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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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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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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Martin Unsworth Starburst Sep 25, 2023 5/5

As an observation of old Hollywood and American society, Targets is even more on-point today than it was in 1968. This masterpiece should be in the collection of any fan of cinema.

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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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Michael Calleri Niagara Gazette Jul 19, 2023

The fast-paced “Targets” is a chilling experience. It captures superbly screen horror with real-life horror. The main character's descent into madness is one of calm determination, but the film’s editing keeps the thriller pulsating.

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy May 31, 2023 3/4

The movie’s focus on gun control (or lack thereof) makes it as timely today as it was 55 years ago.

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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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Cory Woodroof 615 Film Aug 11, 2022

Hell yeah, Boris Karloff. A horrifyingly accurate prediction for where society was going, told with so much intelligence and cynicism, for the evils that await us and about the evils that await us. Fantastic flick.

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Tom Meek Cambridge Day Aug 21, 2020 3.5/4

The ingenious twist is the inclusion of Boris Karloff as an incarnation of himself

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Quentin Tarantino The New Beverly Jun 22, 2020

It was one of the most powerful films of 1968 and one of the greatest directorial debuts of all time. And I believe the best film ever produced by Roger Corman.

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David Nusair Reel Film Reviews May 24, 2020 3/4

...a low-key character study of two very different men...

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Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sep 10, 2012 89/100

...we don't, we can't, know why a Charles Whitman, a Bobby Thompson, a Michael Clark or a James Holmes does what he does. So we say they are mad.

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Variety Staff Variety Sep 25, 2007

Aware of the virtue of implied violence, Bogdanovich conveys moments of shock, terror, suspense and fear.

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Dec 15, 2006 B+

Impressive directorial debut.

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Geoff Andrew Time Out Jun 24, 2006

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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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Apr 8, 2006 4/4

Brilliant film.

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Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Sep 8, 2005 3/5

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