The Driller Killer (1979)    Rochelle Films/Horror-Thriller    RT: 101 minutes    No MPAA rating (graphic violence, gore, language, nudity, sex, drug references)    Director: Abel Ferrara    Screenplay: Nicholas St. John    Music: Joseph Delia    Cinematography: Ken Kelsch    Release date: June 15, 1979 (US)    Cast: Carol Marz, Jimmy Laine, Baybi Day, Harry Schultz, Alan Wynroth, Maria Helhoski, James O’Hara, Richard Howorth, Tony Coca-Cola (Rhodney Montreal) and The Roosters, Bob De Frank, Peter Yellen, Janet Dailey, Joyce Finney.    Box Office: N/A      Body Count: 11

Rating: ***

 Before there was a Slumber Party Massacre, there was The Driller Killer, a quasi-slasher flick from Abel Ferrara (Ms. 45) making his feature film debut. It’s true. The original deranged killer with a power drill is Reno Miller, played by Ferrara under the pseudonym “Jimmy Laine”, an artist slowly losing his mind as he tries to finish a painting he hopes will fetch a high price from the rich prick (Schultz) who commissioned it. Actually, many factors contribute to Reno losing his grip on his sanity. An encounter with his derelict father (O’Hara) in a Catholic church brings to the forefront his fears of ending up a bum like his dear old estranged dad. This explains why his targets are derelicts living on the street.

 Reno lives in a Skid Row (aka the Bowery) apartment with his sort-of girlfriend Carol (Marz) and her drug-addicted lover Pamela (Day). He gets pissed off at the girls for running up the bills and not being able to make the rent yet again. He tries to get an advance from his wealthy benefactor, but the prick turns him down flat. The creep of a landlord (Wynroth) rents the apartment upstairs to a punk rock band whose loud music hinders Reno’s work. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the hallucinations, visual and auditory. Reno eventually snaps and hits the nighttime streets armed with a hand-held power drill. Like a certain brand of potato chips, he can’t stop killing after just one. He goes on a bloody spree that appears to go unnoticed by the police.

 I first saw The Driller Killer in ’94 when I rented it from Movies Unlimited. I wasn’t very impressed with it then. I decided to give it a rewatch after a recent viewing of China Girl. That’s when I discovered there’s an uncut version that runs five minutes longer than the 96-minute one I saw on video. This “pre-release version” was discovered while The Driller Killer was being prepared for re-release in 2016 by Arrow Films. Most of the new footage relates to backstory and character development. There’s also a lesbian shower scene for all you prurient types.

 It’s a weird one, The Driller Killer. Although it has a decent body count, a few cool kill scenes (e.g. a guy gets drilled through the forehead) and a fair amount of gore, it’s not exactly a slasher flick. Despite its grindhouse friendly title, I’d say it falls more in the thriller category. It contains a lot of the elements- e.g. Catholic iconography, scuzzy urban locations, nighttime scenes, extreme violence and religious themes- that would become trademarks of Ferrara’s subsequent films. It also takes us on a tour of the underground punk scene in NYC when such bands played at grungy clubs. This is New York as it used to be, a playground for punks, drunks, junkies and psychos, a place too dangerous for mortal man. Thank you, Abel, for immortalizing it on film.

 Honestly, I can see watching The Driller Killer at some sleazy grindhouse theater in Times Square as part of a late night triple feature. At the same time, Ferrara appears to have higher aspirations for his horror-thriller. Unlike most films of its ilk, the victims are all men. At least all the on-screen ones are men. Although implied, we never see any female characters die. The ending, both frustrating and right-on-the-money, is especially ambiguous with regards to the fate of a major female character. This brings me to what I think is a burning question. Carol seems like a smart lady. She’s classy too. What the hell is she doing with a bum like Reno, a psycho bum at that? She could go back to her ex-husband at any time; he still loves her. When she finally does leave, you just want to say “IT’S ABOUT TIME, DUMMY!” I know, it’s best not to ask such questions of a low budget movie like The Driller Killer but what can I say? It gnawed at me the whole time I watched it.

 I suppose it doesn’t matter that the acting in The Driller Killer is amateurish at best and terrible at worst. Movies like this generally don’t attract master thespians who studied under Strasberg anyway. Ferrara is particularly bad which actually kind of works in the movie’s favor. It just adds to the whole sleazy ambiance. It kind of reminds me of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer without the depth of character or exploration of psychology. That’s not to say there isn’t any in The Driller Killer but let’s just say it would barely pass muster in a Psych 101 class. In the end, it’s pretty good for what it is. It’s certainly different from any of the post-Halloween slashers. It’s on YouTube if you want to check it out.