Clevercell Very disappointing...

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

utgard14 Peter Bogdanovich's first credited directorial effort is Boris Karloff's last great film. A split story of an aging movie star (Karloff) wanting to retire and an unhinged sniper (Tim O'Kelly) going on a shooting rampage. The two stories intersect brilliantly in the film's climax. Watching this you would think the director was an old pro, not a novice. Bogdanovich, who also acts in the movie and does a surprisingly good job, makes the most of the limited budget he was given. He also makes clever use of footage from Karloff's movies The Criminal Code and The Terror. Karloff is fantastic in a role that would be a perfect coda for his career. Yeah he made some more forgettable low-budget horror movies after this but this is such a perfect final film for him that I prefer to think of it as such. O'Kelly is also good in his only notable film role. It's a remarkable movie that's multilayered and perhaps as timely today as it was then. If you enjoy Karloff then, of course, it's a must-see.

STCorcoran88 Karloff plays an aging icon of the older style horror films of the less graphic, more spooky variety, which has seemingly been rendered obsolete, and, literally under assault, in the film, and unable to frighten or be possessed of any meaning, when contrasted, as the film does, against the more topical horrors of the day typified by a Charles Whitman type, Vietnam vet, who snaps, and turns his sniper training to good use, inflicting terror on the community via a string of r long range killings, against random victims; an an Ed Wood, Lugosi vibe is present in the depiction of a up and coming director, played by Peter Bogdanovich playing Himself,at the time, pretty much, as a film fan doing hackwork, He was, at the time, shooting B-pictures for Roger Corman.

gavin6942 Elderly horror-film star (Boris Karloff) who, while making a personal appearance at a drive-in theater, confronts a psychotic Vietnam veteran (Tim O'Kelly) who has turned into a mass-murdering sniper.This film was written, produced and directed by Peter Bogdanovich under the direction of mentor Roger Corman. For whatever reason, Corman had the film use an excessive amount of clips from "The Terror", but somehow it still works (and is better than the film it references).American International Pictures offered to release, but Bogdanovich wisely wanted to try and see if the film could get a deal with a major studio. It was seen by Robert Evans of Paramount who bought it for $150,000, giving Corman an instant profit on the movie before it was even released. This was brilliant and gives the film a sense of legitimacy that AIP simply cannot offer.

ad1mt I can't understand why this movie rated so highly. There is nothing of interest to me here.The script/story/plot is like a high schooler's project. The acting is scarcely believable. The direction and photography is all over the place, showing irrelevant meaningless details which obscure the main thrust of the story and action. The whole premise of the Boris Karlof character is particularly incredible (I mean lacking in credibility), and whose only purpose seems to be to enable a "clever" 10 second shot near the conclusion, where the real-life character simultaneously echoes the actions of the same actor on a movie screen.I really am lost for words... it is actually rather difficult to meaningfully criticise something as mediocre as this.