Driller Blu Ray Review (Wild Eye Releasing)

Driller is a 1984 porn parody film co-written, produced and directed by Cindy Cirile (Desperately Sleazy Susan and Vamp) as Joyce James. It was co-written and executive produced by Timothy Beckley (Pink and Pretty, Sandy Hook Lingerie Party Massacre, Bloodsucking Vampire Freaks, Vamp, Double Trouble, Delusions of Grandeur, and Skin Eating Jungle Vampires). It was shot in 7 days on a $100,000 budget. When a pop star (played by: Mr. J) disappears from the spotlight after major success. Some of his biggest and most dedicated fans go looking for him lead by the ambitious Louise (played by: Tajia Rae from Raw Talent, She’s So Fine!, Star Angel, Naked Scents, and Sex Appeal). They stumble into a labyrinth of filth and horror that defies reason. Deep beneath Mr. J’s mysterious stage persona lies a subterranean cabaret crawling with werewolves, zombies, mutants, and hunchbacks. These monsters are all possessed by their most wanton desires and waiting for new victims. The groupies soon find themselves swept into a hallucinatory musical of temptation and transformation, where fame becomes flesh and the shape-shifting superstar unleashes a secret sexual weapon so monstrous. It’s so carnal that it turns screams into creams and fulfills the title’s promise in the most jaw-dropping way. When the music ends, the drilling begins!!!! Michael Jackson’s Thriller from 1983 is widely considered the best music video ever made. The John Landis production was extremely popular so it was replicated, spoofed, featured, and referenced everywhere in various different forms of media. 1984’s Driller is definitely the most unique take on Michael Jackson’s music of all time. Parody isn’t anything new in the porn industry but this is one of the most ambitious efforts when it comes to the sub-genre. The script takes all of the key moments from Thriller and it amps everything up to a whole another level. There’s somewhat of a plot but it’s really thin for the most part. Driller makes focuses on it’s similar visuals and it’s hardcore sex interactions. Newcomer Mr. J is the lead in this erotic spoof. The mysterious actor obviously didn’t use his real name and he only did this role during his short career. I’m assuming he just got this gig because he kinda resembled Michael Jackson at the time so it’s all about that exploitation here. Adult veteran Tajia Rae is his most loyal fan Louise. She’s trying to track down the musical talent that’s vanished from the public. She’s no stranger to these types of films and she takes over when on the screen. She clearly stands out the most compared to everyone else in this. She probably has the most experience when it comes to it’s unknown lineup so it works to her advantage. She looks amazing and she’s not afraid to do whatever they need for Driller. The rest of the cast includes Timothy Beckley (Sinners franchise), Renee Summers (Pleasure Island), George Payne (Penitentiary III), Rod Retta (Sex Crimes 2084), Cassandra Leigh (Snake Eyes), Frank Serrone (Deep Throat II), and Gypsy (Naughty Cheerleaders). Most of the others were unknowns and they only appeared in this sexy horror musical hybrid. It has weird fantasies about werewolf rape, a woman masterbates to Quazi-Modo, a zombie orgy, Richard Nixon seducing woman, gold women with glowing vibrators, and so much other crazy scenarios. The special fx were better than expected from the uncredited makeup artist Arnold Garguilo (Day of the Dead, Frankenhooker, Spookies, The Deadly Spawn, Black Roses, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare). They used their budget wisely behind those wild shocking moments and it’s impressive production design from Mark Preuss (Deadtime Stories and Walls of Glass) that matches it’s mainstream influence. The Rocky Horror Picture Show and MTV nods are all over the place in Driller besides it’s sleazy re imagining of Thriller so it’s not a total clone of it. This 80’s exploitation even does their own versions of Michael Jackson’s other songs besides the obvious one. This pushes the limits when it comes to smut and it shows it all without any censorship. Driller is really entertaining and it’s actually well made for what it is. It mixes porn, music, and horror in the most over the top ways possible. I didn’t know what to expect with this but it kinda surprised me!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Wild Eye Releasing in association with OCN Distribution! This 1080p (1.33:1) unrated transfer is from a brand new restoration from the original Betacam master tapes. Driller actually looks way better than I thought it would be with this HD upgrade compared to it’s original 2011 and 2014 DVDs which were already improved compared to it’s VHS days. This is a massive improvement especially for this type of production. There’s a disclaimer about working with the best possible sources for it. It has an English: LPCM 2.0 Mono track on the disc. Music plays a huge role in this so those moments pop the most when it comes to the audio. All of the dialogue is very clean, the insanity is elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has an archive almost 28 minute “Interview” with co-writer, producer, and actor Timothy Beckley. He chats about putting together this parody and capitalizing on the popularity of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. He goes over several different things that he worked on including reviewing movies for Hustler. He wanted to do something better when it came to porn and at a higher quality. He kept the concept a secret when it was originally being filmed early on. They hired some legit skilled behind the scenes crew to help with choreography, special fx, cinematography from a mysterious Oscar winner, and additional important departments for Driller to make it better than your typical sleaze. Most of them had to use fake names for their contributions to this. Similar productions only spent around $40,000 to $50,000 at most but they went above that with $100,000 that came from his own bank account. They had some distribution but they were cracking down on porn during it so it messed with it’s possible additional success. It was covered in some major publications which helped give it more of a spotlight despite those issues. He points out the differences between film and video for his decisions on what he went with. It packed with plenty of information, details, and stories. It has the little over 4 minute “Audio Interview” with adult actress Esmeralda with Mr. Creepo. She gives an update on her life and what she’s been doing over the years since Driller. It’s a comedy based chat just done for fun. She doesn’t take it seriously at all. They keep bringing up her still squirting. She shows her appreciation for vampires and why she likes them the most when it comes to monsters. She only seen this twice apparently. It’s silly extra but it’s lots of fun. It has a little over 3 minute “Image Gallery”. It has a “Original Teaser Trailer” and “Blu Ray Trailer” for Driller. The limited edition comes with a high quality slipcover. It also has brand new artwork, reversible VHS artwork, and an awesome 11×17 poster for the horror sexploitation spoof. It’s available from Melusine.com plus a select few spots, CHECK IT OUT!!!!