and its legendary status to lay claim to fame but as a movie it is one of the worst. Honestly I think I enjoy watching PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE more than this one.All that being said Arrow Video has gone out of their way to provide the best copy of this movie for fans who still love it. They're presenting it in hi def with a restoration from original film elements and extras include audio commentary by Ferrara moderated by Brad Stevens (who wrote ABEL FERRARA: THE MORAL VISION) recorded specifically for this release, a new interview with Ferrara, WILLING AND ABEL: FERRARAOLGY 101 a visual essay guide to the films and career of Ferrara by author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, MULBERRY STREET a feature length documentary portrait of New York by Ferrara and the theatrical trailer.While this may not be my cup of tea it is important that movies of all kinds be kept alive and in the best condition possible. Praise to Arrow Video for making the effort to do so with films like this one.

"The Driller Killer" follows Reno (Abel Ferrara), a struggling artist in late 1970s New York City. He lives with two female companions who are lovers, and the three struggle to pay their bills. As tensions rise within Reno, they are exacerbated by a no wave band incessantly practicing in his building, and he slowly loses his sanity. To cope with matters, he purchases a power drill and a battery pack, and begins drilling through the heads and torsos of anyone who crosses his path.Often credited as Abel Ferrara's first proper film, "The Driller Killer" eluded me for years. It seems to be an extremely polarizing film, with people either lauding it or calling it the worst film they've ever seen. 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. The cinematography is rather impressive, and there are multiple hallucinatory sequences that give the film an art-house feel to it. The script is straightforward, charting Reno's Dostoyevskyan descent into madness, but the film's gritty style gives it a bit more of a punch even when it is lulling in places. The acting is a mixed bag, though Ferrara's performance as the troubled Reno is compelling. The remainder of the cast are unknowns, and though they aren't standout performances, they are serviceable, especially given the type of film this is. I watched the pre-theatrical cut of the film so I am not sure how much it differs from the theatrical cut, but based on what I watched, the film had a bizarre and downbeat ending that was utterly appropriate to all that preceded it.Overall, "The Driller Killer" is a solid psychothriller that has been either maligned or much-loved. I thought it was a rather good film; a nice blend of grimy slasher elements, scuzzy late-seventies New York aesthetics, and a psychological character study. It's not really a slasher film, though it does take on that role, especially in the last act. It's a gritty film, something I'd liken to other grindhouse thrillers like "The Last House on Dead End Street" or the aforementioned "Maniac." For what it is, it's very solid—well shot and sufficiently disturbing. 8/10.

The Driller Killer (1979)* 1/2 (out of 4) Reno Miller (Abel Ferrara) is living in New York City and the slums finally force him into cracking and he goes on a killing spree with a drill.Ferrara's THE DRILLER KILLER somehow became a cult favorite over the years and I honestly don't understand the appeal. I have heard people compare it to the ugly side of TAXI DRIVER meaning that the character in that film had a good job, lived in a good area and had things that could have worked for him but he had a mental issue. They say that the killer in THE DRILLER KILLER is poor, has nothing going for him and is a truer side of the underbelly of NYC.All of that might be true but whereas TAXI DRIVER was a masterpiece this film here is just a mix of art and exploitation but it doesn't neither thing right. As an art film this thing really doesn't work because it's really not all that well-made. I will say that Ferrara had a great eye for bringing to sleaze to the screen and I'd argue that he also managed to give the film a rather weird atmosphere that works in its favor.The problem with this film is that you just don't care about anything you're watching. The characters are all rather one note and none of them are interesting. Even worse is the fact that the killer just isn't really a person you can connect with, feel bad for or even understand for that matter. The first half of the film is basically just watching him wonder around until he finally picks up the drill and we get some violent death scenes.The BBFC banned this film outright and I'm sure this had something to do with the notorious reputation it got. The film became one of those movies that you just had to see for yourself. The first time left me underwhelmed and I must admit a second and third viewing really didn't help either. While there's some good gore scattered throughout the picture there's still not much entertainment to be had.

You know I came across this movie, I'd be longing to see, I joined up with a video shop, way out of my area, cause I couldn't get this title anywhere else. 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. Well.... I was almost, stupefied. I couldn't believe what I was watching. It was the drill that let me down, kind of not keeping up his part of the bargain. Abel plays the nut, and does it well I might add. He's a kind of Lou Reed looking character, a struggling and loud artist, sharing a loft with too girls. As pressure from all sides takes it's toll, he snaps, going out there onto the streets, in the dead of night with his mack drill, and killing derelicts. The pizza chomping scene, I remember well in this disappointing unshocker. On the most part, the film actually bores. I'd probably see it again, one day, out of curiosity, just to confirm my analyzation, but I'm steadfast with this one, as I'm rarely wrong.