Given his big break by Roger Corman, Bogdanovich and then-wife Polly Platt conceived a tight thriller which he then scripted and directed (with he and Platt taking on extra responsibilities given the low budget). The film impressed critics and jangled the nerves of audiences with its all-too-timely tale of sniper Tim O’Kelly on a killing spree, as he progresses to a collision course with an elderly horror film star—played by Boris Karloff, in his last great role.

I first saw Targets in 2013, a year after the horrifying Aurora, CO shooting that’d prompt Bogdanovich to express regret for making the film. Watching Targets in this context brought new light to its thesis: that no matter how many monsters you throw up on the big screen, nothing is as terrifying as the real world, where any madman with a gun can hold the world hostage. Still one of the scariest films I’ve ever seen. – Kevin Bahr, front of house staff