“A (self-reflexive) portrait of an artist whose creative temperament is realised as a sort of passion play, and a scuzzy, street-level panorama of contemporary Bowery Bohemianism. These admixtures of high and low, of sublime art and gutter trash, of soaring creativity and filthy lucre, are underscored by a soundtrack that juxtaposes Joseph Delia’s electronic covers of Bach to the Roosters’ raucous punk. It is a thematically dense, messily grounded film which, although about a drill, never bores – and there is nothing else quite like it.” -Anton Biel, Little White Lies

Iconoclastic filmmaker Abel Ferrara made his (non-porno) directorial debut with this gory but fascinating horror tale about a troubled artist (Ferrara himself, credited as Jimmy Laine). Classified as a “Video Nasty” and banned in some countries, The Driller Killer is a in fact an unremittingly intense investigation of psychological distress against the backdrop of putrid urban decay. Haunted by bizarre hallucinations and the fear he’ll end up a wino like his father, the artist eventually snaps and begins taking out his frustrations on a growing number of homeless people, attacking them with a power drill. In time, his violent obsessions get worse and he begins attacking people closer to him, including an art dealer and a woman he’s been dating. Ferarra also wrote several of the songs performed by a punk rock band in the film. Dark and moody, The Driller Killer features Ferrara’s indelible mix of arthouse style and grindhouse sleaze in its rawest form.

This film as playing as one half of a double feature with The Driller Killer. Each film is $5/ticket, or get double feature tickets for $8! Simply choose the Double Feature option on the BUY TICKETS page.

THEATER POLICIES

All seats are first-come, first-served.

The theater opens 30 minutes prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events and pre-shows when the theater opens at the listed start time.

All ages are welcome at Arkadin except for Drinkolas Cage events, which are restricted to 21+. We follow the MPAA rating guidelines for all other films.

Tickets can be purchased using the BUY TICKETS link above. Upon ordering, you will receive a confirmation email from Square. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the show at the concession counter.

If you’ve purchased advance tickets, when you arrive, please give your name at the concession counter to check in.

Tickets are returnable by sending a request through the contact form located on our About Us page prior to showtime.

When an event is sold out, we reserve the right to release open seats to customers on the waitlist. If you have a pre-purchased ticket and arrive late and there is no seat for you, your ticket will be refunded.

All screenings are held in our indoor theater unless indicated otherwise in the event description above.

Please respect your fellow movie-goers by remaining quiet and refraining from using your cell phone throughout the screening.