Review – Targets

Two independent stories intertwine in this odd little piece from the early part of Peter Bogdanovich’s career. The first appears to be lifted almost completely from Charles Whitman’s brief moment in the national spotlight, though our anti-hero here chooses a big oil tank for a shooting platform rather than a campus bell tower. The other tale has nothing obvious to do with the first; it focuses on a aging horror star named Byron Orloc, played by aging horror star Boris Karloff. Orloc is trying to retire from the profession, but he agrees to put in an appearance at a drive-in theater that’s screening one of his old movies. The two plots come together at the drive-in, where the killer continues his slaying spree from a concealed spot behind the movie screen. The most entertainment I managed to derive from the sniper subplot was keeping an eye out for parallels between the story and Whitman’s crimes. The best part of the Karloff side was Bogdonovich’s use of the star’s actual previous appearances – especially The Terror – to help establish the character. The fictional world’s connections to reality helped transform what might have been a mediocre movie into something a little more entertaining. Mildly amusing