The Terminator Is A Perfect Slasher

James Cameron's 1984 film cemented itself as an instant sci-fi action classic, but there's another popular genre of the time in which it also achieved sublime perfection

The twist and turns of the Terminator saga are almost as mind-numbing as the logic of time travel itself. The storied franchise once housed the most expensive movie ever made ("Terminator 2: Judgment Day"), is still home to one of the greatest sequels ever made (also "Terminator 2: Judgment Day") and transformed Arnold Schwarzenegger into a household name. Despite the brand's struggles over the last decade, it remains a $3 billion dollar multimedia IP and a cultural touchstone. Not too bad for an idea born from a literal nightmare, right? Speaking of which, it's easy to forget just how terrifying the baseline premise is; a seemingly unstoppable killing machine hunting its prey and murdering everything in its path. This was pretty familiar territory for audiences in 1984, as "Friday the 13" was already four films deep and slashers of all shapes and sizes had splattered across the screen in the wake of 1978's "Halloween". "The Terminator" is one of the best of those slashers.

Granted, I understand it's not a slasher film in the most traditional sense. There are no expendable teens for the killer to tear through, he prefers automatic weapons to axes, knives or chainsaws and the film isn't particularly gory. However, the ingredients of a great slasher are integral to what makes its story work. Boiled down to its simplest elements, it's a stalk and chase film. What exists as the climax for most slasher films is how this film spends more than half of its runtime, i.e., with the "final girl" on the run and the killer in hot pursuit. The sustained tension throughout keeps viewers on edge and fuels the entire narrative. Not to mention its more graphic moments are formidable nightmare fuel. Yes, the effects look dated, but there's still something disturbing about watching Arnold's T-800 cut its own eye out, performing surgery on itself and seeing its skin rotting due to the damage it takes.

While my attempts to categorize "The Terminator" as a full-fledged horror film would probably fall flat, I don't feel it's too far-fetched to acknowledge it's at least horror-adjacent. The same driving forces behind your Jasons or a Michael Myers or a Freddy, etc., are all here and the T-800 racks up a body count all of those icons would be proud of. The stalk-chase-kill formula is used in well-timed cycles and with its seedy Los Angeles backdrop, low budget, unsettling practical effects, 80's synths and overall grittiness, it feels closer to horror than any other film in the franchise. The film was even released in late October around Halloween. There's also Linda Hamilton herself, who is the ultimate final girl as Sarah Connor. Her character evolution is similar to another heroine James Cameron helped cultivate; Ellen Ripley. Her switch from a vulnerable, yet capable young woman in "Alien" to a gun-totting, battle-tested survivor in "Aliens" is a precursor to what Sarah becomes in the sequel. Like Ripley (and many other final girls before her), she single-handedly defeats the villain and is forever transformed. Conceived from the fever dream of a metallic endoskeleton emerging from fiery depths, "The Terminator" is an exercise in terror wrapped in a cocoon of science fiction and action. Its primary function is to thrill more than scare, but if a hulking, homicidal machine from the future was after you, I'm pretty sure you'd let out a scream or two.