The Driller Killer (1979)

The Driller Killer (1979) brings to life the gritty streets of 1970s New York City. Watching it, I felt like I was there… but I didn’t want to be. Should the film be praised for its realistic depiction or panned for its distasteful content? For what viewer ratings are worth, the majority says it’s above average (barely), but I’d knock it down at least two points. My superficiality allows me to acknowledge the effort, but my sensibility doesn’t allow me to like it.

I’m not the only one whom the constant noise of a punk band rehearsing next door, the constant pressure of bills with no money to pay them, and the constant reminder of homelessness drives crazy. Our main character, Reno Miller (Jimmy Laine aka director Abel Ferrara) literally goes crazy. He has repeated waking dreams of shaking blood from his soaked body and an unhealthy obsession with a portable power source, the “Porto Pak.”

Chekhov’s Gun appears in the form of an electric drill when one of Reno’s female roommates, Pamela Bergling (Baybi Day), asks for help drilling a hole in the door, but can’t decide where to put it. When he has his mental break and takes the show on the road, he at first kills only homeless men that seem to be everywhere. While violent, these scenes aren’t necessarily gory. That is, until the infamous shot of boring into a man’s forehead.

That iconic image, placed onto the videocassette cover box in England, earned it a spot on the list of Video Nasties and The Driller Killer was banned until 1999. It was not officially released uncut in the UK until 2002. The film’s release in other countries was uneventful. Critics acknowledged that it was not as violent as the VHS cover and even that it was more of a “psychodrama” than a horror film. I agree that it’s been mis-categorized as a Slasher.

As for queer content, Pamela and the other roommate, wait for it… Carol Slaughter (Carolyn Marz)… take showers together and do more than wash each other’s bodies. It’s unclear, but one can assume it’s a three-way relationship with Reno. More obvious is the character of Dalton Bridges (Harry Schultz), the art dealer who refuses another cash advance to Reno for his next painting. I won’t repeat what Pamela tells Reno to allow so Dalton will get off his back.

Bringing his new hobby indoors and expanding it to include victims he personally knows, Reno invites Dalton for a meeting in his apartment. Dalton appears to believe his host has finally decided to be intimate with him and brings a nice bottle of wine. Reno makes himself pretty for him, but instead of a body part, uses his drill as a phallic symbol to penetrate Dalton. That’s looking at it through a queer lens and may not have been the intention.

The Driller Killers was Abel Ferrara’s first full-length movie. 20 years later he made the controversial film, Bad Lieutenant, which earned kudos for Harvey Keitel. In between, was the critical darling Ms. 45 (1981), and after that came Body Snatchers (1993), Dangerous Game (1993) with Madonna, and The Addiction (1995.) I’ve not seen everything he’s directed, but I’m guessing the grit is his trademark.