“Whoever lives here seems to have the mind of a child.” |
The Driller Killer is the main antagonist in Minotaur, Power Drill Massacre and Night Watch. He also appears in a cameo with the same role in Night Shift, in the demake minigame Power Drill Massacre Arcade.
Description[]
Appearance[]
A facial composite of the Driller Killer
The Driller Killer is an adult Caucasian male with short, dark brown hair. His 1987 wanted poster describes him as being of slender build, imposingly tall at 6'1" (185 cm) to 6'5" (195 cm), bearded and anywhere from 35 to 48 years old. He wears a grimy, white one-piece boiler suit, a worn, white Greek theater mask[1], dark grey gloves and brown shoes. In his right hand, he wields a grey, cordless 1970's power drill.
During his appearance in Night Watch, which is set in 1978, his outfit is completely clean. By the time of the events in Power Drill Massacre, which takes place in 1987, his suit and drill have become much dirtier and his mask has begun to degrade, presumably meaning that he's been wearing the same clothes for the last decade.
Personality[]
The Driller Killer is a walking contradiction, in the sense that many of his character traits are completely at odds with one another. Though extremely disorganized, both as a killer and in his living space, he is shown to be ruthlessly adept at what he does, apparently living solely to terrify, torture and kill, for no discernible reason or motive. He has devoted his entire being to this cause by occupying and living in the filth and darkness of a factory miles away from most of civilization, waiting for unfortunate passerby to capture and murder.
In spite of his blunt and seemingly ham-fisted way of assailing victims by rushing them head-on, he shows a high level of competency in preparation of these attacks, using simple, yet effective measures such as luring victims with oddly misplaced objects into ambushes, overpowering them through the element of surprise and superior strength and speed. Though his patrol pattern is largely random and encounters with victims mostly up to chance, he also seems to be very well-informed a lot about his surroundings, both his hideout's interior and the forests he roams, which allows him to easily observe, track down or lure in potential targets. Even if someone manages to escape his lair, if they find themselves in the factory floors or in his lair, the maze deep within the complex give the illusion of an exit, yet are winding and disorienting in truth, to the point where the Driller Killer is almost guaranteed to find someone once they are entered, simply by clearing path after path of his familiar network like a spider in its web until the escapee is found. Police have been unable to find him either, in spite of the high-profile of the pile up of disappearance, suggesting that his victims are kidnapped in the deepest, most unknown neck of the woods or that he manages to remove evidence very efficiently, possibly not even leaving any at all, safe for the remainder of his victims' belongings.
On the other hand, having apparently spend the better part of life in nigh-complete isolation, he has either mentally regressed back into or never progressed past the state of a toddler, though this does not hinder him from pursuing his murderous impulses. This leaves him unable to express himself, even if he wishes to, as he can't formulate intelligible speech and is instead limited in vocalization to animalistic growls and squeals, unsettling babyish whines, and deafening shrieking.
History[]
Little is known about the background of this otherwise unnamed individual prior to his killing spree. By the time he reached adulthood, the man now known by the epithet "Driller Killer" had become a recluse and grown into a deranged psychopath, abducting and killing visitors of the Pocono forests starting around 1978. His typical modus operandi consists of knocking out his victims and bringing them into his underground safe house, where he strips them down to their underwear and imprisons them in reutilized dog cages, often torturing them with various tools before killing them by rushing at them and brutally drilling into their bodies with his signature weapon. Afterwards, he butchers the remains, leaving them as piles of rotting meat around his workshop. He is prone to making pig noises while stalking his targets, though he notably lacks this signature during his attack in Night Watch. He also seems to have a passing interest in Satanism, as some drawings of Baphomet-themed pentagrams can be found scattered around the area as territory markers, though there are no signs of him actually dabbling in devil-worshipping rituals.
By 1987, he set up home in the labyrinth-like basement tunnels of the Branden Sawmill, a logging factory that closed down in mid-1981, following a string of accidents that resulted in the deaths of seven workers. Opinions differ on the nature of the tragedy. Site managers believed that it was a deliberate act of industrial sabotage by an unidentified perpetrator, who had made small cuts in the ropes and harness equipment, so that they would snap during use. This claim was contested by state inspectors, who reportedly found no signs of previous damage to the cords and chalked the accidents up to gross criminal negligence by the owners of the sawmill, who had supposedly cut corners at the expense of worker safety. The fact that the same hideout appeared in Night Watch in 1978, during the sawmill's operation, suggests that he has been illegally squatting in the factory's basement for years. It's possible that he was the saboteur responsible for the mishaps at the mill, but there is nothing else substantial linking him to the deaths.
Pennsylvania State Police, while fully aware of the missing persons and their direct connection to the Pocono forests, have been unable to track down a potential culprit. Their latest and only known lead was on July 10th, 1987, where a witness spotted a suspicious man and was able to make out his face, apparently making a connection to a disappearance at midnight later on. An artist's rendition has been included on multiple wanted posters, though with limited success.
Speculation[]
It's possible that the Driller Killer was an orphan of the Sunshine Children's Orphanage. The timelines add up, as the orphanage is said to have been in operation during World War II, which coincides with the killer's childhood age range. It is said that the orphanage's owner, Russel Mort, abused the children, which might explain why the killer grew to be so disturbed and mentally stunted. This is supported by his habitation of the ruined orphanage down in the Sugar Tunnel.
Power Drill Massacre[]
In May, 1987, a woman named Megan enters the Driller Killer's hideout while looking for help, after she and her boyfriend got in a car accident on a road near the forest. He appears sporadically throughout the structure, the sound of crashing and the revving of a power drill signalling his coming a split-second before the ambush, chasing Megan while producing bellowing pig squeals until he loses track of her.
In the bowels of the factory, if Megan traverses the Sugar Tunnels, she can find what appears to be his private lair, which is not only full of piles of rotting flesh, human-sized cages and skeletons, one of which is sprawled over a dirty, messy mattress, but disturbingly furnished like a child's bedroom, including 1920's doll-themed wallpaper, a tea set, a scratched record player, stuffed animals, a piano and a rocking horse, likely leftovers of the orphanage that used to stand in place of the sawmill. Given the apparent recent use of the items, it becomes apparent that the Driller Killer has the mind of a child, as Megan herself points out. Furthermore, he seems to be incapable of human speech, as heard from his bizarre animal imitation and as seen in Ending B, he talks to his captives only in incoherent babbling, indicating that he may be intellectually disabled.
Ending A has Megan, after she finds three keys, follow the apparition of a young girl into a long hallway. The screen turns violently red as the little girl stops in her tracks and disappears as the Driller Killer appears and runs through her before beginning his pursuit of Megan. Megan reaches a bright, white light before the screen goes black. The screen returns with a view of the Pocono forest, with a radio report being played, listing Megan as still missing. Deep, angry groaning can be heard in the background, as well as similarly intoned screaming to the sounds of a power drill.
In Ending B, Megan enters the "Sugar Tunnel" and hits a dead end, where she finds the killer's lair. He arrives shortly after and captures and undresses Megan, placing her in a cage in his room, occasionally walking up to her and attempting to speak to her in unintelligible mutters. Megan, in obvious distress, responds only in panic shrieks, apparently upsetting the Driller Killer, who then leaves the room. The faint melody of a music box playing Greensleeves can be heard, with the Driller Killer suddenly returning, sprinting at the cage, drill in hand. As she dies and the game ends, a Bible verse appears on the screen:
“AND DEATH AND HELL WERE CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. THIS IS THE SECOND DEATH” |
Night Watch[]
Night Watch serves as a prequel to Power Drill Massacre, taking place in 1978. Throughout most of the game, several minor hints around the fire tower indicate the presence of an unknown person, such as a rock being inexplicably thrown at the window, momentary glimpses of a shadowy figure by the balcony and stairs, as well as occasional noises like creaks and knocks outside the post. Additionally, when Jim answers a call over the radio, he hears loud breathing on the other end, followed by a deep roar-like scream. A distress signal later on makes mention of unnerving "pig noises" coming from near the caller's location.
The Driller Killer makes a brief physical appearance at the end of the game. After Jim checks out a deserted campsite, he hears cries for help from the line of trees. Upon going to investigate, he is ambushed by the Driller Killer and knocked unconscious. When Jim wakes up, he is trapped in a cage in his underground lair with his hands bound behind his back. Just like in Ending B of PDM, the Driller Killer circles the room, peeking around corners while grunting several times before charging at Jim, gruesomely ending him. A bible verse appears on the screen:
“AND GOD SHALL WIPE ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NEITHER SORROW, NOR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE ANY MORE PAIN: FOR THE FORMER THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY.” |
Given that the disappearance cases mentioned in the newspaper first date back to 1978, Jim was likely one of the Driller Killer's first victims, presumably along with the three missing campers he went looking for.
Known victims[]
- At least twelve campers of which three are known by name:
- Mason C. Sargent
- Laurie Summers
- David Ashford
- Seven workers of the Branden Sawmill
- Jim
- Christine Wilbur
- Richard (a.k.a The Hanging Body)
- Megan Brooke (Ending B)
Trivia[]
- The Driller Killer's original model, as seen in Minotaur, differed only slightly from his current one, in that he wore a red cotton jumpsuit and an early version of his mask (seen in the cover of Power Drill Massacre), had black hair and stood at around the same height as the player.
- Due to this, the Driller Killer looks similar to Neokalus Burr, as both share their model with the Minotaur, but with different textures.
- His name appears to be a reference to the 1979 black comedy horror film The Driller Killer, which centers around a similarly mentally ill, power-drill wielding serial killer, with their signature weapons being nigh-identical in looks. Notably, the game either borrows or replicates many of its innovative synthesized sound effects.
- Interspersed throughout the game appears a random selection of one of three paintings depicting nude women in various positions. Their significance is unknown, but they are artworks of Egon Schiele, an Austrian expressionist artist, known for his intense portrayal of human sexuality and nudity, controversial themes also present in The Driller Killer movie and slasher flicks in general, which can be extended onto the game's display of violence itself.
- The Driller Killer's telltale pig noises are likely a reference to the noises Leatherface makes in the 1974 horror film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
- According to the developer Ben Cocuzza, the killer has "the mind of a 3-year-old child", confirming a mental handicap.
- Upon closer inspection, the Driller Killer's mask appears to be a copy or cut-out of the criminal sketch on his wanted poster, with the eyes either removed or blackened. Curiously, he wears the same mask in 1978, before the sketch was even made. It is possible that, given the timeframe at night, the witness mistakenly thought the mask was his actual face, thus making the sketch wholly unreliable of his true appearance.
- A different version of the Driller Killer's mask is also worn in Minotaur and was a customizable piece of headwear in later versions of the Sanitarium Massacre beta.
- A ghost can be seen floating by the balcony for a few seconds, when first climbing the stairs up the sawmill. The ghost is likely of one of the Driller Killer's victims, possibly David Ashford or Mason C. Sargent, but this is unconfirmed.
- Nun Massacre (The Definitive Edition) features a "Factory" mode, which retextures the game to resemble the interior of the Branden Sawmill and changes the Nun to the Driller, a hulking, drill-wielding monster. This is an extension to a previously abandoned Easter Egg which would have replaced the Nun with the Driller Killer.
- Depending on the canonicity and interpretation of the scenario, the mode is the recollection of a camper who survived a close encounter with him sometime during his most active phase in the 80's.
- His exact location is uncertain, as the Pocono Mountains span four Pennsylvanian counties, Pike, Monroe, Carbon, and Wayne. Megan and Jeff crashes by Route 447, with Megan travelling west of the highway to discover the Branden Sawmill, probably putting its position in Monroe County, though Puppet Combo is known to take some degree of creative liberty in placing the geographic setting, as the map used by Jim in Night Watch does not match any terrain in the Pocono Mountains and is actually of New York's Essex County mountain range.
- The screeching and drill sounds in the final scene of Ending A are a reference to the iconic "Chainsaw Dance" ending of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in which Leatherface, after failing to kill his last victim, strolls across the highway, swinging around his still-running chainsaw in frustration as the sun sets behind him.
- Some fans assume that the screams in Ending A are Megan's. This seems unlikely, however, as her voice is a much higher pitch, heard prominently when the Driller Killer approaches her cage in Ending B. The screeches are likely of the Driller Killer himself, throwing a tantrum over Megan's escape, possibly even mutilating himself in a puerile rage, given the drill sounds, in either an act of self-harm or suicide, though this is largely speculative.
- Another possibility is that the screams are those of Jeff West. Power Drill Massacre Arcade shows that the Driller Killer continued to follow Megan even after she escaped the factory and as she drove away in her getaway vehicle. If these events are considered canon, it's not unreasonable to assume that the Driller Killer could have happened upon Jeff trapped in the van either while running after Megan's truck or after searching the area for any trace of her or other potential victims.
- Some fans assume that the screams in Ending A are Megan's. This seems unlikely, however, as her voice is a much higher pitch, heard prominently when the Driller Killer approaches her cage in Ending B. The screeches are likely of the Driller Killer himself, throwing a tantrum over Megan's escape, possibly even mutilating himself in a puerile rage, given the drill sounds, in either an act of self-harm or suicide, though this is largely speculative.
- The HD Driller Killer model bears a heavy resemblance to Halloween's Michael Myers.
- The Driller Killer's usage of crying as a bait is similar to the myth of murderers or sexual predators using the recording of crying babies or children to lure victims, which is based on a false rumor attributing the made-up tactic to serial killer Derrick Todd Lee.
- A dismembered fresh corpse can be seen hanging in a room located in the basement. After a few seconds, the Driller Killer will come out from a door behind the corpse and chase after you. When you return to the room, the body is nowhere to be found.
- While the Driller Killer speaks incoherently in-game, there are three .wav audio files, containing dialogue apparently spoken by him. Since these are not used in the final game, it's likely that these soundbites aren't canon.
- The Driller Killer's scream uses excerpts of a slowed-down version of a young pig's squeals recorded in a slaughterhouse situated in Cabra, Spain, originally recorded on April 8, 2007.
Gallery[]
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References[]
 Power Drill Massacre
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| Media | Power Drill Massacre • Arcade Edition • Documents • Soundtrack • Version History • Puppet Combo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Characters | Players | Christine Wilbur | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NPCs | Jeff West • Megan Brooke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Enemies | Driller Killer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unseen | Abe Bradley • Bob Gibb • Charlie Plank • David Ashford • Laurie Summers • Mason C. Sargent • Russel Mort • Sargent Bailey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Items | Flashlight • Keys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locations | Setting | Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Places | Branden Sawmill (Sugar Tunnel, The Sunshine Children's Orphanage) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||