Review of The Driller Killer (1979) by Adam F — 13 Aug 2013

The Driller Killer (1979).

Rating: 2 / 5.

There are some genuine moments of brilliance in "The Driller Killer" but overall it's a dull film that shows its director's lack of experience and low budget. Written on the page, the story sounds really exciting and tense: Reno Miller is a frustrated artist that lives with his bisexual girlfriend Carol and her girlfriend Pamela. They live in a crappy, crime-ridden neighbourhood in New York City and struggle to pay their apartment's rent. Reno is working on a painting, a piece he considers his best work and is looking to sell for a significant sum to Dalton Briggs, the owner of an art gallery. Things are not going well for Reno however. He is frustrated by the growing bills, the poor living conditions, the people in the neighbourhood and when a rock band moves in next door and insists on playing loud music well into the night, the pressure gets to him. He grabs a portable drill and buys a "port-a-pack", a battery belt that allows you to carry an outlet around your waist, and murders a homeless man. In a daze and only partially aware of what he's done, Reno realizes that this act of violence has appeased his inner demons, for now...

One of the major problems with the film is the picture quality. This 1979 horror film is in the public domain and that means that if you see it, you'll likely see a muddy print with a lot of scratches and muffled sound. While this isn't the film's fault necessarily it does make the film very hard to follow. The Dvd I managed to get a hold of didn't have subtitles either (probably the most important "special feature" a Dvd can have, except for chapter selection) which added to the difficulty in viewing the film. If you're going to give this film a try, make sure to find a good print. Otherwise don't even bother.

The film is often confusing and really lacks some clear explanations. It doesn't help that the very first scene just jumps into the story without introducing the characters properly. Reno enters a church with his girlfriend and approaches an elderly man kneeling towards the front. When Reno approaches the man, he seizes Reno's hand. Reno then runs away while we learn that the man had a piece of paper with Reno's name and phone number on it. Who was this person? we never find out. How did he get Reno's phone number? we never find out. What did this scene mean in the grand scheme of things? Well we can assume it contributes to Reno's eventual madness but otherwise it means nothing. You're lost from the very first scene.

If you were hoping for a goofy slasher film, you're out of luck. The kills in the movie are not creative, there is no humour and although there is a lot of blood and plenty of nudity, fans of horror films will not be satisfied. There are three ways that Reno uses the drill to kill people: drilling someone in the chest, drilling someone in the back and drilling someone in the forehead. That's a huge letdown. No variety in the bits, no scenes with a potential victim hiding under a board while the killer tries to get them by punching holes with the drill, no scenes where a wounded homeless man clutches his injured leg while the killer toys with him or anything. There is a single scene where someone gets their palms fastened to a wall but other than that once you've seen the very first kill and you've seen Reno pierce through a man skull (which happens once) you've seen everything the movie has to offer in terms of "slashings".

The most frustrating part of the movie is the fact that despite the poor cinematography, the bad music, the continuity errors, the shallow characters and the disappointing slasher elements there are a lot of good things in the film. The evolution of Reno's madness is totally convincing, the sets and locations are very good and the very last scene of the film is genuinely chilling. I can't stress enough how brilliant the finale is. The movie is almost worth seeing just for the last few shots except for the fact that it is guilty of the biggest sin a film can be guilty of: it's boring. While being frightening is not essential for a horror movie (I would argue that some classic horror films are no longer frightening because the censorship that was in place at the time) it is essential that you care about seeing the end of the story play out and in this instance, it becomes so dull at times you will find it hard to sit through. Sure the awful music (intentionally awful or not, hard to tell) will drive you just as crazy as Reno and seeing the lousy conditions the characters are living in will make you feel probably just as frustrated as the main character. Sure, there are some well-done shots while we follow the killer as he stalks his prey but you won't care because the pace is so slow and too many scenes are just inconsequential.

It's a decent first effort from Abel Ferrara and there are some moments of real genius in the film. If you can find a re-mastered print you should check it out but with the lousy ones currently available, there's very little that can save what is ultimately a dull slasher film. I want to recommend it for the ending, but I just can't. I say fast forward to the final chapter and skip the rest or wait until they release a remastered version on Blu-ray and THEN give it a shot. (Dvd, July 26, 2013).