Targets (1968) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Orlok decides to retire because he believes his old-fashioned horror movies are outdated and no longer frightening to modern audiences. He argues that real-life news stories about violence and murder are far more terrifying than anything he ever created on screen. After a long career in horror films, he feels his craft has become irrelevant and wants to return to England to live out his final days.

• Byron Orlok retirement Hollywood horror films outdated

Bobby Thompson is an insurance agent who appears normal on the surface but harbors a dark obsession with guns. The summary indicates he is an obsessive gun collector whose family overlooks this detail. His motivation seems to stem from deeply hidden violent impulses that finally erupt, leading him to murder his wife, mother, and a delivery boy before extending his rampage to the public freeway and eventually the drive-in theater.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early that Thompson lives a quiet, clean-cut life that masks deadly urges, hinting at the violence to come.

• Bobby Thompson shooting spree motivation gun collection violent impulses

Thompson deliberately selects the Reseda drive-in theater as the final stage for his violent spree precisely because that is where Orlok will make his promotional appearance. The location allows him to juxtapose his real-world violence against the aging horror star's image, creating a collision between cinematic terror and actual bloodshed.

• Thompson drive-in attack Orlok promotional appearance venue choice

Orlok confronts Thompson in the drive-in screen tower while his own film projects behind the killer, creating a surreal moment where Thompson sees both the real Orlok and his iconic image on screen simultaneously. This dual vision disorients Thompson, allowing the aging star to use his walking cane to disarm the shooter and gain control of the situation.

• Orlok disarms Thompson cane confrontation screen tower duality

When Orlok asks "Is that what I was afraid of?" he is reflecting on the irony of his career. Throughout his life, he created cinematic monsters and fictional terrors, only to face real, deadly violence in his final appearance. The question suggests he realizes the real-world violence happening before him is what he truly feared, not the supernatural horrors he portrayed on screen.

• Orlok fear question meaning real vs cinematic horror legacy

When led away by police, Thompson delivers the chilling line that he "hardly ever missed" to express satisfaction with his shooting accuracy during the rampage. This cold, almost proud statement reveals his detached satisfaction in the violence he inflicted and underscores the character's disturbing composure despite committing multiple murders.

• Thompson missed marksmanship chilling line arrested satisfaction

Both Orlok and Thompson are described as "targets" in different ways. Orlok, the aging horror star, has become a target of irrelevance and obsolescence in the entertainment industry, he fears his career no longer resonates with audiences. Thompson, the shooter, literally becomes a target of law enforcement but also targets others with violent intent. The film explores how both men are consumed by their respective obsessions: Orlok by fading fame and Thompson by violent impulses, ultimately colliding in a moment where cinematic horror meets real-world killing.

• Orlok Thompson connection thematic parallel obsession violence fame

The film projects onto the large drive-in screen positioned behind Thompson as he carries out his attack. This creates a surreal visual motif where Thompson stands silhouetted against his own cinematic image, blurring the line between fiction and reality. The aging horror star faces the real killer while his own fictional horror plays out behind him, intensifying the thematic collision between cinematic and actual violence.

• Orlok film projected screen Thompson attack surreal visual

During Thompson's rampage at the drive-in, Jenny is shot and wounded by the attacker. This injury prompts Orlok to confront the intruder directly, leading to the climactic confrontation between the aging horror star and the killer.

• Jenny wounded Orlok secretary shot drive-in attack

After Orlok disarms Thompson and the police arrest the killer, the aging horror star prepares to leave Hollywood for good. The drive-in confrontation appears to have reframed his legacy, rather than fading away as a forgotten horror relic, he ends his career by facing real-world terror and confronting it directly, unlike the fictional monsters he once played.

• Orlok fate ending leaves Hollywood legacy confrontation resolution