TARGETS (1968)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Crime / Horror

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Cast: Tim O’Kelly / Boris Karloff / Peter Bogdanovich

Plot

A psychopath goes on a shooting spree through Los Angeles, creating a blood bath at a drive-in theater where elderly film star Byron Orlok is scheduled to make a personal appearance.

What I Liked

*spoiler alert!*

It’s ironic that Boris Karloff of “Frankenstein” fame is one of the stars of this movie, which is in itself a kind of patchwork monster assembled from the dead.  Director Peter Bogdanovich pieced together much of this movie with the help of his mentor, Roger Corman.  Corman had surplus unused footage lying about from some of his kitschy horror films and handed them off to Bogdanovich, along with the added gift of two days to film with Karloff.  The fact that Bogdanovich was essentially forced to make his debut film with left-overs makes the fact that it happens to be a fascinating motion picture all the more impressive.

Instead of going the expected route of working Corman’s footage (low-budget if stylish costume horror featuring a young Jack Nicholson) into yet another castles-and-monsters schlockfest, Bogdanovich made an adult film about timely concerns.   On the surface it’s a shock film with a body count that would have been unacceptable in mainstream American film at the time.  But the film is multi-layered, the director deftly weaving real suspense and discomfort by setting all of the horror against the backdrop of familiar American life and making both the killer and the victims look just like average, everyday people.  Underneath it all is not-so-subtle commentary about violence in entertainment and society, about the generation gap, and about the role of entertainment in daily American life.

Even better, it all ends with Karloff heroically slapping the shit out of the villain, which is one of Bogdanovich’s many nods to the films of yesteryear.  Yet it also leaves us pondering what role Karloff and the old guard of horror films played in developing the American taste for gore and violence, thus helping to create men like the shooter.

Despite the fact that the gore level is tame by today’s standards, moments in “Targets” remain very unsettling to this day.  Perhaps most disconcerting is the director’s choice to shoot much of the film from the visual perspective of the killer, allowing the audience to be one with him as he sights his prey.  High profile suburban shooting sprees and psycho snipers have destroyed many lives since 1968 and make for media sensations.  Depending upon the eye of the beholder, that the film predicts these tragedies can be seen either as a testament to or a condemnation of its power.  What’s even more disturbing is to realize that “Targets” was no blockbuster; the mainstream American public didn’t really pay much attention to it.  Yet today real-life mass shootings make for terrific television ratings as millions stare in morbid fascination, as entertained by the slaughter as Bogdanovich’s triggerman.

What I Didn’t Like

As far as the acting in this movie goes, Boris Karloff gives the best performance of the film.  Part of this is that he just does a terrific job.  The other part is that he’s the only one who does a terrific job.

Writer, producer, director Bogdanovich sure didn’t do himself any favors by giving himself a sizable part in his movie.  Like Karloff, he plays a character much like himself.  Unlike Karloff, he does a bad job of it.  He is hammy, awkward, and distracting as a young, cinephile-turned-director.  The self-referential aspect of “Targets” is one of its greatest strengths, but the director should have cast someone else for this role.

There are a few technical oops moments common to films shot on a slim budget and an even more limited shooting schedule.  For example, one more than one occasion we can see the shadow of the camera man.  Still, these types of moments happen far less than one might expect and never take away from the story or suspense.

Most Memorable Scene

My personal favorite moment is when Karloff is given the chance to do what he does best.  With Bogdanovich looking on, Boris tells us all a scary story in his eerie British accent, his hair eyebrows rising and lowering, his lips curling and sneering.  The story itself isn’t as frightening as it is darkly comic, which makes it all the more suited for the 79-year-old actor.  Boris is astonishingly good throughout this, his last important picture, but never more so than in this moment.

My Rating: 4 out of 5