Targets

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Targets

R,

1968,

1h 32m,

Mystery & Thriller

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Watchlist

89%

36 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

36 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

After unhinged Vietnam vet Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly) kills his wife and mother, he goes on a brutal shooting spree. Starting at an oil refinery, he evades the police and continues his murderous outing at a drive-in movie theater, where Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff), a retiring horror film icon, is making a promotional appearance. Before long, Orlock, a symbol of fantastical old-fashioned scares, faces off against Thompson, a remorseless psychopath rooted in a harsh modern reality.

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Critics Consensus

A startling directorial debut by Peter Bogdanovich mixes an homage to Boris Karloff horror films with a timely sniper story to create a thriller with modern baggage and old school shock and awe.

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Penelope Gilliatt

The New Yorker

Jan 23, 2024

I know the film was made in hard circumstances, on a small budget, and it is only fair to say that the visual elements -- as opposed to the performances -- are skillfully commanded. But it seems to me a fantastically foolish picture.

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

Sep 15, 2023

Bogdanovich’s sophisticated, meta cinematic feature debut brings into confrontation Karloff’s era of castle gothic... and a more contemporary, ripped-from-the-headlines realism that is finding its way into the genre, and into films like this one.

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Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

May 18, 2023

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

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

Feb 15, 2025

7/10

Targets was a box office bomb upon first release, but critics liked it and it has since become recognized as a quality film that has something to say about American conformity, violence, and the film business.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Sep 22, 2024

It wasn’t Karloff’s last film, but it’s the farewell performance he should be remembered by: he’s gentle, funny, sad, and dignified throughout...

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Taylor Baker

Drink in the Movies

Nov 19, 2023

78/100

Targets still feels experimental and fresh today, the strictures in place on Bogdanovich with the lean budget and limited shooting days with Boris Karloff resulted in a film that if it were released today would feel exciting and new

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Rey P

Feb 13, 2019

1968 was a great year for movies

Hagrid G

Apr 14, 2017

Essentially two different plots that some people at a studio liked and said: "Hey, what if we put the two of them together and make one movie! That would save us so much money!"

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Finn G

Mar 2, 2017

An aging horror star is set to appear at a drive-in movie event, and an unhinged Vietnam decides to position himself behind the screen and use the attending cars full of people as his next set of targets. I was pleased to have grabbed this one off cable and finally given it a spin, as it made for a nice and tense viewing experience. Well worth a look if you get the chance.

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Kylo R

Apr 16, 2008

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, both of which were relevant to contemporary American traumas.

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Peter Bogdanovich

Director

Boris Karloff

Byron Orlok

Tim O'Kelly

Bobby Thompson

Nancy Hsueh

Jenny

James Brown

Robert Thompson, Sr.

Sandy Baron

Kip Larkin

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Synopsis

After unhinged Vietnam vet Bobby Thompson (Tim O'Kelly) kills his wife and mother, he goes on a brutal shooting spree. Starting at an oil refinery, he evades the police and continues his murderous outing at a drive-in movie theater, where Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff), a retiring horror film icon, is making a promotional appearance. Before long, Orlock, a symbol of fantastical old-fashioned scares, faces off against Thompson, a remorseless psychopath rooted in a harsh modern reality.

Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Producer: Peter Bogdanovich
Screenwriter: Polly Platt, Peter Bogdanovich, Peter Bogdanovich, Samuel Fuller
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Saticoy Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 15, 1968, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 19, 2017
Runtime: 1h 32m
Sound Mix: Mono

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