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.

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.

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

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.