christopher-underwood This is a very loud film. There is a suggestion at the start that the film should be played loud but it would seem loud however you played it. First and foremost an Abel Ferrara film of the punk era. The music, the manners and the lifestyle. Let's rip it up and start again! And let's add some loud electric drill to the soundtrack. It all adds up to an uneasy film to watch. There is some of Repulsion with the dead rabbit and the whole 'going mad' thing. There is some Taxi Driver with the filth on the streets and there is a Warhol feeling in that improvised and appropriate performing is preferable to long rehearsed perfection. And there is Ferrara's New York, this is not the New York of Woody Allen, whose Manhattan opened around the same time, a sentimental love letter as opposed to this 'play it loud' remonstration against pretty well everything. Difficult but important first film (excluding the porno film) that would, some would say surprisingly, set the director up for a fine, fruitful and largely successful run that continues today.

Mark Turner I know the fans of director Abel Ferrara are out there. They praise his work and compare him to auteurs from the past all the time. And yet to date I've seen one out of the 42 movies he's directed that I kind of enjoyed. None of the rest do anything for me, including this one.The plot line is fairly simple. Ferrara stars as well as directs here, playing an artist struggling to make it in New York City. He's been working on one project in particular, influenced by the violence and street scenes around him and he's being pushed to complete the project. As he continues working to survive and to create his art he slowly descends into madness. Taking to the streets at night he begins killing people with a power drill.So why does this film get mentioned time and time again, why the notoriety? To being with it was part of the infamous "video nasties", a term designating a list of films that at one time were prohibited from being seen in England. That label guaranteed the fact that people would seek out these movies to watch. With that in mind those movies became ones that were watched more than others and thus gained their fame.The movie has so many flaws it's hard to know where to start. The acting is sub-par for even a low budget film. The cinematography is barely passable. The effects are some of the worst with a bright orange blood used in scenes of carnage. The pacing is so slow you may find yourself dozing off from time to time while trying to watch it. The scenes of New York depict the city at its worst. This is not a place you'd want to visit. But for some they love that sleazier, filthy depiction of the city that way and bemoan the fact that it was cleaned up later on. Sorry, not my thing.In the end I found no enjoyment in watching this movie. I've seen a ton of slasher films and enjoyed many of them. I love horror movies. This one left me longing to go back and watch a good one or at least a passable one. This movie relies on its title and its legendary status to lay claim to fame but as a movie it is one of the worst. Honestly I think I enjoy watching PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE more than this one.All that being said Arrow Video has gone out of their way to provide the best copy of this movie for fans who still love it. They're presenting it in hi def with a restoration from original film elements and extras include audio commentary by Ferrara moderated by Brad Stevens (who wrote ABEL FERRARA: THE MORAL VISION) recorded specifically for this release, a new interview with Ferrara, WILLING AND ABEL: FERRARAOLGY 101 a visual essay guide to the films and career of Ferrara by author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, MULBERRY STREET a feature length documentary portrait of New York by Ferrara and the theatrical trailer.While this may not be my cup of tea it is important that movies of all kinds be kept alive and in the best condition possible. Praise to Arrow Video for making the effort to do so with films like this one.

Boyd This little clunker actually proves that with the right cover artwork at the right time you too can have a career in film making ... Driller Killler was one of the original videos that caused Britain to loose its sanity again and created the video nasty craze ... You either know what that is or you don't, but it caused ripples worldwide and catapulted a few great films and a lot more awful films into the spotlite ... Of course the idiots that created this silly unthoughtout farce would turn in their grave if they realised that their pointless interfering caused the exact opposite effect that they wanted it to ... Spin faster and suffer you idiots :)) ... Everyone wanted to see the films after these fools started promoting them ... Driller Killer was there much more due to its eye catching cover than any content ... Amateur ( nothing wrong with that ) but unexciting and not of any interest to most people, it launched the career of Abel Ferrara, who continues to churn out mediocre trash to this day

Ben Larson "Unfairly maligned" "A hit" A gem" Who writes this stuff? This film was a real waste unless you are a punk rock fan.It is notable because it was the film that ignited the whole "video nastie" brouhaha in Britain. It was initially banned in Britain and Germany and then released with cuts in 1999 and re-released uncut in 2002. It is now in the public domain so you can see it for free. Don't bother.The actual horror portion doesn't some until 40 minutes into the film. 40 minutes of punk rock to see someone use a drill to kill some homeless guy. He only picks on homeless guys. Why in the world didn't he go after that punk rock band that was keeping him up all night? The only thing worthwhile in the entire film was Carol (Carolyn Marz) and Pamela (Baybi Day) having fun in the shower.Too bad I have two more Abel Ferrara movies in my queue.