Targets

Sweet Jesus.

I'm speechless guys I really am. Targets is a whole different breed of horror movies, it works so well and sometimes for the most horrible reasons. Essentially the film is about an aging horror icon Byron Orlok played by Boris Karloff, as he comes to terms with where the world is at right now and that his fashion of horror is not appropriate or as potent as it was, as we see with an ideal young man of that time and place in the world commit nothing short of assassinations on innocent normal people. It's a great movie with lots of layers to enjoy, the fact that the character Boris Karloff plays is essentially himself with scenes of his films being played and all, is really meta and is such a good analogy of those shifting times in the genre of horror with a claim that is 150,000% correct by Karloff, and also how this killer is potrayed. He's a very young man, has a wife, is respectful to his elders, has an upbeat and kind demeanor, literally looks like any person you could pass in the streets, and he takes a rifle and starts shooting people. And we never know why. He just does it. And...you know I've reviewed a lot of movies, quite a few with gunfire, and shootouts, and stuff like that, but nothing quite like how this movie does it. It reaches a point where it's not a movie anymore, you're seeing 16mm film of a man murdering people. And you might be saying, oh well there's not blood with every gunshot and the effects aren't that convincing. F*** the effects. This film got an R rating, and it wasn't for the brief glimpses of blood and there's no bad language in it, it got it because of what the film is potraying. No matter what damn movie you are watching, you can tell with the shootout scenes it's still a movie. Heat has one of the best running firefights in film history, the sound design is perfect, the action is well shot, it keeps the tension up, but you still see it as a movie. Any 80s action flick, Rambo First Blood Part 2, Predator, Death Wish 3, you can tell it's just a movie. This pushes that barrier, we see an extended scene of this guy on a fuel tank tower, with 5 different rifles, a bottle of Dr. Pepper and a sandwhich, and we watch him take potshots at motorists on a highway. There is no music, there is no sound effects save for the gunshots and a few engines, you can't hear anyone scream or react because they are so far away, you are with this guy watching him do these horrible things in almost realtime. It kind of stops feeling like a movie and I've never had that happen before. This is a horror story that is scarier than any monster, slasher, or supernatural force. Because it is far too real, this could happen tomorrow. And worse of all, it could happen in your town, where you live. I can't think of a goddamn thing more scary than that. For a Roger Corman film, this is a cut above your standard horror film and I love Roger Corman, I love Boris Karloff, and I love Targets. This is a 4 star movie, an 8/10 without a shadow of a doubt, and this was Boris Karloff's swan song to the genre and what a strong note to go out on. This is an underrated classic in my eyes, and I hope it gets more attention in the future.