Targets (1968) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The movie takes place primarily at the Reseda drive-in theater in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles. This suburban setting serves as the backdrop for the collision between the aging horror star Byron Orlok's final promotional appearance and the violent rampage unfolding around him.

• reseda drive-in
• san fernando valley
• setting
• los angeles
• california

The film is set in the late 1960s, during a period of significant social upheaval in Los Angeles. The 1960s setting is essential to the narrative, as the era's changing attitudes toward violence, the rise of drive-in culture, and the shifting landscape of American entertainment all inform the story's themes.

• 1960s
• late 1960s
• era
• time period
• los angeles

Byron Orlok is an aging horror movie icon, portrayed by Boris Karloff in his final film role. He is a weary, embittered star who believes his old-fashioned scares are outdated and that audiences no longer fear him. His storyline centers on confronting his obsolescence in Hollywood and performing one last promotional appearance at the drive-in theater.

• byron orlok
• boris karloff
• horror star
• aging actor
• movie star

Bobby Thompson is a young, quiet insurance agent living in suburban Los Angeles who embarks on a violent killing spree, murdering his wife, mother, and a delivery boy before heading to the drive-in theater. He represents the hidden dangers lurking beneath ordinary suburban life and the era's anxieties about gun violence and domestic terror.

• bobby thompson
• killer
• shooter
• violence
• suburban menace

The film explores the tension between cinematic horror and real-world violence, questioning where storytelling ends and actual danger begins. Orlok's career as a master of fear in movies collides with Thompson's very real killing spree, blurring the line between the fantasy of horror cinema and the unpredictability of actual violence.

• reality vs fiction
• horror cinema
• violence in media
• fictional fear
• real violence

Targets treats violence as both spectacle and genuine threat, reflecting late-1960s anxieties about gun culture and media sensationalism. The movie contrasts the manufactured fear of horror films with the cold, methodical reality of Thompson's rampage, suggesting that cinema's warnings about violence may have become disconnected from actual danger.

• violence
• gun culture
• media
• spectacle
• 1960s violence

Through Orlok's storyline, the film examines aging in Hollywood and the fear of becoming irrelevant. His reluctance to accept obsolescence and his final appearance at the drive-in reflect broader cultural concerns about generational shifts and what it means to lose relevance in a rapidly changing world.

• aging
• obsolescence
• hollywood
• retirement
• relevance
• legacy

The Reseda drive-in theater represents the peak of mid-century American mass entertainment and communal movie-watching. It serves as a symbolic battleground where the fantasy of cinema meets reality, and where the line between screen violence and street violence becomes dangerously blurred during the film's climax.

• drive-in theater
• 1960s cinema
• mass entertainment
• suburban culture
• cinema history

Sammy Michaels is a young, ambitious director who convinces Orlok to make one final promotional appearance at the drive-in. Played by Peter Bogdanovich in his directorial debut, Sammy represents a new generation of filmmakers challenging the old guard and serves as a bridge between cinema's mythic power and the reality facing the audience.

• sammy michaels
• peter bogdanovich
• director
• young filmmaker
• ambition

The movie suggests that the sensationalism of media and cinema may have desensitized audiences to real violence, while simultaneously showing how easily fictional fear can be overshadowed by actual tragedy. Orlok's horror films become irrelevant when a real killer begins his spree, raising questions about the responsibility and impact of violent media.

• media influence
• cinema
• violence in media
• desensitization
• social commentary

Targets examines the intersection of fame and mental instability by juxtaposing Orlok's carefully crafted horror persona with Thompson's unhinged violence. The film suggests that the line between cinematic performance and real-life danger can become dangerously thin, especially when fame and madness collide in unexpected ways.

• fame
• madness
• celebrity
• mental instability
• horror star

The film uses suburban Los Angeles settings to highlight the contrast between the peaceful facade of 1960s suburban life and the hidden violence lurking beneath. Bobby Thompson's unremarkable existence as an insurance agent masks his capacity for extreme violence, suggesting that danger can exist anywhere, even in the most ordinary neighborhoods.

• suburban life
• los angeles suburbs
• ordinary lives
• hidden danger
• domestic setting