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The Driller Killer

Play trailer Poster for The Driller Killer 1979 1h 36m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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64% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 32% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Enraged by rejection and a punk-rock band, an artist (Jimmy Laine) vents his anger on winos with a power drill.
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The Driller Killer

Critics Reviews

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Anton Bitel Little White Lies a thematically dense, messily grounded film which, although about a drill, never bores - and there is nothing else quite like it. Nov 28, 2016 Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness Only sporadically exhibits the skill and wit of [Ferrara's] scintillatingly skuzzy subsequent efforts. Rated: B- Apr 2, 2006 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com More grindhouse than arthouse, The Driller Killer does have a striking ambience... If only the rest of the film could match these visceral moments. Rated: 2.5/5 Sep 15, 2020 Full Review Andrew Pollard Starburst Has some surprisingly strong performances, coupled with a vibe and attitude that's a great look into the gritty punk atmosphere of New York City at that time period. Rated: 7/10 Apr 11, 2018 Full Review James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk you can see both Ferrara's strengths and weaknesses at play here, although some of the latter can be explained at least partially by marketplace demands for a low-budget genre film Rated: 2.5/4 Dec 20, 2016 Full Review Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy In a lot of very important ways, the film is stiff and clumsy... there is one way in which the film is kind of brilliant: its depiction of the New York punk scene. Rated: 4/10 May 30, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Wayne K You can always count on Abel Ferrara to bring you a raw and ruthless depiction of New York life, and that’s exactly what he does with The Driller Killer. It’s a film that was really pushed on the basis of its gore and brutality, even though those elements look very tame by today’s standards, so much so that it ended up on the Video Nasty list. The shortcomings, be they budgetary or otherwise, are plain to see. Poor audio and visual quality, obviously non-professional actors in the principle roles, scenes that were clearly filmed without permits and amateurish blood and butchery effect. That being said, I’ll take a cheap film with something real to say than a slick and glossy product with nothing between the ears. Ferrara himself takes on the lead role, and it’s clear that he’s better off behind the camera than in front of it. The film doesn’t do enough to justify his rampage, whether that’s because Ferrara doesn’t convey the slip into madness very well or because so much time is devoted to the band that keeps him up at night, focusing more on their music than on the effect it’s having on him. That being said, the film doesn’t shy away from the depicting the ugly side of New York: the homeless crisis, the drunk and druggies and the prevalent destitution. Whatever flaws it may have, much of it can be chalked up the paltry budget, and Ferrara obviously has a lot to say about struggling artists trying to make it in a world that cares little about their craft, or them as human begins. Add a series of random and brutal kills, and you get a fun, if uneven, exploitation film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/04/25 Full Review Maksim S The Driller Killer aims for cult B-movie greatness, clearly aspiring to join the ranks of low-budget shock classics. Unfortunately, ambition can’t mask its chaotic execution: awkward pacing, shoddy camerawork, and uneven performances conspire to make the film frustratingly unwatchable. What might have been a grimly inventive homage to grindhouse horror instead collapses under its own pretensions, leaving little more than a frustrating footnote in exploitation cinema. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 11/02/25 Full Review Adam B A true milestone and frontrunner or top film of the 70s grindhouse era, The Driller Killer is full of those grimy environments, synthetic sounds, trippy imagery, and bloody kills. Every character is not easily forgotten and the main character/antagonist is one of the most haunting I've seen in a while. The opening 20 minutes does involve some major confusion in direction and perhaps the ending drags a bit, but this is a film that needs to be watched to be able to claim experience in all eras of horror. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/05/25 Full Review Pet N Classic NYC grit sleaze with arthouse leanings. The ramshackle cuts and open-ended resolve add to the overall chaos of this B movie splatter fest. This one's a blast! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/22/23 Full Review steve d No longer shocking so not much is there. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Disjointed, no reason for the main character to do the things they did. Poorly edited, a fun and gory Halloween movie but not worth a rental. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Driller Killer

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Movie Info

Synopsis Enraged by rejection and a punk-rock band, an artist (Jimmy Laine) vents his anger on winos with a power drill.
Director
Abel Ferrara
Screenwriter
Nicholas St. John
Distributor
Umbrella Entertainment [au], Rochelle Films, Magnum Video, Wizard Video
Production Co
Navaron Productions
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 15, 1979, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 4, 2012
Runtime
1h 36m
Sound Mix
Mono
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