The Terminator - 1984
Though a part of the same cinematic universe, there are worlds of difference between The Terminator and T2. While the latter is massive in production, epic in scale, two and a half plus hours long, and grandiose in its fight staging and CGI use, The Terminator is a lean, concise machine. T2 belongs to the world of 90's action films, where impressive body counts and big budget explosions rule the day. The Terminator is another thing entirely. It was discovering what that thing really was that constituted the greatest joy for me on rewatch.
The Terminator was and, to my mind, always HAS been billed as a sci fi action film. I'm here to argue that it is as much a work of horror. The sci fi elements of the story come and go. They are present from the very opening shot, when we glimpse a futuristic world of ruins, decimated by nuclear fallout, and a motley crew of humans alternate between hiding out and battling back the machines. They're there in the memorable next sequence, when both Michael Biehn and Arnold are "birthed" into our world. What an opening impression Arnold gives us in his first few moments on screen!
So, surely the science fiction forms a backbone and (metallic) framework for the proceedings here. We're also treated to several flash forwards from Kyle Reese's (played by Biehn) perspective of 2029 which are effective to varying degrees. BUT...the real meat of the story is right here in the present. It is a chase thriller. It is three principal characters on a high stakes thrill ride - a girl, a time-traveling bodyguard of sorts, and the cyborg sent back to destroy her progeny before he's even conceived.
The thing is, the present tense of this movie has as much in common with Halloween as it does with Aliens. Just look at the shots! The killer's face, masked partially by our knowledge of his robotics core, and eventually fully by the marring that takes place as he does battle. The following shots of the maniac chasing his next prey. The horrified faces of any victims that arise in his path. Remained unconvinced? Turn up the score. This might be the single best aspect of the entire film! It is full bore 80's electro, and yet it is punctuated with the kinds of sounds we'd associate with a John Carpenter picture.
The CGI is also very tempered here. Besides the limited efficacy of some face puppets and a very poorly aged walking robot in the final sequence, much of this is just a "man" chasing a girl come what may. All of this comes together to create an extremely lean delight. The Terminator rarely drags, because the pursuit almost feels like it's unfolding in real time. Indeed, in some moments it really is.
Linda Hamilton is also a revelation. She imbues her character with just the right amount of "deer in the headlights" shock and terror, and yet slowly begins to rise to the occasion. In terms of perspective, we begin to feel for her plight and approach the film as if the hunt for her is happening to us. By the third act, we really do start to believe that this could be the woman who will birth the leader of a resistance. Put simply, she presages the badass woman in the white tank that we meet 7 years later. She even demonstrates range in a little love story which is 1 part hoke and 2 parts sincerity.
By the end, we realize to Cameron's credit, that he doesn't waste time diving headlong into Cyberdyne Systems and Skynet. To do that would ruin the catapulting tension which flings us forward through the story. We rarely get to catch our breath. The Terminator is most certainly crazy and even a tad ridiculous. (Speaking of the latter, maybe this one goes EVEN higher if I didn't have to reckon with 100 minutes of that 80's Hamilton hair). But it's in knowing what to leave OFF the table here that James Cameron created a modern sci fi horror masterpiece.
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