10 Horror Movies That Gave Fans EXACTLY What They Wanted (And They Hated It)

3. The Driller Killer Doesn't Live Up To Its Reputation

The Driller Killer Abel Ferrara
Vipco

While the majority of the entries on the list feature movies which delivered a certain narrative, plot point or a sequel that fans had previously demanded, The Driller Killer is included here for a slightly different reason.

Hitting cinemas in 1979, this horror offering had Abel Ferrara in the director's chair and in the lead role of the titular killer. A troubled New York City artist, Ferrara's Reno embarks on a descent into insanity as he looks for inspiration to paint his masterpiece. Of course, said descent into insanity involves murdering countless homeless people with a power drill.

Ahead of the film's release in the UK in 1982, there was uproar at the movie's garish, gory poster and the feature was handed the dreaded label of "video nasty" after complaints to the Advertising Standards Agency. The Driller Killer was soon completely banned in the country, and it was directly responsible for the Video Recordings Act 1984 that allowed such films to be blocked from release.

It wasn't until 1999 that Ferrara's picture was finally made available to British horror hounds. In all of those years The Driller Killer was out of reach to those fans, it's reputation - as in, how graphic, grotesque and nerve-shredding it was - only amplified with each passing year.

For those who had waited so long to see this most infamous of infamous films, the wait, quite frankly, wasn't worth it. Badly dated and with very little heinous acts truly showed on-screen, The Driller Killer was so not what the hype had promised.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.