[2][3] The plot concerns Reno Miller, a struggling artist in New York City, turning insane from stress and killing derelicts with a power drill.

[6] Artist Reno Miller and his girlfriend Carol enter a Catholic church and approach his estranged, derelict father.

The following day, No Wave band the Roosters begin practicing their music in a nearby apartment, which makes Reno unnerved and frustrated.

Reno ducks into the alley with the man, where they see teenage gang members chasing another homeless person.

When the gang members are gone from sight, Reno drops the man to the ground and walks away, vowing that he will not end up like a derelict.

That night, Reno leaves his apartment and heads outside, armed with a power drill connected to a portable battery pack.

After visiting the Roosters, Pamela returns to the apartment where, upon the discovery of Dalton's body inside, she flees into the hallway before Reno grabs her.

[7] It features many of the elements that became trademarks of Ferrara's later films including Catholic iconography, lesbian scenes, gritty urban locations filmed at night, an eclectic soundtrack combining punk rock and Bach, scenes of extreme violence and a religious theme of redemption, salvation and damnation.

[9] In the Driller Killer trailer, Reno is heard to say a line from a scene that does not appear in the finished movie: "It's just a window, Dalton.

[12] The film was lumped together with other "video nasties" released at the time and a vociferous campaign was launched by the press to ban them all.

Driller Killer was added to the list of banned UK films on 4 July 1983, just a year after its release date.

[10] The film was classified R 18+ in Australia by the Australian Classification Board and released uncut on home video on April 29, 1985.

[16] In 2015, video game developer Puppet Combo created The Power Drill Massacre, a title loosely based on The Driller Killer.

Andrew Jones contacted Baybi Day to help co-produce and have a small acting role in the remake of Driller Killer.

The project came to a halt after a financial deal between the executive producers and the two people who held the rights to the original film could not be reached.

[19][20][21] In 2020 independent filmmaker Matt Jaissle produced and directed a second remake entitled Detroit Driller Killer.