I really didn't think I'd be so engaged by this movie, but Abel Ferrara's debut feature The Driller Killer is one heck of a film. This is dirty, grimy, sleazy filmmaking, in the best way possible, completely capturing a lo-fi, underground existence in late-70s New York, No Wave music subplot and all. I mean, Ferrara makes Taxi Driver feel like a summer day in the park. And at the same time, this is like a grittier, less eccentrically-refined version of The House That Jack Built (though also far less psychologically-mining and thought-provoking). But what really got me was that through all the blood and camp, The Driller Killer plays and feels like a strange, provocative mash-up of grindhouse and arthouse sensibilities. And if Ferrara was meaning to show that there is in fact a thinner line between the two than commercial filmmaking would lead us to believe, I think he succeeded. For a nearly-amateurish late 70s slasher-thriller, The Driller Killer genuinely comes off as being crafted by an artist. The off-putting sound design, the flashes of surreal dream logic, and the almost documentary-style cinematography really all add up to a fascinating experience of a movie, creating a collage of grotesque visuals, critical social discourse, and a daring display of violence in the name of artistic expression. Of course, The Driller Killer hardly goes beyond the surface of its titluar character's psyche, but in the end I believe the story's ambiguity around its main character lends an air of terror as we're faced with Reno's unleashed inner demons. The killings get intense like a good giallo, but the ending in particular leaves the viewer in the dark (both literally and narratively) in a move that had me gasping for Carol's safety. Right in that finale, I knew Ferrara had me.

The title card says "This movie should be played LOUD" and yeah. In order to fully appreciate what it's going for, it really should be. An audiovisual assault that drives you almost as insane as the main character. Be right back, getting my drill. Not enjoyable, to be really honest, but it does something with you. Worth a watch.