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Targets

6.8

1,998

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Original title

Targets

Year

1968

Running time

86 min.

Country

United States

Director

Peter Bogdanovich

Screenwriter

Peter Bogdanovich

Cast

Music

Ronald Stein

Cinematography

László Kovács

Producer

Saticoy Productions. Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Genre

Thriller | Film In Film. Old Age / Elderly. Serial Killers

Synopsis

The script was inspired by the 1966 shooting spree of Texas Tower sniper Charles Whitman. Karloff, as Byron Orlock, more or less plays himself: an aging horror star, consigned to low-budget drive-in fare. Unlike the workaholic Karloff, Orlock wants to retire from films, noting that his movies seem inconsequential in light of the real-life horrors occurring every day. As Bogdanovich, playing young-and-hungry director Sammy Michaels, desperately tries to convince Orlock to star in just one more picture, the film's attentions shift to Vietnam veteran Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly). An otherwise amiable, normal-looking lad, Bobby seems to harbor an inordinate fascination with guns, particularly high-powered rifles. One bright and sunny morning, Bobby suddenly and unexpectedly shoots and kills his wife, his mother, and an unlucky delivery boy. He leaves behind a note confessing to these crimes, noting that, while he fully expects to be captured, many more will die before the day is over. From this point onward, the film switches from Bobby's day-long bloodbath (from the vantage point of an oil storage tank, calmly picking off passing freeway motorists) to Orlock's grumbling preparations to make a personal appearance at a local drive-in movie.

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Critics' reviews

"Far from a period piece, Targets’s contrasting tales capture a still-relevant portrait of America’s uniquely schizophrenic relationship with gun violence."

Eric Henderson: Slant
"Aware of the virtue of implied violence, Bogdanovich conveys moments of shock, terror, suspense and fear."

Variety Staff: Variety
"Targets isn't a very good film, but it is an interesting one."

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"An unconventional horror picture that draws a comparison between the real-life horror of the 1966 Charles Whitman murder spree and the fictional horrors of movie legend Boris Karloff."

TV Guide
"An interesting response to the demands of low-budget genre filmmaking."

Dave Kehr: Chicago Reader
"A fascinatingly complex commentary on American mythology, exploring the relationship between the inner world of the imagination and the outer world of violence and paranoia"

Geoff Andrew: Time Out

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