The Driller Killer
An artist slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the streets of New York after dark and randomly killing derelicts with a power drill.
Why it matters
A grimy descent into urban madness that captures late-70s New York’s decaying art scene and street violence with grimy verisimilitude.
- Early Abel Ferrara — raw, unpolished, and dripping with the era’s economic desperation and artistic angst
- Brutal, practical effects punctuate the power drill kills with unsettling immediacy
- A time capsule of Manhattan’s seedy underbelly before gentrification, soaked in grime and paranoia
- Not for pacing purists, but a must-see for fans of grindhouse grit and psychological breakdowns caught on Super 8
Director
4 horror films in catalog
Cast
Horror DNA
Gore
71
Slow Burn
50
Psychological
100
Supernatural
0
Creature
0
Disturbing
83
Fun Factor
33
Cerebral
85
Survival
33
