Unpleasant, depressing(..and ultimately very sick)portrait of a mentally disturbed artist's plight and how various factors(..a rock band's non-stop practicing;his gay art dealer's nasty, negative reaction to a long-waiting artistic rendering of a buffalo;ever-growing supply of homeless living near his gloomy, smallish, yet rather ridiculously expensive flat) lead to his psychopathic reign of terror, murdering numerous street people with a power drill. The film only sporadically(..but effectively)highlights Reno's(Abel Ferrara)attacks on the homeless, penetrating their bodies(..and, in one instance, a forehead)with a spinning drill as they shake and quiver. The meat of the film shows the grind and misery of Reno as he attempts to finish the buffalo portrait which has been a long-suffering chore which may just be why it lends to the later ridicule. His girlfriend, Carol(Carolyn Marz)takes a great deal of abuse, despite being quite supportive of him, even using the alimony payments from her ex-husband to pay the rent. For pleasure, a druggie, Pam(Baybi Day)lives in the flat with them, supplying Carol with a lover and pal. Meanwhile, the punk band, always jamming and rehearsing, are a camera mainstay, their sessions a constant in the film. Ferrara's Reno is a crude, vile jerk with little redeeming value, but perhaps he has formed into such a creature thanks to his bleak, immodest surroundings. Ferrara makes it a priority to display not only his lead character's plight but New York's as well. There's nothing remotely pretty about this film, it's an ugly, urban hell we see and the photography and characters represent this. Fans of Lustig's Maniac might embrace Driller Killer since the same kind of New York is projected in that film as well, with Spinell a mentally disturbed killer(..except his victims of choice are pretty women while Reno's are hobos and alley-cats)who scowers the streets seeking fresh victims to slay. There's a really warped scene where Reno chops up a skinned rabbit. Some may consider this an accurate representation of a gritty, unglamorous city dwelling place where the undesirables go to die and innocence has no place of refuge. Ferrara's later films would definitely have better production values, be far more narratively strong, and certainly contain better casts. This film shows the signs of a new filmmaker(..stylistically wise, with a plodding pace that drags), but one willing to take daring, provocative risks.
Review of The Driller Killer
