Targets

TARGETS – starring Boris Karloff as… an ageing horror star who is planning his retirement, is perhaps as relevant today as it was back in 1968 when the film attempted to bridge the gap between classic and contemporary horror by using the plot as a commentary of America’s obsession with guns.

Right at the start though, we are treated to a clip of Roger Corman’s 1963 horror flick ‘The Terror’, starring Karloff, Dick Miller and Jack Nicholson in one of his early roles. The film’s title is particularly interesting because Karloff once said in an interview that he doesn’t like the word ‘horror’ – instead he preferred ‘terror’ as this is what makes your hair stand on end. The film, of which we just saw a clip, has been shown in a private screening room in front of a small group of people. One of the assembled persons is Byron Orlok, a bitter and cynical horror movie actor who wishes to retire from Hollywood and return to his native England. Reason for his decision isn’t necessarily his old age but the fact that, as Orlok puts it, the new generation of cinema goers are no longer frightened by old-fashioned horror movies and thus, in all likelihood, consider the star somewhat outdated as well. “The world belongs to the young” sighs Orlok, much to the chagrin of Sammy Michaels (Peter Bogdanovich), an up and coming young director who is a huge fan of Orlok and would love nothing more than to work with him. We then realise that ‘The Terror’ is meant to be Orlok’s latest film. Other film biz folk present are equally disappointed, especially because a new script has been completed with Orlok in mind. Alas, the iconic horror star, disillusioned by real-life violence and society’s apparent indifference towards it, retreats to his hotel room, opens a bottle and watches an old b/w movie of his which happens to be shown on telly. He also instructs his personal assistant, Jenny (Nancy Hsueh), over the phone to prepare everything for the return to Ole Blighty. That same evening, Michaels knocks on the door of Orlok’s hotel room and several bottles later, he manages to persuade Orlok to make one final in-person appearance at a Reseda drive-in theatre to promote ‘The Terror’ before returning to the UK.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring San Fernando Valley, a young and clean-cut insurance agent named Bobby Thompson (Tim O’Kelly) lives with his wife Ilene Tanya Morgan, his mother Charlotte (Mary Jackson) and his father Robert (James Brown) an unassuming existence. What Bobby’s wife and his parents very obviously don’t realise is that he is a deeply disturbed and an avid gun collector. This might be due to the fact that Bobby is a Vietnam War veteran or that his father, an accomplished marksman and hunter, passed on his passion for shooting to his son. Either way, we soon realise that all’s not well when Bobby looks through the rifle scope – aiming at his Dad during a hunting trip without shooting. In a previous scene, he also spots Orlok standing on the street talking with his assistant Jenny.
As Bobby’s mind becomes ever more disturbed, he walks into the local gun store (he and Dad are regular customers) and the salesman, who seems to know the Thompson family well, doesn’t think anything when Bobby purchases lots of ammunition and even asks where his customer is off to this time for hunting…
As it turns out, this time round Bobby’s targets happen to be his wife, his mother and a delivery boy who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The calculation and cold-bloodedness in which Bobby executes his wife and the other two is deeply shocking and disturbing and no rational reason is provided.

This is only the beginning of a violent killing spree during which Bobby climbs on top of an oil storage tank calmly eats a sandwich before randomly shooting at people in their cars as they drive along the close-by and extremely busy freeway. Alerted by the gunshots, a gas tank worker (Gary Kent) climbs up the oil storage tank but he too is brutally killed by Bobby. At this point, the highway patrol has been alarmed due to multiple cars veering off the freeway but by the time they arrive, Bobby has packed up his guns and drives off – carelessly dropping cartridges and one pistol. Despite being pursued by a police car he manages to escape.

His next aim happens to be Reseda drive-in theatre… and it all coincides with the in-person appearance of Byron Orlok and the screening of ‘The Terror’. Soon, the real terror unfolding at the drive-in park is about to eclipse the on-screen Terror manifold, thus echoing Orlok’s words from earlier on when he remarked that cinema-goers are no longer frightened by old-fashioned horror movies…
The climax is clever and poignant and Orlok proves that there is more to his persona than just an iconic old horror star.

Loosely inspired by the real-life case of Charles Whitman, a young mass shooter who killed multiple persons during the infamous Tower shooting at the University of Texas in 1966, Peter Bogdanovich delivered a fine film debut with ‘Targets’ (produced by Roger Corman no less). It is also one of Karloff’s finest performances despite his massive health problems, which were already apparent during filming. He died the following year aged 81.

TARGETS has just been released on Blu-ray with the following Extras:
Audio commentary by P. Bogdanovich (2003) / New audio commentary by author and film critic Peter Tonguette / ‘Targets’: An Introduction by P. Bogdanovich (2003, 14 mins) / Hitting Targets: Sara Karloff on Her Father, Boris (2022, 40 mins) / On Target: Boris Karloff in the 1960s (2023, 17 mins): Stephen Jacobs, author of Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster, considers the great man’s final decade / Gentleman of Horror (2023, 8 mins): a video essay on Boris Karloff by the BFI’s Vic Pratt / The Guardian Interview at the NFT: Bogdanovich (1972, 42 mins) / The Guardian Interview: Roger Corman (1970, 64 mins) / Trailers From Hell: filmmaker Joe Dante on Targets (2013, 3 mins) / Image gallery / illustrated booklet (first pressing only).