The Driller Killer.  The tabloid style title alone speaks of a film I want to see.  In this case what we have is the first feature film from Abel Ferrara, director of King of New York, Bad Lieutenant and others.  Ferrara sought to make a horror movie in the vein of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but we he produced is something so much more.  What we have here is a searing portrait of city life, specifically New York City, and The Apple bleeds from every frame.  The Driller Killer is Taxi Driver filtered through an unrefined, grindhouse lens, the story of an artist so suffocated by the pressures of life in the big city that he explodes in rage.  This is a horror film, but something wholly different than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  The scariest part is that people explode in violent rage much more often than people accidentally stumble across a family of cannibals.

Ferrara plays Reno Miller, the Lower East Side painter who is at his wits end, driven to insanity by his roommates, his financial situation, and the punk band rehearsing at all hours downstairs.  We also see throngs of homeless people in New York long before the throngs of homeless people in New York were being talked about.  The Driller Killer paints a picture of the city as hell, all done through low budget, midnight movie style.

Filmed in 1977 and 1978, Ferrara got a lot for what little money he had.  The acting is by far the greatest, but everyone seems to be taking the film seriously, and this early collaboration between Ferrara and Nicholas St. John, who wrote most of Ferrara’s films, shows the seeds of what would come later: spiritual conflict, deeply flawed characters, and the city as a living, breathing thing.  Ferrara seems assured as a director, even at this early stage; he clearly knew exactly what he wanted.

The Driller Killer is an interesting independent film that seems to be masquerading in the guise of a midnight horror film, and now that it is available on DVD in its pristine condition, it demands to be seen.

The Driller Killer is presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and the transfer is pristine, restoring the color and lighting levels to their original settings. This low budget film was shot on grainy 16mm, so this is not the sharpest picture you will ever see, but that is part of the charm, and the transfer itself is quite remarkable.

The soundtrack for this film has been completely remastered and sounds sharper and clearer than it ever has. There is good sound dispersal, with the edge being toward the center speaker.

The bonus material here gives us some interesting insight into Ferrara’s early career.

Audio commentary by Abel Ferrara: as anyone who has heard the director’s commentary track on the special edition King of New York DVD knows, Ferrara can always be counted on to give an entertaining, if not always totally coherent, commentary.  “Who’s that guy on that cross over there,” he says, as Reno walks into the church at the beginning, or, “Look at that bitch on wheels,” when one of the characters appears for the first time, or, my personal favorite, “It’s not like I watch this movie every night – thank fuckin’ God.”  One might almost get the idea that Ferrara is talking about someone else’s film, but at the core, there is insight to be found amid the rest of Ferrara’s seemingly nonsensical musings.

Theatrical trailer: the original trailer from 1979.

Porto-pack Commercial: as featured in the film, this is the complete trailer for this indispensable convenience.

This disc is devoted entirely to Ferrara’s early short films, all of which feature audio commentary by Ferrara.  The films are Could This Be Love, The Hold Up, Nicky’s Film, and Trailer – Nine Lives of a Wet Pussy.  Each film is interesting in its own way.  This edition also features some interesting liner notes by Brad Stevens, author Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision.