I Watch Films: The Driller Killer

 

The Driller Killer

In 1979 New York artist Reno Miller meets his estranged, homeless, derelict father. Returning to his rundown apartment he finds the electricity bill, the phone bill (he responds by ripping the phone off the wire) and the rent bill, none of which he can pay. Apparently neither can his flatmates who are Carol, formerly a flight attendant, and her lover Pamela, who is off her face thanks to drugs. Reno goes to meet his agent asking for money; he won’t lend him more, but will pay in full for the painting he’s promised if it’s delivered by the end of the week.

Back at his apartment an avant-garde post-punk band called The Roosters have taken an apartment close by, which they use for practice. Disturbed by the music while painting, Reno leaves in the middle of the night, confronts another homeless man, declares he won’t end up like him. Along the way we’ve seen adverts for portable battery packs for power tools and Reno has used his drill to fix the door. He also has visions of blood.

Reno complains about the music to the landlord (or caretaker?) who isn’t worried about it, asks for rent, and also gives Reno a skinned and gutted rabbit, which he stabs several times before making dinner with it. He has a vision of a mutilated Carol.

That night Reno goes out again, with his drill, and kills a homeless man. Later Reno, Carol and Pamela go out to a club where they see The Roosters play. Reno leaves, retrieves his drill and goes out into the city to kill more people with the drill.

Tony Coca-Cola, lead singer of the Roosters asks Reno to paint his portrait, in return for the $500 he needs for his rent and bills. Finishing the painting he’s promised his agent Reno takes it to him, only to have him turn it down as unacceptable. Carol leaves for her ex-husband; Reno then invites the agent over to see another painting, preparing his drill for the final rampage of the film.

Is this then a simple shocker of a film, or is there more going on. Does it perhaps say something about the rundown nature of New York in the late 70s, the era of crime epics set there, when it looked terrible. The use of a drill, rather than, say, an artist’s knife or hand tool, does that mean anything? Reno rages against becoming homeless, afraid that he is on the brink of tumbling out of his precarious existence – and falls another way into violent madness.

Watch This: Violent horror film embedded deeply in bohemian New York
Don’t Watch This: Frantic guy drills people to death