Budget Movie Review: Driller Killer

Driller Killer is a budget slasher-flick that came out in 1979. It's about an artist who is pressured by everything in his life, he goes insane, and kills people with a drill. Sounds Cheesy to you? Well, it is... But it's not without it's merits.

Let's talk about some of the good parts first. The Main-character, Reno, is a pretty awesome guy, and is pretty likable in a "hey, that guy is a douchebag, he's the most awesome douchebag ever" kinda way. Throughout the course of the movie, we find out how Reno hates bums, loud music, and annoying women. In the movie, he eventually kills them all, using a drill. It's an interesting concept at first, but it does get pretty old. The music in the movie is pretty decent and better than most low-budget films, we get some cool music from the band

Now, I'm not sure if it was the movie itself, or the quality of the DVD, but the entire movie seems very dark. Not in tone, but in terms of actual light. Most of the scenes in the movie take place at night, so this is a problem. Not only that, but the story is way too intricate for this type of movie, and it's handled really sloppily, and it's hard to follow what's going on. There's something going on with a band called the Roosters (Which I'm not sure if they're a real band or not) who just moved into Reno's apartment, an art salesman who likes Reno's past works but not his new stuff, and a bunch of bums doing bum stuff out on the street. The characters aren't even introduced by name, I only realized the main character's name was Reno at the end when he's about to kill one of his final victims, and he's begging for his life.

Another thing the movie has a problem with is originality. If you're going to see a slasher-flick, you want to see some original kills. the gore was okay, there's a lot of fake blood spewed about, and for a movie from 1979, it all looks pretty good. However, a lot of the kills involve him just drilling somebody in some part of their body, nothing special. I will give it a bit of credit, however, some of the kills were pretty interesting, especially when he drilled some guy's hand into a wall, and released the drill bit, essentially nailing him there. There's a few more parts where he did that, but that's about as far as originality goes.

The biggest problem the movie has, though, is it's pacing. Most of the movie is spent focusing on how this guy is slowly going insane. The first kill doesn't happen until 30 minutes into the movie! That's pretty surprising for a slasher-flick. The worst part is, the second kill doesn't happen until almost an HOUR into the movie. The last half-hour of the movie is where most of the killing takes place, but it's such a long journey to get there. The parts where he's not killing people range from how annoyed he is at the band downstairs, to how his wife is driving him insane, to how he has to keep working on his latest painting. There's a few parts that are funny, but it's mostly a bunch of dramatic bullshit by actors who aren't suited to play dramatic roles.

Overall, the movie has many glaring flaws and only a few redeeming values, but somehow I kind of liked it. Sure it's slow-paced, the story is a mess, and it only has a few original kills. But there's moments where it's super-cheesy and unintentionally funny, and I get a real kick out of those parts. However, that still doesn't excuse it from being a poorly made movie. If you like slasher flicks and have a high-tolerance for cheesy acting and stories, then check it out. Otherwise, stay away from this one.

I give Driller Killer a 3 out of 5.