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| About Review |
Reviewer
Lavaboy
Review Date
12th August, 2004
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| Movie Credits |
Director
Abel Ferrera
Cast
Abel Ferrera
Carolyn Marz
Baybi Day
Harry Schultz
Alan Wynroth
Screenplay
Nicholas St. John
Tagline
"The blood runs in rivers ...the drill keeps drilling."
Country
USA
Classification
R
Year
1979
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| Errors |
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| DVD Cover Art |
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| DVD Information |
Format
NTSC
Region Coding
0 (plays all regions)
Aspect Ratio
1.85:1
16x9 Enhanced
No
Running Time
96 minutes
Year Released
2004
Packaging
Double Keep Case
Extra Features
Audio Commentary
Early Short Films
Filmography
Theatrical Trailer
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The Driller Killer
The Plot
Reno is a struggling painter on a downward spiral. He has little money, his girlfriend constantly pisses him off, a punk rock band next door keeps him awake all night, and to top it all off he has nightmarish hallucinations. He desperately needs a way to release his inner rage, and he finds the answer while channel surfing one night. Porto-Pack!! A battery belt that you can plug any electric device into thus making it portable. Reno makes the connection - Porto-Pack - power drill - Porto-Pack - power drill. From then on he is no longer Reno, he is the DRILLER KILLER!!
The Movie
The Driller Killer is one dangerous rip-roaring WHOO!! That's right, a big Ric Flair WHOO!! in your face. Hyper-edited, hyper-active, and hyper-acted. The film showcases a punk rock band called The Roosters led by an insane yet oddly charasmatic chick magnet nicknamed Metro. You'll see the Roosters rehearsing, playing live, and on drugs back stage. Some might find this highly annoying since it has very little to do with the story, but I thought it fit nicely into the insanity of it all. Besides, their music was pretty damn good.
The Driller Killer is director Abel Ferrera's (he also plays the lead role of Reno) first feature length film. He is an accomplished highly respected director who has worked with great actors like Harvey Keitel (Bad Lieutenant) and Christopher Walken (King of New York). Ferrera is a master at capturing the grittiness of the New York City streets. This adds a certain gloomy atmosphere and realism to The Driller Killer that you don't normally see in horror films. Make no mistake though, this film is not high art. It can easily pass off as an exploitation flick with its blatant female nudity including an almost out of nowhere lesbian sex scene. Gorehounds will love all the drilling and the complete destruction of a real skinned rabbit.
So, if you are in the mood for something wild then check this film out.
The DVD
Considering The Driller Killer was a low budget film shot on 16mm back in the 70's the video quality is probably the best it could possibly be without it being digitally remastered. You'll get the occasional scratches, fuzziness, and dark areas, but nothing over-whelmingly significant that would ruin your enjoyment of the film. Ferrera's early shorts featured on Disc 2 are a different story: "Nicky's Film" and "The Hold Up" have such poor video quality that it is unwatchable. The sound quality on The Driller Killer is stellar. No wonder the film starts off with a message saying, "This Film Should be Played Loud".
Bonus features include the two early shorts mentioned above and one more called "Could This Be Love?". All shorts are fairly boring and as Ferrera said on the commentary that they were student films and he was just basically experimenting with the camera at the time. Only good thing about the 3 shorts is Ferrera's commentary on "Could this be Love?" - it's absolutely hilarious. Other features include a full commentary track by Ferrera on The Driller Killer. This is one WEIRD commentary. It seems like Ferrera was high while he did it. He comments impulsively on immediate things he sees in the film like homeless people, McDonald's container, paintings, and especially the women. He comments so much on the women that he comes off soundling like a sex maniac. He rarely offers any useful background information like the booklet inside the DVD case does. Another "bonus" is a cheesy 70's trailer to a XXX-rated porn flick Ferrera directed...so you little kiddies stay away from this DVD!!
One important thing I must point out is this is the Limited Edition (only 10,000 copies printed!!) DVD. There is a Collector's Edition DVD also. I've seen both versions, and in the Collector's Edition DVD the screen goes bright red in two scenes while in the Limited Edition one it doesn't. BIG difference, especially since one of them is a key scene. There are no new or different bonus material on the Collector's Edition that the Limited Edition doesn't already offer.
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