Target Practice

Rich Riedel's promising directorial debut should please action fans and art-house connisseurs alike.

Riedel's primary experience is in editing, and it shows. The story is paced expertly to build up the maximum tension possible.

The acting is a bit uneven but there are some very strong performances here, notably from Eltony Williams.

The indie film world doesn't produce a whole lot of action films, so it's important to recognize the talents that do emerge so that they find success. An action film world populated solely by directors who came up through the studio system isn't what anyone needs. Riedel has a bright future.

Rich Riedel's TARGET PRACTICE has a simple premise - after leaving for a weekend trip to the mountains, five friends find themselves the unfortunate prey of an unknown predator. However, despite the seeming familiarity, thanks to superb characterization and execution, the story feels refreshingly urgent and, most importantly, human.

Particular credit must be given to Riedel. He worked as a literal one-man-band, covering all the key crew positions in addition to directing and writing the film. With all these responsibilities falling squarely on one person's shoulders, the film could have easily felt like a backyard home movie. While it is a little rough around the edges at points, Riedel reigns over the proceedings with such a sure hand that it never feels anything less than visceral.

The cast is equally as strong, giving excellent performances that help to round out the characters and propel the events forward at breakneck speed.

In short, TARGET PRACTICE is truly independent film-making at its finest.

I could tell right off that this was a low budget film by the way it played and felt! However, even though they didn't have much to spend, they sure spent it well!

I wasn't sure I even wanted to watch "Target Practice" based on the low overall rating but I'm so glad I did! I can't put into words exactly how this low budget film was done differently from others I've seen that I didn't care much for but whatever it was, it worked for me! A very good and exciting movie!

This is a terrific picture with great action, suspense, and atmosphere.

Director Rich Riedel not only understands the impact of flashy, noisy gun play, he also gets the importance of silence as an almost unbearable agent of tension. Excellent performances by all of the cast. And a brilliant use of location where he transforms the great outdoors into Hell.

I first saw this picture as an Executive Board member for one of the many festivals that screened it. Board enthusiasm for TARGET PRACTICE was robust and unanimous, and the film was a huge audience favorite. See it!

It is rare that I actually register on a website to leave a review on a movie. This is that movie. It was by far the worst film I have ever seen. I want 90 minutes of my life back.

While the premise is sound, the execution was horrible. The acting was bad, the directing was bad, the script was bad, the editing was bad, even the sound engineering was bad. I could find nothing good at all in this film.

It seems like the whole movie was shot with one hand-held camera in shaky-cam/random-zoom mode. In one scene, the camera was not even focused on the actor that was speaking.

I was surprised by the 'good' reviews that this movie seems to have everywhere. They are not deserved. Do not waste your time on this movie.