American Driller Killer, America's Bloody Decay

Detroit...Washington, DC...Memphis...Baltimore...Philadelphia...Louisville...Atlanta...New York City...Los Angeles...Chicago...take your pick. Arguably, the aforementioned cities can be termed s**t holes. The original title of 2020's "American Driller Killer" was "Detroit Driller Killer," but most major American cities can fit the bill of the setting for this vicious film with an extraordinarily high kill count. The decay of the American city's, if anyone's fault, is the fault of all of us. No elected pol in any of these cities has the brains nor desire to fix them. As Americans continue to get mowed down in these places, at a much higher rate than the Afghanistan death count, perhaps this film by Matt Jassle  should be required viewing.

Reno (Justin Scro) is a loser who can't find a job. He writes screenplays. When the job he lands, to write the script for "Cannibal Inferno," falls through...he goes berserk. First up, after buying a power drill, is his nagging wife Carol (Alyssa Rose Schultz). He'll store her body in the shower and keep talking to her. Reno then goes out for a walk/spree. During this spree he will drill to death hookers, a mugger, and a guy wielding a baseball bat. His rampage will continue the next day after talking to the voices in his head. The punk band Splooge will be drilled.

Reno's victims don't draw much sympathy from us. They are the dregs of society...the creatures that have taken over the inner cities. It is easy to fall into that trap...and we do. You know...that trap when we believe not all human life is sacred...you don't have to admit that out loud. Then, two decent folk get it...and this serves as a wake-up call...perhaps their is something precious  about human life. After these two heartbreaking killings, we the viewer have sobered up. The trash Reno is cleaning off the Detroit streets all of a sudden are human beings to us. Humans with potential for good. This doesn't matter to Reno as the bulk of his murders are ahead.

What will Reno's ultimate death count be as the final credits roll? Is there anything in Reno's hatred that perhaps we can identify in ourselves? Is there any hope for the urban decay that has destroyed our major cities? These aren't rhetoric questions but you can answer them in private. Vicious, grim, gory, and ominous, "American Driller Killer" may be an American parable, or a warning with a call to goodness.