Driller Killer (1979)

Episode 478, 2 Guys and a Chainsaw Horror Movie Review Podcast

Todd: Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Guys and a Chainsaw. I’m Todd. 

Craig: And I’m Craig. 

Todd: Well, this week was my turn to pick, and I took full advantage of that by picking a movie I knew Craig probably would never have picked on his own. You know me, I like to dig into the, the oldies and the kind of independent obscure ones.

This one was one I’ve been wanting to do forever. Mm-hmm. In fact, I think it’s on that hard drive that I gave you way back when, 10 years ago. Oh, 

Craig: that’s funny. 

Todd: It’s a movie that really struck me when I was a kid walking around the video store shelves because, I mean, I think this was… It definitely wasn’t a Blockbuster.

You know, this was one of our independent video stores that had covers that were a little creepier sometimes than others that just felt sleazy and shady, and I could never possibly imagine my parents renting for me. Uh, this is where I saw, like, the cover for, like, I Spit On Your Grave, and that one we did, uh, The Deadly Spawn.

It’s, like, super gory. And this cover, the cover of it was just a picture. It was a close-up of a guy’s head, and he’s screaming, and there’s a drill going into his forehead and blood just spilling out over half of his face, and it’s called The Driller Killer. When I saw this, I thought, “My God, that looks like the most brutal, scary movie you could possibly watch.”

It, it turned my stomach just seeing the cover of it. So it’s one of those images that burned into me for a long time, and it wasn’t until just now as I was doing research for this movie that I realized that this one is basically… One of the members of the British Film Board or whatever said that this movie pretty much single-handedly started the whole Video Act of 1983 that, or 1984, I think, that, that went off in Britain and started the video nasties list and started the censorship of a lot of these horror films on video.

Not because of the movie itself, but because the cover was so gross and provocative that it kicked off all that legislation. So it’s got a bit of a history, and I was really happy to see it this time, and I think we’re gonna have a bit to talk about. Yeah. Craig, had, like, had you heard of this before or seen it?

Craig: I don’t know. I mean, the title is catchy. When I heard Driller Killer, the first thing I thought of was Slumber Party Massacre. Is that the one with the guy with the drill? 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And I, and I mean, I knew that was Slumber Party Massacre, but then I was thinking, like- And, and maybe it’s just because you’ve mentioned it so many times, I was like, “Are we sure we haven’t done this already?”

Right. But when I, when I looked it up just to see… ‘Cause I, I, I also knew nothing about it, so I didn’t know if it was… I assumed it was older, but I was assuming probably ’80s. That’s usually your go-to. So when I saw it was 1979, I was like, “Well, I don’t know. It could be interesting.” And it is interesting. No, I had never heard of it.

I don’t think I knew anything at all about it, which is, I think, maybe the way to go. Like- Yeah … if you’re interested in seeing it, because it’s kind of at least as much an experience as it is a movie, and if you know what to expect going in, I don’t know if it’ll be the same kind of experience. 

Todd: Yeah. I can see what you’re saying.

It’s another one of those sort of like a character study that we’ve been doing, in a way, but it’s also feels like, ah, man, what did we just recently do that was along the same vein? And, and we talked about Basket Case as well. These movies that take place in a gritty New York City and just show the- 

Craig: Right, like Maniac Cop, was 

Todd: it?

Maniac. Or- Yeah, that was it. Mani- 

Craig: Maniac. Maniac, 

Todd: yeah. Mm-hmm. They just show this old 1970s version of, of New York City that doesn’t really exist anymore, where people are just living these almost slum lives, you know? Trying to make it work. Artists, in this case. And I really thought that this movie did a fantastic job with atmos- The director i- is also s- the star, Abel Ferrara.

Mm-hmm. And he frequently works with a writer named Nicholas St. John, and this was one of his earlier movies, but he has gone on to do some fairly dec- big, big things with big m- big name actors. He did, uh, King of New York in 1990. That, uh, starred, well, Christopher Walken and David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne’s in that.

Uh, Wesley Snipes. I never saw that movie. I remember seeing it on the shelves. Uh, y- I don’t think it was huge, but I think he’s also close personal friends with Michael Mann, and the two have helped each other out in their, in their filmmaking stuff. He did a r- the second remake of The Body Snatchers also in the ’90s, which another one I haven’t seen, but, uh, g- I remember seeing it on the shelves as well.

It’s got kind of a distinctive cover art. That one stars Meg Tilly, and you got, you know, a lot of, Harley Erme’s in there, and Forest Whitaker and, and a bunch of folks. So aside from those bigger movies and some straight to video stuff, he’s done, oh, some episodes of TV series like back in the day, Miami Vice and whatnot.

So, like, the director is known, I guess, for doing, for really setting his stuff in New York City and showing the grittier, kinda darker side of, of that. And like I said, I really, really enjoyed that aspect of this movie, and like you said, I think that’s kind of part of what makes it such an experience.

Craig: Yeah, that’s true. I… For some reason, his name sounded familiar to me, and it still does, but I don’t- I, I still haven’t really figured out why, but I looked into him too, and very early in his career he did porn, but- 

Todd: Didn’t. At this time, right? At 

Craig: this time. That’s a, that’s a good point. 

Todd: I 

Craig: told Alan after I was done watching it that it reminded me of watching performance art.

Like- 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: it’s not traditional, and it… I don’t know. I’m not a huge fan of performance art, to be honest with you. It, uh, it always feels a little bit self-indulgent and like you’re intentionally trying to… N- not you, but the performers are somehow intentionally trying to provoke something in the audience, and they’re trying really hard and- 

Todd: Yeah

Craig: and, and that, that’s not to say just because I’m not a fan of it doesn’t mean it’s not a legitimate art form. And there are people who, you know, really are into that kinda thing. But this movie, I mean, there, technically speaking, there is a linear plot, but I felt like it was more kinda like you said, kind of a character study, but I don’t know.

It was also a vibe. Like- Yeah. 

Todd: You’re right … 

Craig: w- when I say that it has a mostly linear plot, it does, but it’s also really disjointed, and it… I was constantly like, “Wait, what? When are we?” 

Todd: Right. 

Craig: Because, uh, and I’m getting ahead of myself, but there’s one part in particular where this was particularly glaring to me, where the main characters, who are a throuple, go to a concert.

Well, they go to see a band play at a club, and they’re there for a while, but it seems like they’re seemingly also in different places- 

Todd: Right … 

Craig: at the same time. Like 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: I don’t know what’s going on. And then there are other weird things about, like the, that band that I just mentioned moves into the throuple’s building and rehearses a lot.

And there is so much footage- … of this band just playing for a long time. Yeah. And not only are they playing, but they’re rehearsing. So they just keep playing the same parts of the same songs over and over again for long. Like, we, we watch it for a long time. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: Multiple times. So anyway, it was just a little bit jarring to me in some ways.

It’s one of those things where I like, I feel like I, I get it. I, I get that you were kind of going for an artsy, artistic kind of thing here. I’m gonna be hesitant to be critical ’cause I think the things that I would be critical would be more about stylistic choices than execution. I think the execution is fine.

I don’t know. I’ll be interested to hear what you thought. 

Todd: Were you… I gotta ask, were you bored by those sequences? 

Craig: Like I said, it’s a vibe. Like, I mean, it’s loud music. First of all, the very first thing that you see on screen is a text that says, “This film should be played loud.” 

Todd: Yeah. And 

Craig: I- 

Todd: That was interesting

Craig: I was at home alone, and honestly, for the first time in a bazillion years I had thought, “Oh, I’m home alone.” You know, there’s no other TVs going on in the house or whatever. I’ll just… I won’t put in earbuds, I’ll just listen to it through the speakers of my laptop. And then the very first thing I saw was, “This film should be played loud.”

So I paused it and got my earbuds out- … put them in. And, and that is part of the experience because there’s this loud, raucous music in, in lots of it, but there’s also a really strange and intense soundtrack in the background a lot, like a lot of synthesizers and stuff. Yeah. And so the sound experience was part of it.

So in those band scenes, no, I wasn’t really bored because even though they were long, it was high energy. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And it was loud. Not, you know, I, I, I wouldn’t say, “Oh, I loved that music. It was so good, I’m gonna run out and buy it.” But it was upbeat, you know? 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: Music. Uh, I didn’t dislike it, so no, I wasn’t bored.

I just… I, I, I felt like I didn’t need that much of it. Like- 

Todd: Gotcha. 

Craig: Yeah … I, I get it. I don’t need this much. 

Todd: I felt like, and, and I think the movie helped with the, the music helped with this a lot. I felt sometimes like I was experiencing the feelings of being high while watching this movie. The disjointedness of it, the droning music going on, all of the lights flashing and the colors and- Yeah

and just the images that, that s- swing around. And it wasn’t an unpleasant experience. 

Craig: No. 

Todd: I was vibing with it. I really went with it, and that surprised me because we have seen movies that do this, at almost this very same thing, like from the same era where they’re, there’s some punk band playing or some rock band playing, and you feel like just to f- just to kill time they’re just gonna include this whole performance of this band, or maybe this band is trying to promote themselves or something.

You know, worked out a deal with the director. And in this case, it just felt like such a part of the whole experience and part of the movie that I was into it. And I have to say, I read in the trivia that it said that this director, Abel Ferrara, rarely uses music in his films. Hmm. And this is a glaring exception.

There is so much music in this, and I think it is really skillfully edited and layered together, and juxtaposed with other scenes, and almost seamlessly. Even in p- parts where it’s jarring, you can tell it’s very intentional. I really, really liked the soundtrack of the, of this movie. I mean, again, it wasn’t like the music was particularly distinctive, like you said, like it’s gonna win any awards or anything.

Mm-hmm. But the way that it went with the images and the way that it conjured up the emotions and it created that vibe- I was really impressed. I was really impressed. 

Craig: Yeah. 

Todd: And, and it kicks off with that music that you mentioned that reminded me a bit of, like, the Phantasm music in a way. It was very… It was, like, a heavy organ and creepy, and we’re in a church for some reason, and there’s a nun who points to this man in the front pew, this old guy.

And it- all we kinda get from her is that, “Well, he had your number and he, he knew who you were,” but we don’t know who he is. And so this man s- named Reno, this young guy, and he’s accompanied by Carol at this point- Mm … which is, like, his girlfriend, kind of his live-in girlfriend. One of two, I guess. And, uh, he, he c- he slowly creeps up to this man, and things are shot with sort of that wide-angle lens, but up close, so it gives you this kind of otherworldly feeling like Bob Clark likes to do.

And a lot of this is shot handheld, and it’s really skillful handheld too, I think. Yeah, as he goes up to this man, this man’s just kinda staring forward and, and the music kind of crescendos, and he kind of looks like he wants to touch this guy’s hand, and then the old man grabs his hand instead, and the dude runs off scared.

Tears out of there with Carol, and the nun is just standing there staring back at them, just says to the air, “I don’t understand. He had your name and your number.” And that’s it. Like, I’m not exactly sure who this guy was supposed to be. 

Craig: I don’t think the movie is particularly interested in answering all of the questions that it poses.

Like- 

Todd: Right … 

Craig: I, I think that there’s some suggestion later that this guy is his dad. 

Todd: Yeah, maybe. 

Craig: But why and what their backstory is. 

Todd: Yeah, and how this set off events. We don’t really know, yeah. 

Craig: Yeah, and, and, and, like you said, they’re in a church for some reason. I, I, I feel like we might be saying that a lot, for some reason.

Right. Like, for, for reasons that are not going to be explained. You know, they, they stop at a club and pick up another weird blonde for some reason- Mm-hmm … who then the next day wants to drill a new hole in the front door for some reason. 

Todd: Right. 

Craig: And then he’s, he’s, he’s painting a giant buffalo on the wall for some reason.

Sure seems like it was on the wall. I mean, I don’t know what they’re gonna do. I don’t know how they’re gonna tear that off there and- Yeah … sell it later. Their whole… Yeah, you, yeah, you don’t find this out until later, but their whole financial plan is that they’re gonna sell this giant painting of a buffalo.

And as soon as I heard that that was the plan, I was like, “How?” Like, is the gallery gonna come in and take out that wall? Right? 

Todd: Like, I don’t- Was it- Was it supposed to be just a giant canvas? It sure looked like a wall to me. I don’t know 

Craig: It… I think it was just a wall. Plus, I, I think that it, it’s also implied that he actually is, uh, at least locally, a reputable artist who has sold to this gallery or through this dealer before.

A- and, and there are some interesting pieces hanging around, um, the apartment. They have a, a pretty… At times it looks gritty, and at times it looks really nice. 

Todd: Yeah. That was crazy. It was like they cleaned it up real well when the art dealer came by to visit much later in the movie. I was like, “Oh, that, that apartment looks pretty good all of a sudden.”

Uh-huh. Otherwise, they’re, like, setting up picnics on the floor ’cause it almost seems like they have no furniture. 

Craig: Yeah. Gosh, I don’t know. I mean, it’s… ’cause, you know, there are other interesting pieces on the wall, whatever, but this painting of a buffalo isn’t even, like… It looks like a mural that you would find on a wall in a high school.

Like, it, it’s- Yeah. 

Todd: It’s not fantastic … 

Craig: it’s nothing. No. But everybody thinks it’s great except eventually the art dealer, but- 

Todd: Right … 

Craig: I don’t know. It’s, it’s all for some reason. They are apparently a threesome, a throuple, I guess- 

Todd: Mm-hmm … 

Craig: for some reason, which i- is fine and cool. I, I, I actually kind of appreciate that the movie doesn’t define that.

Like- 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: yeah, they all, they all live together and they’re in a relationship. Like 

Todd: They don’t bother to define it, and they don’t make a big deal out of it either. It’s just all very matter-of-fact, and it, it’s not even that essential to the plot really. Not 

Craig: really. 

Todd: And, and which, which… Like, I agree with you.

I tho- I th- I liked it. I thought that was pretty nice. It’s also very ’70s. This was the time. 

Craig: Yeah. Oh, yeah, it’s very love the one you’re with, sure. 

Todd: Mm-hmm. And, and there… We saw a version that had five minutes of extra footage in it. When this was, uh, theatrically released, it was five minutes shorter. And back in the early 2000s, I think Arrow Video put together the r- the remaster and, uh, discovered an extra five minutes and talked to the director.

And he said, “Yeah, this was stuff I took out before, but you can put it back in if you want.” And so we have some extra footage in here that gives a little bit more between them, including a lesbian shower scene- 

Craig: Mm … 

Todd: between those two girls, which wasn’t in the original. But I appreciate it. I’m glad they put that bit back.

Craig: I, I mean, it was leering, but I mean- 

Todd: Leering and wet … not, 

Craig: I, 

Todd: I- Not that hot really- Yeah … was it? It just kinda… 

Craig: I… Well, I, I, I don’t know. I wouldn’t say, I wouldn’t say distasteful. It was just- 

Todd: No … 

Craig: two women kind of rubbing their bodies together for a few minutes. 

Todd: Wet. That’s why- Water splashing all 

Craig: over. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: Uh, yeah.

So they’re… Okay, so it’s, it’s Reno, and I don’t know, he’s an interesting looking guy. I, I, I wouldn’t personally describe him as being good-looking. As I… You know, he’s tall and lean. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: Um, but he’s got a, kind of an interesting face. His face Is very a- sharp and angular, and s- a lot of the times he looks kind of very distant and flat.

Like, you can’t read what’s going on inside his head at all- Right … if there is anything going on inside his head. And then alternately he’ll get really intense sometimes and, and scary, I guess. 

Todd: Yeah. And that kinda works for this because I feel like it was very believable, this guy, because you’re right, you could never get a read on him from the beginning.

And so he could really take this almost anywhere and it would make sense, and he did seem just a, just a little, little close to the edge- Mm-hmm … anywhere. E- either he’s just very introverted, or he’s just very up in his own head, or he is just, uh, very, very close to going crazy, and, uh, you can imagine w- where, where he actually is ’cause this is a horror movie.

He goes nuts over the phone bill, you know? I mean, they’re, they’re, they’re talking about how they’re, like you said earlier, they’re, they’re almost destitute. They’re waiting for his painting to get done so they can sell it as promised to this art dealer who’s gonna buy a, spend a bunch of money, who apparently has already loaned the, him or given him a bunch of cash to help float him by, and, uh, refuses to give him any more.

So, you know, they’re, they’re going over the phone bill, the electric bill. 

Clip: Holy Christ, man. What is this? What’d they do, send us the bill of Madison Square Garden? What, are they kidding me, man? How the hell are we supposed to pay this bill, man? What is it, for three months? That’s the bill for one month.

Christ, what do we got here? A refrigerator, a couple of lights. The tele- oh man, the telephone. Oh, no. Holy… Houston, Texas? And another. LA. Look at this. LA $1.50, LA 2.75, LA 7.50, man. Yeah, they’re mine. 

Todd: Carol says, “It looks like the telephone’s gonna get cut off in a month if we don’t pay it,” so he just grabs the phone and just chucks it out the window.

You know, this all kinda happens in the first 10 minutes, so we see he’s, he’s one of these guys who’s a, a little unpredictable and will sometimes go from zero to 100 in, in no time, but can be very intense and concentrate, you know, when he’s, when he’s doing his paintings and when he’s listening to the band and when he’s just sitting around staring off into space.

So you never know. But yeah, it’s a lot of quick cuts, close-up on the eyes. There’s, there’s a lot of shots here early on of him with the street… I w- I’ll just call them, for lack of a better term, the homeless people of, of New York, the street bums or whatever, the stereotypical street bums really, with the wine in a paper bag and laying around on the street.

Craig: Yeah, I was hoping to read about that because those didn’t look like actors to me. At the same time, they were so stereotypical that I kind of had a hard time Believing that he was just out getting footage of, of actual homeless people? I- Right … did you read anything about that? No. I could- I, I couldn’t tell.

Todd: I couldn’t. I, I mean, I think at least a couple of them are definitely actors, especially the guy towards the end- Oh, sure … who he has a conversation with. But yeah, you’re right, it does feel like there’s a lot of gonzo footage happening here. I mean, this is clearly a low-budget movie. There’s no way he probably got permits for half of this, so he’s probably doing a lot of shooting on the street, and you’re right, some of these shots did look like they were just random people on the street.

But yeah, it, it, a lot of the movie feels that way actually. It’s very gonzo. It feels like you’re in the midst of it. 

Craig: Yeah, and then it also, for some reason after he sees all those guys on the street, there’s a weird, like, trippy scene where it cuts between who I presume is supposed to be his dad, but younger, and then it cuts to the old man, and then to a drill.

And I think it ends up being a dream, but there are- 

Todd: Yeah. It’s a recurring dream … 

Craig: th- this happens, uh, I don’t remember if it even happened at this point, but he, he does kind of just have these flashes periodically of him just covered in blood, and it’s, it’s shot in red light too, so I mean, it’s just the entire screen is awash in red, and he’s covered in blood, and, like, his eyes are wide, and blood is splashing into his face.

And again, we… Are, are we ever given any context for that? Do we know why he has these psychotic tendencies? I don’t feel like it’s ever explained. 

Todd: I don’t think so either. He just kinda seems like this troubled guy and, and I think, again, for some reason this dad thing set him off. If this really was his dad, uh, you know, the, the whole movie starts off with that old man, and this old man is, is one of the images in this flash that he gets of these dream.

It is very dreamlike in the sense that none of it really makes a lot of sense and it cuts from one wild thing to another. Even his girlfriend, Carol, turning, turns around and it looks like her eyes have been poked out or gouged out or something. 

Craig: Yeah. Right. 

Todd: And, and you know, it seems like he’s, like, drilling and you- we don’t see it, ’cause it’s off-screen, but you hear the sounds and you see the stuff splashing on his face.

But the man hasn’t even bought a drill yet at this point. 

Craig: No, they do have a drill be- Oh, they’ve got 

Todd: a drill … they established because that- You’re right. You’re right … 

Craig: that dumb blonde wanted a new hole drilled in the- 

Todd: That’s true. He did I don’t 

Craig: know 

Todd: But at this point I don’t think he’s even seen the ad on television yet.

Oh, what he does see from the water tower on the top of the building, he’s up there I think just looking around. It seems like maybe something he does. He’s got some binoculars up there. 

Craig: I guess. 

Todd: And he’s looking down, and as he’s looking down at the park, some guy comes over and stabs a dude. Stabs a dude in the middle of the park, runs off And he sees the cops come and everybody kind of take him away, and it, and I think this just, something clicks in him at this point as well.

Like, it’s like things start to come together for him. 

Craig: Yeah. 

Todd: It’s the most exciting thing that’s happened in the movie so far, and we’re already 18 minutes in. 

Craig: Yeah, the beginning felt long. A lot was happening. Like, there was al- things were always happening- Yeah … but it just- 

Todd: For sure … 

Craig: at this point in the movie I felt like I had been watching it for at least a half an hour and, anyway.

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: But the stuff with the water tower, I, you know, it’s, it’s strange because it’s happened. We see him see this happen. We see him get kind of a big-eyed look on his face, but it’s never referenced again. And that whole flashing thing with the dad and the old man, and then even the d- the drill and the blood and all of that suggests a backstory- 

Todd: Yeah

Craig: but it’s a backstory that we never get. 

Todd: I wonder if it’s more of, like, a emotional backstory, you know what I mean? Like, it’s just current images referencing a state of his emotions that he’s kinda going through that he’s had in the past or that he’s feeling right now, you know? That was my sense, because some of this is almost flash forward in a way.

Premonition maybe. I don’t know. It’s definitely never explained. W- the next thing that happens is he’s, he’s painting and the woman’s like, “When are you gonna finish this? When are you gonna… It looks done. It looks done to me.” And he turns around and goes, “What do you know about painting?” 

Clip: Tell me what you know about painting.

You don’t know nothing about painting. You know what you know about? You know about how to bitch, and how to eat, and how to bitch, and how to shit, and how to bitch, but you don’t know nothing about painting. So don’t tell me when this is gonna be done. I’ll tell you when it’s gonna be done. And about the money, man, I don’t wanna hear about that money, all right?

‘Cause that’s all you talk about, that’s all the other one talks about, that’s all I hear from that vanguard dealer uptown, and I don’t wanna hear it ’cause the sound of that word, man, drives me crazy. 

Todd: And he goes on this extended, like, two and a half minute rant to her. It’s 

Craig: long. 

Todd: And this is another scene that was, uh, added in.

This wasn’t in the original theatrical release, but this was in the- 

Craig: Really? 

Todd: Mm-hmm. 

Craig: Wow. This, this felt like a pivotal moment of the film to me. 

Todd: I agree. I think it belonged in there, honestly. But yeah, it’s a long monologue and he’s really snapping. I mean, it really just shows the pressure that they’re under and how he’s kind of getting impatient with her.

And she’s being pretty good about it all, ’cause she’s kinda supporting him w- the way that she can. You know, she doesn’t have a lot to say and do, but, uh, she’s there. 

Craig: Well, she’s literally… I, I- She, I mean, she, I don’t, I, I don’t think she works. Carol, by the way, w- well, what I was getting at was she’s kind of supporting him, but she’s not really supporting him.

It’s her ex-husband- 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: is supporting her. He’s paying alimony and even sending her extra money on the side because he wants her back and, and she’s handing all that money over to him. The- 

Todd: Hmm. 

Craig: It’s a really interesting dynamic because- You know, he’s an artist. I can see, you know, how women might find him attractive.

I don’t, but I, I could see how women might. And, you know, artists are sexy, I, I get that. Mm. But she seems to have come from a more conservative life and is, is… She almost seems a little out of place here. Right. She seems a little bit older. She seems a little bit older than the rest of them. She dresses a little bit more conservatively, and I, you know, I don’t mean conservative, I just mean she’s not, you know, like a hip, a rock…

She’s not wearing, I don’t know. 

Todd: Well, she’s not Pam. 

Craig: She seems a little- 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: Yeah, she’s not Pam. And it seems like Carol and Reno are the main couple, and Pam is almost kinda like her pet. 

Todd: Yeah. She really is. 

Craig: I mean, th- they’re all very much in this together, but it really almost seems like Pam is kind of Carol’s pet, and Pam is so dumb and, like, she’s just out of it most of the time.

Yeah. I, I assume she’s supposed to be on drugs. 

Todd: I assume. 

Craig: But at one point, at one point when they don’t have… This is right after the big blowup and they don’t have any money. The two women are just sitting at home watching TV, and Pam’s complaining she wants to go out, and Carol’s like, “We can’t, we don’t have any money.”

And Pam says, “We don’t have any drugs. We don’t have any money. We don’t have any dope. I can’t take it anymore.” And this, this actress is terrible. Oh, 

Todd: God, she is. 

Craig: She’s so, so bad. 

Todd: Well, apparently she was a stripper that Abel Ferrara, the director, had found and, and got to act in the movie, and she had to use her stripper name because she’s not SAG.

I guess this was a SAG production, but she’s not SAG- Wow … and so she had to use her, her stripper name of Baybi Day. B-A-Y-B-I. Like a cross between Bambi or Barbie and Baby. 

Craig: The other thing about her is, okay, so I, I read, and I’m sure you did too, this movie was shot over the course of at least a year, if not two years.

Pam’s appearance changes drastically- … throughout the course of the movie. It 

Todd: really 

Craig: does. Several times. 

Todd: It really does. 

Craig: Like, early in the movie, she has kind of a short blonde bob, I feel like, or, or shorter hair, and then later she’s got, like, a natural brunette, like, mullet kinda thing going on. And she’s a pretty girl, but when you change her appearance s- I mean, it’s just her hair, I guess, really, but when it’s such a significant change in her hair- There were times I’m like, “Who is this?”

Todd: Yeah, I know. I was wondering if it was the same person myself. It, it’s funny because I was thinking also of, of David Lynch, of Eraserhead, which, of which this movie actually has a bit in common with, I thought. 

Craig: It, yeah, it does. 

Todd: It, it really does capture some of that same vibe, and some of the same character dynamics are really there.

You know, it, the same deal with David Lynch’s movie was shot over the course of several years, and they took pains to try to keep things consistent even though they didn’t al- they weren’t always successful with the appearance there. This, this, this way, they didn’t even try really, did he? Not too hard.

Craig: Which is fine because it’s really not even out of keeping with the style of the rest of it. Like, it- 

Todd: No … it 

Craig: is jarring. 

Todd: You could just imagine this girl just decided to change her hairstyle over the weekend, honestly, you know, and then flipped it back somehow. I just like- 

Craig: Right … 

Todd: she’s just out of it. She’s out to lunch.

She’s all over the place. She’s bouncing between this, this apartment and this band. So like you said earlier, they picked her up from this club where she was watching this band plays, and she was friends of this band. And I guess that she had offered or suggested this apartment building to the band. They were looking for a new place to live and to practice.

And so the landlord’s a character in this as well. And so the landlord brings the band in, and the band takes the apartment next door to them or two doors down. Who knows? Because this band would be disturbing every single person in this apartment complex, however big it is. And, uh, it’s getting to Reno as well.

It’s 2:00 in the morning. He’s painting. Those guys are playing. Reno’s irritated. So then he runs out into the street and just wakes up some derelict on the street and just starts harassing him. Sees some people run by. I don’t, I don’t know what all, any of this was all about. Yeah. Then we get our boobs and nipples from the girls showering and kissing, and we move on to the next thing.

Craig: Yeah. The, the only thing, it’s not as random because, excuse me, the whole homeless person thing, because he’s seems to be fascinated with them for some reason. Sure. Because we see him sketching them. 

Todd: Chatting with them, yeah. 

Craig: And then when he’s, when he’s frustrated with all the, the loud music, I, I don’t know, at some point he’s watching TV and he sees a commercial or, like, an infomercial for a PortaPack- Mm-hmm

which is just like a, a battery belt. And on the commercial they’re like, “It’s good for any appliances.” Uh- Tool … 

Todd: a drill. A 

Craig: drill. Yeah. And again, and his eyes get really big. 

Todd: It’s interesting, right? It’s like he put these two things together. “Ooh, murder in the park. Ooh, I can make my drill portable.” Yeah. “

Craig: Ooh, I’m fa- fantasizing about getting blood splashed all over my face.”

Right. And that’s, yeah, and it does. It seems like he, it’s like he’s waking this guy up. It seems like he’s going to kill him. The only reason that he doesn’t is because- There’s another… Something else is going on on the street that might draw attention 

Todd: Yeah 

Craig: Like there might be cops around or whatever, and so he lets that guy go 

Todd: Also, he’s got nothing on him at this point.

He doesn’t have the Porto-Pak yet. This is interesting. This was a different time, you know. This was before portable tools with battery packs in them. You know, batteries weren’t as sophisticated. Just the… I thought it was really cool, this notion that you could have this big belt that you would have to put on, which looks like it’s just got a string of batteries in sequence.

You’d probably run that drill for about a minute before dying- Oh, yeah, right … using 1979 technology, but, but still, that’s, that’s the shtick. And I appreciate that because another movie that was kind of going through my head while we were watching this, maybe it’s the drill, maybe it’s the era, was the Toolbox Murders- 

Craig: Yeah

Todd: where that guy runs around and among other things, he’s got that, that nail gun that he’s shooting at people, but it’s not plugged into anything. And I… That always bothered me, and I thought, well, at least in this case, they’re, they’re making an effort to make it clear that the drill has power. 

Craig: Yeah. At this point, like I’m looking at my notes and like just a bunch of random stuff happens.

At some point, Reno complains to the super about the music, and he’s like, “If you don’t get them to stop playing, I’m not gonna pay rent.” And the super’s like, “You don’t pay rent anyway.” And then he’s like, “Hold on, I have something for him. I have something for you.” And he opens up like a closet, and there’s a dead skinned rabbit hanging there.

He’s like, “It’s a rabbit. You should eat it.” And so Reno takes it upstairs and like butchers it and seductively plays with it with his knife. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And then he finally goes shopping for a Porta-Pak. Now I have in my notes that we are now 40 minutes in. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And at the same time, I feel like a lot has happened, and nothing has happened.

Todd: Yeah. The story hasn’t advanced much, but we have certainly seen a lot of these people’s lives. Again, it felt very Eraserhead because it… I don’t know if it’s also that, that little baby kinda looked like a skinned rabbit. Like, we don’t know exactly how they did that baby in Eraserhead, but we kinda have an idea.

And so the, the imagery was there. And he stabs at this thing, and it, again, it seems like another thing clicks. Like, “This is gonna get me off,” or, “This is gonna be my release valve or something.” 

Craig: Yeah. 

Todd: You’re right. He goes to get the Porta-Pak. And now, an hour in, we do get our first kill. 

Craig: Well, right. Like, after the whole rabbit thing, he starts having like…

He starts hearing things. There’s a trippy scene where like he, he, he thinks he hears Carol or somebody calling to him- Mm-hmm … but there’s nobody there. 

Todd: He sees pictures of her on the wall. Uh, were they even there? I’m not even sure. 

Craig: I don’t know. And it’s like he’s in one place, like the, the clean, nice apartment where he’s painting, and then all of a sudden it changes.

Like, in a flash, it changes like he’s in a different place. 

Todd: Mm-hmm. 

Craig: And there’s weird lights, and there’s a guy in a bunny head suit with like red lit up eyes. And then Carol with her eyeballs cut out. I have no idea what that guy in the bunny suit was about. Like, what was that? 

Todd: Donnie Darko shit right there.

Craig: Oh, God. I don’t know. But then he starts killing people. Yeah, he runs out and he drills a homeless guy. The first guy I think he gets in the abdomen- Chest … or the chest. Oh 

Todd: my God. It was brutal. 

Craig: It’s gross. 

Todd: Super gross. Yeah. I, I would- I was impressed. I, I don’t… It kinda turned my stomach, and part of it is just the energy behind it.

He’s just grabbing this guy and ramming that drill in and out, and in and out. I mean, it’s, blood is going everywhere. It’s really graphic, and it’s really well shot. Like, really well shot. 

Craig: Yeah, and there’s lots of that really bright red blood from the ’70s and like- 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: the giallos and stuff and, and it…

You’re right, it is violent and it is high-energy, and it goes on for a while. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: Like, that was why it was kind of jarring for me because I’m like, “Oh, yeah, here it is. Oh, yeah, it’s violent. Oh, it’s still going.” Yeah. Like, I, I was impressed. This movie is violent. Like, you said that it w- they mostly got in trouble for the box art.

I, I, I think what I read was that the movie may have gone unnoticed otherwise, but it’s like that box art just drew attention to how violent and gory it was going to be. Mm. And it is. I’m not surprised this is one of the first video nasties because it is very violent, and there’s lots and lots of blood.

So- Yeah … I, I mean, I, I feel like it earned it. For, for the time, I mean, today it doesn’t really seem all that shocking at all. Eh. But for the time, it, I think it was pretty scandalous. 

Todd: Yeah, I think so. I, I mean, even for today it kinda holds up. I mean, I, I thought it was… Like I said, it kinda turned my stomach a bit.

It, I was shocked at how violent and, you know, semi-realistic it was for, for this low-budget production, especially at this time when these exploitation movies kinda just do whatever they, you know, do the quick, cheap thing and, and move on. I thought it also has got a bit of dark humor in here as well. I thought it was pretty funny that the next scene is Pam going to throw something away, and she lifts the lid on the garbage can and she sees the corpse of the rabbit and screams.

Oh, that’s funny. It is. It’s hilarious. We never do get to see anybody discover any of these bodies and scream. These bodies never seem to get discovered. It’s kinda funny. I mean, obviously they probably do, but we never hear… We only hear about it once in the whole movie. 

Craig: Yeah. 

Todd: There’s just more scenes of the band playing, Reno continuing to be fascinated by the eye of the buffalo on his painting.

At one point he kinda goes up to it, looks like he’s gonna stab it with a switchblade, but thinks better of himself. I mean, he’s just clearly going crazy. 

Craig: Uh-huh. 

Todd: And then there are general shenanigans happening from the band. The girls are threatening Pam because they think she’s getting too close to the lead singer guy Pam and Reno are talking over pinball, and I always love a good vintage pinball scene.

That was, that was great. Really appreciate that. Band’s playing at their club. Reno’s listening. He’s kinda spacing out and kinda going crazy, and then he runs out. And this is a point in which, again, I thought that the sound design was so good. The music is o- that the band is playing is continuing to go through these scenes, but it’s also being kinda blended with some of this more general, like, horror music that will come in and out, and then long pauses of nothing.

It’s a real barrage to your senses, and I think done in a really effective way. 

Craig: This was the part that was particularly jarring to me, because they make a point of saying, “We’re going to this club, and we’re going to see this band play,” and they get ready and they go. But then there’s this long sequence where it, it’s, it’s like they’re there sometimes, and then I couldn’t tell if they were just, like, in a different part of the club sometimes- Maybe they’re in the bathroom or something

or it seemed like sometimes 

Todd: they were 

Craig: at home. Yeah. I, I wasn’t sure. And there’s lots of weird things going on. Like, was there an orgy in the bathroom at some point? Like- Hmm … it seemed like there were a lot of people- In the bathroom … in various states of dis- you know. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: They were like- With clo- Because, because clothes were, like, coming back on.

And there was one guy who was just standing up against one of the back walls- … repeatedly, repeatedly chanting, “I wanna see somebody’s pussy.” 

Todd: Just keeps 

Craig: saying it over and over and over again. 

Todd: Yeah. That 

Craig: was a very strange scene. It’s a 

Todd: vibe. It’s a vibe. 

Craig: And I, I still don’t know what was going on in there, but then there’s a lot of dancing.

And then he drills somebody in the street, I have in my notes, during the show. Like- Yeah … it, it seems as though- He leaves … he just ran out, ran out of the club, ran down the street, and just drilled the first person that he came across on the street. 

Todd: Yeah, he does. And then he moves on to another guy who’s kinda…

And, and it’s interesting. They got a lot of different ways of doing this. At one point, he’s standing over this dude almost like a guitar player. He’s almost got these guitar player moves he’s doing while the, while the guitar music is playing behind him, and then he goes in and drills him. And, and then he runs away, and then we see these, like, legs sticking out on the subway platform, and we see them jerk around and we can s- you know, we, we surmise that offscreen behind that wall that he’s been drilling him, and he pops into s- into frame and runs off.

There’s another derelict that he runs across. The, the guy’s like suddenly, “Hey, old friend, what are you doing out here?” And he’s really, really chatty. 

Craig: Friendly, 

Todd: yeah. Yeah, he’s real friendly, and this part kinda bothered me because you could tell these guys knew each other. This was one of the dudes he was hanging out with before.

Hmm. And he’s like, “Hey, man, hold down.” He’s kinda threatening with the drill, but the guy’s still trying to be nice. 

Craig: Have a drink, buddy. Hey, come on, Mr. Cool it now. Come on, don’t get excited What, do you got problems or something? What, do you got problems with your old lady? Ah, I thought so, huh? She’s taking you across the coals, giving you a hard time.

Well, I’ll tell you something. I got the same problem myself, man, and I got one word of advice 

Todd: He comes right up to him and drills him right in the stomach, and there’s this, like, slow motion of him, like, sliding down, and the music suddenly turns to jazz as he’s, as he’s coming down and… And then it slows down a little bit- 

Craig: It’s just so…

The pacing is so strange- 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: because ri- right in the middle of this rampage, there is, I would say, at least a minute and a half, two-minute scene of just this guy acting crazy at a bus stop. Oh. Uh, and, and these two other guys y- who don’t know each other, they’re just random guys at the bus stop doing what you do when you’re in a situation where somebody is acting like a crazy person.

Like, they’re just trying to mind their own business and ignore him, and he’s- 

Todd: Mm-hmm … 

Craig: kinda messing with them a little bit. It, it goes on… And it was… I, I thought it was well done. I thought the guy who was playing the crazy guy did a good job of playing the kind of crazy person you see on the street sometimes.

Todd: Yeah. Mentally disturbed, yeah, 100%. Yeah. 

Craig: And it was… You know, I’ve, I’ve not been in that close proximity when that’s happened, but I’ve visited Vegas multiple times, and I’ve seen it, you know, on the street many, many times. So he did a good job. It just went on for a really long time. Finally, the bus comes, and the two guys get on the bus, and, and the weird one does not.

And then Abel just pops out of nowhere and drills him- Yeah … through the plexiglass of the bus stop. 

Todd: Also a very violent scene. And I thought that the director was doing something here pretty smart, and he does it several times after this as well, where he seems to be dialing it down, kinda getting us…

Like you said, there’s a little bit of tension ’cause we’re kinda waiting for him to pop up, but then after a while, like, we realize he’s not gonna pop up, and the scene is gonna play out, and it’s just gonna be weird and awkward. And then our guard is down a bit until the end of the scene where it’s just this guy s- there by himself, and you’re thinking, “All right.

Now he’s gonna get it,” and now the tension is starting to ramp back up inside ’cause we’re just anticipating this guy coming, right? And I thought that was really effective. He does it here once. He does it once toward the end. Um, there’s another moment where he does it. And then sometimes he just makes fun.

Like, there… The, the scene after this, I laughed out loud. There are these two homeless guys chatting, and one’s sitting on the curb, and one’s sitting behind a trash can, and one’s telling him, the other guy, a story, and he’s like, “So I says to him, I says blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” and then suddenly out of nowhere, Abel just jumps up from- Behind and drills him, and then runs over and drills the other guy, and then runs off the screen.

It’s getting comical at this point. And they have a little dance around a pillar. 

Craig: Yeah, one of the guys, that goes on for a while. Yeah. Like, the pacing is so strange. I noticed on more than one occasion after he’d killed somebody, there’s never any blood on the drill bit- Mm … which is weird. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And then he drills another guy, a big guy, right through a s- the, this guy’s asleep, passed out on the street, and he just starts drilling right into his forehead.

Todd: Yep, that’s the famous, uh, shot. 

Craig: Right, the f- the one. And then he drills through his head until he’s dead, and then he gives him a kiss on the forehead, and then he goes home and has a beer. 

Todd: Yeah. Like- He’s eating a sandwich. 

Craig: It’s so strange. It’s like the next 

Todd: morning. Yeah, almost like- Yeah, it’s- … it could’ve, it could’ve been a fever dream.

Does this guy, you even wonder, does he even realize? Is this a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde situation? Does he even know he was out there drilling these people? That was what was going through my head at least. Has he gone that far off the deep end? Or was it a fever dream? Did that not even happen? 

Craig: No, it happened because the next day Tony comes o- Tony’s the lead singer of the band, and he’s a flamboyant character in and of himself.

But he comes over looking for Pam, ’cause I guess he and Pam kind of have a thing now, and he is so impressed with Reno’s paintings that he wants a portrait. All right. So Reno says he’ll do it, but then, I don’t remember if he’s working on the portrait or if he’s working on the buffalo, I think he’s working on the buffalo, but Carol is just sitting there reading the paper, and she says, “Oh my gosh, can you believe this?

They found a body just around here. This guy, they think he was part of the homeless community. He was murdered on the street, and they think he may have been killed with a, an electric drill.” And Reno looks over and sees that his electric drill is just sitting on a c- a shelf, and he, like, freaks out- Yeah

and starts screaming at her and getting in her face and, like, backing her up, and he’s like, “What are you trying to do to me?” And it’s very violent, and she’s clearly scared. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And then it just hard cuts to the throuple just sitting on the floor eating pizza. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And he’s a disgusting, greedy slob. Like, he is just s- shoving this pizza in his mouth.

It’s disgusting to watch. And they’re all just ki- the two women are kind of looking at him like he’s- Gross. And, and eventually, you know, when he realizes he’s eaten all but, like, one piece of the pizza, he makes some smartass comment and P- and Carol throws pizza at his face. So she’s obviously getting tired of his bullshit.

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And she leaves and calls her ex, and she comes back home, and Reno has painted her what can only be described as a child’s painting of I’m sorry. Yeah. 

Todd: Like, 

Craig: it’s, like, the three of them as stick figures holding hands. 

Todd: Uh-huh. 

Craig: You know, it looks like something somebody would’ve done in first grade, and I imagine…

I, I, I don’t know if he was trying to be cute or… 

Todd: Well, he’s trying a little bit, you know. She’s still… She’s clearly on the edge of leaving, and he’s gotta do this portrait for this musician. And so the musician comes in and is kinda posing for it, but after a while, we’re m- further into the portrait, and now the musician is playing his music, reading poetry and stuff, and they’re hanging out at the place.

And at one time, he just starts banging Pam on the floor while Reno is just working away at his painting of- 

Craig: All of that music playing is disturbing a crackhead who apparently lives in the alley down- Yeah … beneath the 

Todd: apartment. Mm-hmm. 

Craig: And we just, we just see him getting agitated for a while, and then out of nowhere Reno pops around the corner and drills his hands to the wall, like almost crucifies him to the wall, and then drills in his head.

It’s such a… It’s just such a strange, seemingly random series of events. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And then it’s like he goes back upstairs, and the girls are in bed together naked. I don’t know where Tony is at this point ’cause we never saw him leave. 

Todd: Mm-hmm. 

Craig: And he hasn’t even been working on the buffalo painting. He’s been working on the Tony painting, but now all of a sudden he’s done with the buffalo painting.

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And they clean up the house, and they clean themselves up, and Carol and Reno have the dealer over, and the dealer looks at it and says it’s a pile of shit, and that the worst thing that can happen to an artist is happening to Reno. He’s just becoming a technician. There’s no… There’s nothing behind it.

There, there’s, there’s no emotion. There’s no feeling behind it. It’s just a painting. He says he would be ashamed to show it to anybody, and he storms out. And Reno and Carol just sit there awkwardly for a second. Th- I fe- thought this was a really interesting scene- Yeah … because the whole time, the whole time that this guy is throwing pretty nasty insults at Reno, Reno is sitting there like a scolded child.

Yeah. Like a, a school child. Like, he’s hunched in his chair. He’s not making eye contact. He’s not talking back or fighting back or arguing. He just sits there. And eventually Carol gets up and, and screams and throws a pot at the wall or something and- 

Todd: Do something. 

Craig: Yeah, do something. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: But he doesn’t, so- She leaves.

Yeah And he tries to chase her and get her back, but she doesn’t come back, and, and Pam cries 

Todd: I felt really bad at this point. I mean, this guy… I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s a killer, he’s killed people, he’s going nuts, but, like, she was kind of the last thing that he had in his life really, and she had been supporting him, and he, you know, had made the gesture that I’m sorry and all that stuff.

But she’s, she runs out, and he runs after her outside and, and he grabs her stuff, and she just throws her shit on the ground and r- and walks away, storms away. He’s like, “D- don’t you want… You need your things. You need your things.” I mean… And then it cuts to Pam, who’s crying in bed. Mm-hmm. And that Bach, I don’t know what that Bach tune is, but there’s a Bach composition playing in the background as well.

Very interesting choice. He just is despondent. He imagines phone calls with her. He’s lying down, his eyes closed. 

Craig: He plays with a lightsaber. 

Todd: Yeah. It’s weird. He’s having more of those flashes to himself drilling with blood splattering all over his face. I mean, it… I felt for this guy in this situation. I just, I, I did.

I, I was surprised. I was surprised I felt for this guy. And then he gets his idea. 

Craig: I guess. But you didn’t- Yeah, I guess I felt a little- Yeah … I, I don’t know. 

Todd: I’m- It’s a movie. 

Craig: I don’t know. I don’t feel like I know enough about him. I don’t, I don’t know enough about him to feel sorry for him. I mean, he… I don’t find him charming.

The movie tells us that people find him charming. Hmm. I don’t. 

Todd: No. Yeah, I don’t really either. I just, I just feel sorry for the guy maybe more than anything. I don’t 

Craig: know. Yeah. I, I guess. I- he seems self-involved. I, I don’t know. Yeah Whatever. Anyway, he… Yeah, you said he, he makes this plan. He calls up the dealer and says…

It, it’s the middle of the night, and he says, “I need you to come over. I, I need to show you something. It’s way better than the buffalo.” And he kind of suggests that this might be more than a business meeting. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: The, the dealer’s gay. 

Todd: Uh-huh. That, that was interesting, wasn’t it? He’s like, “I’ll be all alone.”

“Oh, you’ll be all alone, Reno? I can… I’m gonna need some time to get ready. Should I bring some wine over?” 

Craig: Right. And so he invites the guy over, and then we see the rabbit’s head for some reason. I don’t know if that’s supposed to be- Oh, I think it was- … suggestive of something. 

Todd: Yeah, I think it was just kind of a reminder that this guy’s off, and he’s probably gonna, he’s probably gonna do something terrible, right?

Craig: Yeah. ‘

Todd: Cause it pans over to the severed rabbit head, and then it pans right back up to his crazy eyes. 

Craig: Yeah. And then in s- a, a, a strange sort of montage, Reno puts on makeup- 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: like eyeliner and mascara and lip liner And panties? 

Todd: I guess 

Craig: And then suits up in just, like, black pants and a black shirt, maybe a jacket.

He’s looking 

Todd: very glam. 

Craig: He’s got kind of a- 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: yeah, he’s got, like, the lead singer of The Cure kind of thing- 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: kind of going on. 

Todd: With the w- juxtaposed with the music playing and the, you know, the band playing next door, I thought it all kinda fit. It’s kinda- 

Craig: Well, it’s just strange. I mean, it’s… I mean, it’s obviously setting up for a finale, but all of this comes out of nowhere seemingly.

Like, why all of a sudden is he wearing women’s underwear? 

Todd: Right. 

Craig: Is he wear- like, I d- 

Todd: I don’t 

Craig: know … what’s happening? I don’t know. It’s a 

Todd: garter. 

Craig: Who knows? Who cares? 

Todd: Yeah, 

Craig: whatever. Whatever. Yeah, I mean, he, he, he looks good for the, the final stuff. 

Todd: Right. 

Craig: Anyway, the dealer comes over, and it’s pretty unceremonious.

He confronts him and menaces him with the drill, and then he drills him, and he drills him, like, into the front door. So when Pam comes home, she sees a hole in the door, and she sees something red spilling out of it, but she opens the door and, and sees the dealer there and panics, but Reno grabs her from behind and doesn’t kill her on screen, which I thought was kind of an interesting choice.

Todd: Right. 

Craig: I, I, I think we’re intentionally left to wonder if he killed her at all. 

Todd: Yes, I agree. 

Craig: I don’t know. Because then it cuts to Carol and Steve in their, I don’t know, suburban home, I guess, and they appear to be- Back together … post-coitus- Yeah … I, I guess. And they’re, they’re, they’re back together. They’re, like, in robes together, and he’s like, “You go upstairs and take your shower or whatever, and I’ll make some tea.”

And so she goes upstairs and gets in the shower, and he makes tea. And Reno, I guess, knows where he lives and how to get in undetected because he just pops up in the kitchen out of nowhere and drills Steve in the lower abdomen, and Steve immediately dies. 

Todd: Yeah. Super fast. 

Craig: That was hilarious to me. Like, he dies instantly.

And the final scene I actually thought… 

Todd: Was great … 

Craig: I, yeah, I didn’t see it playing out the way that it was. Sh- she comes into her bedroom, and there is a form, a male form under the sheets of her bed, and she assumes it’s Steve. We assume it’s Reno, but she just turns… He, she turns out the light, so w- we are in black now.

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: And she gets into bed with him. We can see nothing, and she’s talking to him, and she keeps telling him to come closer, come closer. Credits. 

Todd: Yes. 

Craig: I, I, I actually really liked that ending. 

Todd: Me too. 

Craig: I liked the, uh, the ambiguity of it. 

Todd: Yeah. It, oh, God, it, it… Again, it was like- It was a little bit like shades of Black Christmas for me too.

How that, I just love the ending of Black Christmas, and I feel like it, it, it’s- Yeah … very similar in this way. Like, you know something bad’s probably gonna happen, but it, it ends peacefully in the calm before the storm, I suppose. 

Craig: Right. 

Todd: Leaving you to wonder exactly what might have, might, might have happened.

I have to say I enjoyed it. I think you’ve gotta be in the mood for it. I think you’ve gotta be in the mood for a, what’s gonna be a mood piece, but it’s not slow like some of the other ones we’ve seen. You know, some of these character studies or whatever I feel like kinda drag. This one- Yeah … this one felt long, but it didn’t feel so draggy to me.

I- 

Craig: No, no. 

Todd: Yeah, I think I was kinda caught up in the vibe of it, and I was willing to go with it. And I liked the dream-like aspect of parts of it, and the violence was, uh, was quite shocking and, and an interesting juxtaposition to everything. This guy’s breakdown made sense, although it’s sorta like The Shining where you kinda feel like this guy was already a sandwich short of a picnic when you started.

But overall, yeah, no, it was, it was, it was fun. I, I’m really enjoyed it and I’m, I’m glad we saw it. And I think I’d recommend it if you’re into these, uh, ’70s movies, something a little more trippy, something a little more like a character study and with its horror and its gore and its slasher element to it, and, and a bit of dark humor as well, and, and great music.

Great music. Very well shot for its time. I was honestly expecting something just a little more, uh, workmanlike, and I was surprised at the artistry involved in the cinematography and the, and, and the editing of the movie. So yeah, big surprise for me actually. Well, it exceeded my expectations, which were not very high.

Craig: Yeah. I didn’t really have any expectations. I didn’t really know what we were getting into. It’s interesting. I don’t know if I would go so far as to say I like it, but I appreciate it for what it is. And, and it is interesting. I, I don’t think I would recommend it for, like, a fun movie night. 

Todd: No. It’s like an art movie, you know?

It’s one of those. 

Craig: Yeah. It, it feels more like a film. Like- 

Todd: Yes. Not a movie, a film. 

Craig: You’re, yeah, you’re, you’re watching it to appreciate the artistic choices- … rather than to have some popcorn and- 

Todd: A coherent plot … 

Craig: you know- 

Todd: Yeah … 

Craig: escape. Right It, it’s not an escapist movie. Yeah. 

Todd: Yeah. 

Craig: But it is interesting. I’m, I’m glad to have seen it too.

I, I wouldn’t have any- desire or need to see it again but uh it’s worth it it’s worth checking out 

Todd: Well, thank you guys so much for listening. If you’ve seen The Driller Killer, please let us know. Just find us on twoguysandachainsaw.com. Drop us a note there or on our socials wherever. We’re on Instagram.

We’re on Facebook. And you can also recommend movies for us to do. We have a Patreon at patreon.com slash chainsawpodcast where you can chat with us a little more directly. Join our book club there where we’re reading horror books and discussing those on video chat a couple times a month and also posting our complete unedited phone calls that lead to these episodes with all the stuff that we cut out and all the personal stuff we talk about before and after.

And if we happen to be a little late in getting podcast episodes out to the general public, as I have been lately, you would get those episodes as soon as we record them because we have been going just as steadily week after week, even if I’ve been pretty late with the editing. That’s just one of the benefits, like I said, that you can get by being a patron.

So go to patreon.com slash chainsawpodcast for five bucks a month and get down deep into the nitty gritty with us behind the curtain. Until next time, I’m Todd. And I’m Craig with Two Guys and a Chainsaw.