Driller Killer (1976)

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Directed by Abel Ferrara.

Starring Baybi Day, Bob de Frank, Jimmy Laine, Carolyn Marz, Harry Schultz, Peter Yellen, Harry Schultz.

Iconoclastic filmmaker Abel Ferrara made his directorial debut with this gory but fascinating horror tale about a troubled artist (played by Jimmy Laine, aka Abel Ferrara). Haunted by bizarre hallucinations and the fear he'll end up a wino like his father, the artist eventually snaps and begins taking out his frustrations on a growing number of homeless people, attacking them with a power drill. In time, his violent obsessions get worse and he begins attacking people closer to him, including an art dealer and a woman he's been dating. Ferarra also wrote several of the songs performed by a punk rock band in the film; he gained greater notoriety with his next film, the cult item Ms. 45. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Zombie
by Dr_Gor in Dr_Gor Blog

liked it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"I was 19 years old during the period of late '79- early 1980. And it is during that time that I wandered into a seedy, downtown Denver 'movie-house'. The only thing I knew about the movie I was about to see was the name on the marquee... "ZOMBIE"... I was STUNNED! This Movie Was PHENOMENAL! Up to this point, the 'goriest' movies I had ever seen would be "Night Of The Living Dead" and "The Exorcist" ... (I had not yet seen "Dawn Of The Dead" which was released the year before...) ... and some B-movie Drive-In fare like "Last House On The Left" and "The Toolbox Murders" and "Driller Killer" and "The Drive-In Massacre" and, of course, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ... This movie (for me, at the time) outdid them ALL! From the FANTASTIC 'comic book' story line to the AMAZING, 'in your face'', "GORE FX"! ( "excuse me, Miss.. ... " [More]

Re: Really Cheesy (a.k.a. Drive ...
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

liked it.

"... Ah, the 'Drive-In'.... (sigh..)... Back 'in the day' there were more than a DOZEN Drive-Ins in and around Denver! Now I think there is ONLY ONE left in the entire STATE! And, FORTUNATELY, it is NOT FAR from where I live! Although I have not been in quite some time! They just don't show the 'cool' movies like they USED TO! My Dad was a HUGE movie freak and started taking me to the Drive- In when I was 5 or younger! ... Sometimes the whole family would go, and sometimes it was just me and him! There was one in town called 'The Lakeshore Drive-In' because it was next to 'Sloan's Lake' ... I almost cried when they tore that down! (more on this in a minute...)... One time, they had a 'marathon' showing of all 5 (!) "Planet Of The Apes" movies and just me and my Dad went... and we stayed till the END! And I stayed AWAKE!!! We ate pizza and he drank beer and I drank pop all night long! We got home about ... " [More]

Italian Horror....
by Dr_Gor in HORROR MOVIES 101

liked it.

"I was 19 years old during the period of late '79- early 1980. And it is during that time that I wandered into a seedy, downtown Denver 'movie-house'. The only thing I knew about the movie I was about to see was the name on the marquee... "ZOMBIE"... I was STUNNED! This Movie Was PHENOMENAL! Up to this point, the 'goriest' movies I had ever seen would be "Night Of The Living Dead" and "The Exorcist" ... (I had not yet seen "Dawn Of The Dead" which was released the year before...) ... and some B-movie Drive-In fare like "Last House On The Left" and "The Toolbox Murders" and "Driller Killer" and "The Drive-In Massacre" and, of course, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ... This movie (for me, at the time) outdid them ALL! From the FANTASTIC 'comic book' story line to the AMAZING, 'in your face'', "GORE FX"! ( "excuse me, Miss... you have something in your EYE ...") , This movie was great in EVERY way! At the time, I did not ev ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

Abel Ferrara directed and starred in this notorious gore/art film about a painter (played by Ferrara using the name "Jimmy Laine") who snaps because a loud punk-rock group moves into his building. After killing a few bums with his drill, he starts taking revenge on people he resents. Dark and moody, this film comes across as a slightly classier version of Last House on Dead End Street, albeit with the same oppressively grim ambience. One of the primary films involved in the British "video nasties" debate, it really isn't all that bloody save for one graphic drilling, but the disturbing tone still makes it a decidedly unpleasant experience. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Tags: alienation , artist , revenge , drilling , hallucination
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