The Driller Killer was Abel Ferrara’s “mainstream” directorial debut; it is like the punk rock answer to both Taxi Driver and Repulsion. Reno Miller’s life is rapidly falling apart. He is broke and unable to finish a commissioned painting that will keep the phone connected and pay the rent on his East Village apartment. His girlfriend has taken more of an interest in their junkie punk girl roommate than him lately. There is also the punk band living in the apartment directly below Reno’s who practice their abysmal racket at all hours of the day and night. His peace of mind finally explodes after the ROOSTERS subject him to a particularly shambolic live set at Max’s Kansas City. He has been having violent recurring dreams about murdering people with a power drill, which becomes a reality when he acquires a portable battery and runs through the streets of New York attacking and killing random homeless people. Reno’s drill works its gory magic on people more significant in his life before long. The Driller Killer is a raw, seedy depiction of a mind going horribly wrong in an urban hell; I recommend watching it as a double feature with William Lustig’s Maniac. English authorities banned it for fifteen years after moral puritan groups labeled it a “video nasty,” inspiring punk bands like the DAMNED, DISORDER, and the NEKROMANTIX to reference it in song.
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