TARGETS was the last opportunity Boris Karloff had to shine. He was 80 years old and in poor health but was only too glad to participate in this film which is a tribute to him and his career as well as a biting social commentary. He plays a retiring horror film star fed up with the exploitation of his name and with what the world has become. This is told in tandem and contrasted with a story of real life horror, a young man who snaps and goes on a killing spree using his easy access to guns to become a deadly sniper who kills people at random. Eventually the stories intertwine and the two come face to face at a drive-in showing of Karloff’s latest film.
This is another example of Roger Corman’s acumen at spotting talent and not wasting an opportunity that came his way. Karloff had two days left on his contract so Corman turned to former writer Peter Bogdanovich who had assisted him on THE WILD ANGELS and gave him the opportunity to make a movie. In addition to using Karloff, Bogdanovich had to use at least 20 minutes of footage from Karloff’s movie THE TERROR which had been made in 1963. Bogdanovich and his then wife Polly Platt (plus an uncredited Samuel Fuller) came up with the script about the killer (based on the 1966 sniper Charles Whitman) and the retiring actor. The whole picture was done in 3 weeks.
Just as the film was about to be released in 1968, the murders of Martin Luther King and then Robert Kennedy put those plans on hold. Eventually a written prologue about the urgent need for gun control was added and the film did get released but it disappeared quickly. Nevertheless it was well enough received to allow Bogdanovich to make another film which turned out to be THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. Today the prologue is no longer there and the film is marketed as a horror film (because of Karloff) instead of a drama which is a mistake. TARGETS is essential to fans of Karloff and as an example of clever, high quality, low budget filmmaking. With recent 21st century events it is now more timely than ever.
The Capsule Critic 