Abel Ferrera who directed this film also plays the main character Reno Miller who is a struggling artist with two female roommates (Carolyn Marz & Baybi Day). You can tell quite early he is unstable. After Ferrera completes his descent into madness, with his power drill in tow he starts knocking off derelicts in the NYC streets late at night. The couple good things about the film were that Ferrera did do a good job in showing a dirty, grimy, scummy side of life. The film actually always leaves you in that setting. The other was the music by The Roosters (which perform their music next door to his apartment). The music alone brings my mark up one point. Yes, that is how much I didn't enjoy this movie. Without the music it would have been 2/10. I wouldn't really suggest this movie to anyone as I did find the opening 20 minutes confusing, but once my mind got into Ferrera's way of telling this story it clicked better, but it didn't help improve the story. I also found it as scary as a warm summer day. I certainly will see Ferrera's other work after this one, but I do hope they get much better than this one.

This is a very loud film. There is a suggestion at the start that the film should be played loud but it would seem loud however you played it. First and foremost an Abel Ferrara film of the punk era. The music, the manners and the lifestyle. Let's rip it up and start again! And let's add some loud electric drill to the soundtrack. It all adds up to an uneasy film to watch. There is some of Repulsion with the dead rabbit and the whole 'going mad' thing. There is some Taxi Driver with the filth on the streets and there is a Warhol feeling in that improvised and appropriate performing is preferable to long rehearsed perfection. And there is Ferrara's New York, this is not the New York of Woody Allen, whose Manhattan opened around the same time, a sentimental love letter as opposed to this 'play it loud' remonstration against pretty well everything. Difficult but important first film (excluding the porno film) that would, some would say surprisingly, set the director up for a fine, fruitful and largely successful run that continues today.

I can remember the first time I saw this movie, after hearing great things about it and it's some what dubious reputation, I was expecting something outstanding, but when I first watched it I was sorely disappointed, okay everyone has they're own opinion but to my knowledge at the time I found this movie loud and extremely hard to follow. But on further viewings, I gave this movie a few chances, I still don't really see what the fuss is all about.The plot = An artist who lives in a run down New York apartment with his girlfriend and her friend, where things start to go wrong at every turn for him, he can't pay his bills, his relationship is failing and he begins to crumble and lose his mind and sets out on a murderous rampage.Okay firstly the good points of this movie is that it does show creativity by showing the main character's worsening mental state which I found totally believable, and the murders are quite graphic but it does take too long for that to happen, and showing so much of the main character's spiral into madness does become uneasy and unsettling to watch, it just borders on loudness. And not just that the scenes don't quite flow together and the pacing is uneven, and there are just way too many pointless scenes that don't really add anything to this movie, but I do like the grittyness and grainy quality of this movie though.All in all "Driller Killer" is an okayish movie just not to my taste.

"Unfairly maligned" "A hit" A gem" Who writes this stuff? This film was a real waste unless you are a punk rock fan.It is notable because it was the film that ignited the whole "video nastie" brouhaha in Britain. It was initially banned in Britain and Germany and then released with cuts in 1999 and re-released uncut in 2002. It is now in the public domain so you can see it for free. Don't bother.The actual horror portion doesn't some until 40 minutes into the film. 40 minutes of punk rock to see someone use a drill to kill some homeless guy. He only picks on homeless guys. Why in the world didn't he go after that punk rock band that was keeping him up all night? The only thing worthwhile in the entire film was Carol (Carolyn Marz) and Pamela (Baybi Day) having fun in the shower.Too bad I have two more Abel Ferrara movies in my queue.