start off quite promisingly and with some clever dialog and an interesting plot about a retire old actor . but bogdanovich unfortunately have something else in mind . he introduce a character who quite obviously will turn into a spree killer and and the movie re direct it focus almost solely on him . now and i understand the point that bogdanovich be try to make with this story and but somehow he fell into a hitchcockian trap and i. e. he let shock and horror overtake the logic . just like the just mention chubby englishman with a penchant for ignore logic and insult the ( intelligent ) viewer intelligence and bogdanovich serf u some nonsense . bullet be fly leave and right and and corps just pile up and yet it take age for people to hear the bullet or realize the direness of any of a number of situation with the random shooting . the spree killer shoot three time in his home and in what be presumably an idyllic middle class suburbia and and no one call the police . no one hear the bullet . and the scene where karloff approach the killer may be well think out but combine with the ensue face slap it belong more in a comedy or a fantasy then a movie which strive for realism . karloff female assistant be as chinese a jennifer lopez . bogdanovich be wise not to have pursue an act career while he come off amateurish . bogdanovich line all the good film have already be make have more irony than brain cell in einstein brain . pretty much at the time this movie be make the actual golden age of movie have already begin . the vast bulk of the classic be make from the late 60 onwards . what a bad prediction by a relatively likable but quite overrated director and who should have stick to write his pretentious and dull film review .