Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Not part of a collection.
The Blood Runs In Rivers... And The Drill Keeps Tearing Through Flesh And Bone.
An artist slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the streets of New York after dark and randomly killing derelicts with a power drill.
Wuchak
May 12, 2024 · via TMDB
**_Ugly, tedious flick about a painter going over the edge is also an amusing period piece_** An artist in Union Square, Manhattan, struggles with his homeless father, finishing a key painting, an annoying rock band in the building, and his relationship with his two female roommates. Insanity and worse can’t be too far away. “The Driller Killer” was shot from June, 1977, to March, 1978 and released in 1979. I point this out because it reeks of late 70’s Manhattan, and not the pretty side. It’s a gritty art house Indie made by the protagonist, Abel Ferrara, who’s listed as actor Jimmy Laine in the credits. Despite the exploitive title and the fact that it undeservedly ended up on the UK’s “video nasties” list, it’s actually a grungy psychological drama about life in the Big City in late 70’s America mixed with lowkey amusement concerning the country’s growing fringe decadence and corresponding lunacy. The “driller killer” element doesn’t manifest until the second half and isn’t exploited as in conventional slashers. Speaking of which, this aspect inspired the usage of driller slayers in the “Slumber Party Massacre” trilogy (1982, 1987, 1990). The film only cost $20,000 (equal to about $98,000 today), but Ferrara was able to acquire quality no-name actors for his weekend project. In other words, the key peripheral actors are convincing in their roles despite what critics might say. I’m talking about the ones who play Carol, Pamela, Dalton Briggs, the landlord, Tony Coca-Cola and his girlfriends. A couple years before Ferrara made this, Marvel’s Man-Thing featured Steve Gerber’s “Song-Cry of the Living Dead Man” in issue #12. I bring this up because “The Driller Killer” covers some of the same core issues, namely society driving an individual insane with pressures on every side, like bills, relationships, obnoxious neighbors, and making enough money or you’ll be out on the street. I’m sure Ferrara was influenced by it. On July 21, 1945, General George Patton predicted “I fear that perhaps in fifty years America will… become a land of corruption and degenerate morals." This flick effectively shows this development and I’m sure the Soviets and China (et al.) used it to illustrate the downside of America & the West’s curious catering to Lefty madness. It runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Union Square, Manhattan, which is just northeast of Greenwich Village and northwest of East Village. The rock club was located just northeast of Union Square. GRADE: B-/C+
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Amazon Prime Video
fuboTV
YouTube TV
Criterion Channel
MUBI
Night Flight Plus
MUBI Amazon Channel
Screambox Amazon Channel
Cineverse
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Bloodstream
Chilling
ARROW
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Abel Ferrara
Reno Miller (as Jimmy Laine)
Carolyn Smith
Carol Slaughter (as Carolyn Marz)
Pamela Bergman
Pamela Bergling (as Baybi Day)
James O'Hara
Man in Church
Stephen Singer
Street Corner Derelict
Jack A. O'Connell
Rooftop Victim (uncredited)
David Sperling
Additional Camera
Ken Kelsch
Director of Photography
Abel Ferrara
Director
Abel Ferrara
Editor
Joe Delia
Musician
Joe Delia
Original Music Composer
Abel Ferrara
Songs
Mortal Remains
Emma
A Night to Die For
Psycho
Blondie's
Freaks
Queen Bee
King Kong
Halloween
Antisocial Behaviour
Once the Killing Starts
Dawn of the Dead
The Devil's Advocate
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
Jacob's Ladder
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Ghost of Kasane
Wait Until Dark
The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer
Videodrome
In the Mouth of Madness
The Lost Boys
Roadside Assistance
Inland Empire
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Don't Look Now
Blood: The Last Vampire
The Fog
The Devil's Rejects
1408
Stir of Echoes
Siege of Terror
The Hunger
Demons
The Ex
May
The Ninth Gate
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
A Game of Death
Dear Diary
Bride of Re-Animator
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
13: Game of Death
Next Door
Child's Play 2
Planet of the Vampires
Mirrors
Sleepaway Camp
Cremaster 2
Tales from the Hood
The Couch
Halloween
The Mothman Prophecies
The Hole
Get Duked!
Angel
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
Tourist Trap
The Sentinel
Invitation Only
Maniacts
Surveillance
The Anchor
Black Friday
Eyes Out
Songko
SHEUT
Dead on Distribution
Hatchet
The Funhouse
Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead
The Hills Run Red
Don't Ever Change
Death Laid an Egg
The Strangers: Chapter 1
She Devil
Borderline
Murder Party
Secret of the Blue Room
Borderland
The Gathering
Dr. Renault's Secret
Slaughter of the Innocents
Cherry Falls
The Man with the Black Umbrella
PUSSYCAT
Pig
DeVour
Dying Breed
Devil Times Five
Lesbian Vampire Killers
Doctor Mordrid
Slumber Party Massacre
Quarries
American Nightmare
Stay With Me
The Sex Victims
Stay
Secret Santa
Yellow
Blood Widow
The Wizard of Gore
They/Them
Candyman: Day of the Dead
Soul Survivors
Sick Girl
Sorceress
The Scarehouse
Red Nights
Blur
Blood Orgy of the Leather Girls
Curse of the Headless Horseman
Don't Fuck in the Woods
The Rise and Fall of an American Scumbag
Why?
Meet Me There
The Burning Buddha Man
Straight Edge Kegger
Sparrow
Siew Lup
Curse of the Stone Hand
Big Top Evil
The Campground
Cla'am
Love and the Demonic Psyche
Motel Providence
Pardonne Ton Père
Nightmare Lovers
Any Day Now
Nightman: Part 1
Insomnia
The Estrogen Gospel
Worlds
Meat: An American Cannibal Film
Care
Andrew
CANICA.5
Oveja de mi rebaño
Forever, Liam
Wraith
Dominion of Darkness: Rephaim
Traitor
59
Silent Witness
Violent World News
Ghostland
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Videodrome
Angel Heart
Late Night with the Devil
The Invisible Man
Grindhouse
Dressed to Kill
Barbarian
Strange Darling
Green Room
Psycho Killer
Smile 2
Hell House LLC
Cobweb
The Invitation
Creep 2
Mirrors
The Devil's Candy
Deliver Us from Evil
Don't Hang Up
Mandy
Stitches
Kill List
House of 1000 Corpses
Apartment 7A
Paranormal Activity
The Strangers
End of Days
Freddy vs. Jason
Maniac
Crimes of the Future
The Last House on the Left
The Secret of Sinchanee
GirlHouse
The First Purge
Happy Birthday to Me
The Hand
Nightmare Cinema
The Town that Dreaded Sundown
The Vigil
Alone in the Dark
The Hills Run Red
Dolly
Jun 15, 1979
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
London Eye 4D Experience
2009
Life During the War
2025
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
London Eye 4D Experience
2009
Life During the War
2025
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.