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I think the horror element in T1 that is particularly striking is the invasion and destruction of the police station. I recall the power of that as a kid: the d

I think the horror element in T1 that is particularly striking is the invasion and destruction of the police station. I recall the power of that as a kid: the dismissal of the concept of a safe place. I think it shows the idea-power that horror can have.

type0 4y ago
It's one of the best Sci-fi Thrillers of all times, the pacing is stellar.
hef19898 4y ago
T1 shows just how terrifying it would be hunted by a killer robot, or by ani killer that simply cannot stopped by any means short of a battle tank. Something the other films, including T2, failed to show. It did work in T2, because the whole story was different. Oh, and the Sarah Connor Chronicles did a good job of it as well, shame that got cancelled.
- semireg 4y ago
  It seems like any decent plot succumbs to soap opera writing. e.g. Raised by Wolves season 2. I thought the SCC was a lot of fun for about 6 hours. Then it waned… Sometimes I’ll see a different “written by” on sci-fi credits and think “ahh, that’s the reason!”
- EGreg 4y ago
  Slaughterbots video shows that nothing we have can stop them. Here are some videos: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HipTO_7mUOw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HipTO_7mUOw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=40JFxhhJEYk https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=40JFxhhJEYk Real: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ndFKUKHfuM0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ndFKUKHfuM0
  - methodover 4y ago
    Well. That first video was terrifying. I'm too scared to click on the others.
- mankyd 4y ago
  I still got that feeling on T2 - for instance the classic seen where the liquid terminator melts through the jail-style bars. Or the seen where it chases them down the highway at full speed. It made the robot feel so inescapable.
  - hef19898 4y ago
    That scene was incredible! And Robert Patrick as the T1000, he was scary! There was somewhat less terror so, that it was part two didn't help, as a viewer you already knew what a Terminator was.
    - dkarl 4y ago
      Arnold was so perfect as the embodiment of the birth of a dangerous, unrefined new force, and Robert Patrick was the perfect turn for the next generation. While Arnold's terminator had unbelievable levels of the familiar properties of strength and durability, handling the bikers exactly the same way the bikers would have handled a 90 pound weakling, the next-gen terminator had a bizarre new capability that we had never encountered. Arnold was frightening because we could imagine exactly how he would pursue us and how our efforts to escape or defend would fail against him. With the Robert Patrick terminator, we were confronted with something much stranger, even alien. Our culture had not yet worked out the consequences of what he could do. In the few moments we had to react, our imaginations could only scratch the surface of what he was capable of. In broad daylight, we were in the dark. It verges on cosmic horror, where you realize that your imagination, which is fully stocked with you culture's complete menagerie of horrors and abominations, may be utterly inadequate to imagine what is about to happen to you. (The plot didn't quite deliver on that, since the new terminator was just faster and more unstoppable that the old one, but the fear was there.)
      - agumonkey 4y ago
        And there's a Gattaca vibe in that the limited (human flesh and old t800) flirt with death to then defeat the superior model.
  - 4y ago
- lostlogin 4y ago
  > just how terrifying it would be hunted by a killer robot Black Mirror, Metalhead did this for me. Those robot dogs are scary. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror)
  - TeMPOraL 4y ago
    There was a rather disturbing recent TV adaptation of The War of the Worlds[0] that also featured similar killer robots. I found it particularly terrifying, because it nailed down an aspect of realism most action and sci-fi shows purposefully violate - those robots had accurate aim. There isn't much firefighting or daring escapes. You spot one of them (or don't). It spots you. A second later, a bullet goes through your head. Then the robot continues to look for other humans and single-shot killing them on sight. Almost all the evil robot/AI movies, shows and games give people an impression that robotic weapons are tough, but pretty bad, and have to rely on overwhelming force or sheer numbers to be dangerous. In reality, computers can think, observe and act much faster and with much higher precision than humans. A military-grade skynet robot with a gun may be stupid when it comes to tactics, but will be more than capable of scoring a headshot from a distance, mid-flight, on first shot, before you even know it's there. (And of course the real reality is that we already have much more terrifying and effective killer robots than anything wielding a firearm https://xkcd.com/652/ https://xkcd.com/652/.) -- [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Worlds_(2019_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Worlds_(2019_TV_ser...
    - slyall 4y ago
      I remember reading some a Terminator fan-fiction story where most of the time Terminators were intentionally in a downgraded mode w.r.t shooting. However when things were important Skynet made sure they could shoot properly, at which point they started shooting very accurately.
- agumonkey 4y ago
  I don't know if others had this feeling but "No country for old men" felt like a non sci-fi Terminator. The relentless cold blooded death threat aspect.
- jollofricepeas 4y ago
  I wonder if it’s any worse than being hunted by drones; knowing that a fiery death by incendiary bomb is lying in wait. I can only imagine the PTSD civilians must feel living in areas in which drones have a heavy presence.
jollyllama 4y ago
It's Cameron's most amazing scene in my opinion. The other arc that's resolved by this scene is that after the safety and sanity of the old world is blasted away by the terminator, Sarah is forced to decide once and for all on Reese. She's left alone, in the dark, hiding under a desk. Reese is searching for her and she's frozen for a moment before she finally decides to trust him and responds to his call. This is why I say that T1 is James Cameron's greatest love story.
slg 4y ago
Sounds like you would enjoy Assault on Precinct 13. It came out nearly a decade earlier and is basically that police station scene expanded to 90 minutes. Cameron is an exceptional director, but when it comes to horror, it is hard to beat Carpenter.
btbuildem 4y ago
Where do you live that a police station seems like a safe place?
- xyzelement 4y ago
  Where do you live that if being chased by a murderer, you'd run past a police station rather than seek safety inside? I get the political angle you are aiming at but it's BS in the absolute.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

type0 4y ago

It's one of the best Sci-fi Thrillers of all times, the pacing is stellar.

hef19898 4y ago

T1 shows just how terrifying it would be hunted by a killer robot, or by ani killer that simply cannot stopped by any means short of a battle tank. Something the other films, including T2, failed to show. It did work in T2, because the whole story was different. Oh, and the Sarah Connor Chronicles did a good job of it as well, shame that got cancelled.

semireg 4y ago
It seems like any decent plot succumbs to soap opera writing. e.g. Raised by Wolves season 2. I thought the SCC was a lot of fun for about 6 hours. Then it waned… Sometimes I’ll see a different “written by” on sci-fi credits and think “ahh, that’s the reason!”
EGreg 4y ago
Slaughterbots video shows that nothing we have can stop them. Here are some videos: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HipTO_7mUOw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HipTO_7mUOw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=40JFxhhJEYk https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=40JFxhhJEYk Real: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ndFKUKHfuM0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ndFKUKHfuM0
- methodover 4y ago
  Well. That first video was terrifying. I'm too scared to click on the others.
mankyd 4y ago
I still got that feeling on T2 - for instance the classic seen where the liquid terminator melts through the jail-style bars. Or the seen where it chases them down the highway at full speed. It made the robot feel so inescapable.
- hef19898 4y ago
  That scene was incredible! And Robert Patrick as the T1000, he was scary! There was somewhat less terror so, that it was part two didn't help, as a viewer you already knew what a Terminator was.
  - dkarl 4y ago
    Arnold was so perfect as the embodiment of the birth of a dangerous, unrefined new force, and Robert Patrick was the perfect turn for the next generation. While Arnold's terminator had unbelievable levels of the familiar properties of strength and durability, handling the bikers exactly the same way the bikers would have handled a 90 pound weakling, the next-gen terminator had a bizarre new capability that we had never encountered. Arnold was frightening because we could imagine exactly how he would pursue us and how our efforts to escape or defend would fail against him. With the Robert Patrick terminator, we were confronted with something much stranger, even alien. Our culture had not yet worked out the consequences of what he could do. In the few moments we had to react, our imaginations could only scratch the surface of what he was capable of. In broad daylight, we were in the dark. It verges on cosmic horror, where you realize that your imagination, which is fully stocked with you culture's complete menagerie of horrors and abominations, may be utterly inadequate to imagine what is about to happen to you. (The plot didn't quite deliver on that, since the new terminator was just faster and more unstoppable that the old one, but the fear was there.)
    - agumonkey 4y ago
      And there's a Gattaca vibe in that the limited (human flesh and old t800) flirt with death to then defeat the superior model.
- 4y ago
lostlogin 4y ago
> just how terrifying it would be hunted by a killer robot Black Mirror, Metalhead did this for me. Those robot dogs are scary. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalhead_(Black_Mirror)
- TeMPOraL 4y ago
  There was a rather disturbing recent TV adaptation of The War of the Worlds[0] that also featured similar killer robots. I found it particularly terrifying, because it nailed down an aspect of realism most action and sci-fi shows purposefully violate - those robots had accurate aim. There isn't much firefighting or daring escapes. You spot one of them (or don't). It spots you. A second later, a bullet goes through your head. Then the robot continues to look for other humans and single-shot killing them on sight. Almost all the evil robot/AI movies, shows and games give people an impression that robotic weapons are tough, but pretty bad, and have to rely on overwhelming force or sheer numbers to be dangerous. In reality, computers can think, observe and act much faster and with much higher precision than humans. A military-grade skynet robot with a gun may be stupid when it comes to tactics, but will be more than capable of scoring a headshot from a distance, mid-flight, on first shot, before you even know it's there. (And of course the real reality is that we already have much more terrifying and effective killer robots than anything wielding a firearm https://xkcd.com/652/ https://xkcd.com/652/.) -- [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Worlds_(2019_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Worlds_(2019_TV_ser...
  - slyall 4y ago
    I remember reading some a Terminator fan-fiction story where most of the time Terminators were intentionally in a downgraded mode w.r.t shooting. However when things were important Skynet made sure they could shoot properly, at which point they started shooting very accurately.
agumonkey 4y ago
I don't know if others had this feeling but "No country for old men" felt like a non sci-fi Terminator. The relentless cold blooded death threat aspect.
jollofricepeas 4y ago
I wonder if it’s any worse than being hunted by drones; knowing that a fiery death by incendiary bomb is lying in wait. I can only imagine the PTSD civilians must feel living in areas in which drones have a heavy presence.

jollyllama 4y ago

It's Cameron's most amazing scene in my opinion. The other arc that's resolved by this scene is that after the safety and sanity of the old world is blasted away by the terminator, Sarah is forced to decide once and for all on Reese. She's left alone, in the dark, hiding under a desk. Reese is searching for her and she's frozen for a moment before she finally decides to trust him and responds to his call. This is why I say that T1 is James Cameron's greatest love story.

slg 4y ago

Sounds like you would enjoy Assault on Precinct 13. It came out nearly a decade earlier and is basically that police station scene expanded to 90 minutes. Cameron is an exceptional director, but when it comes to horror, it is hard to beat Carpenter.

btbuildem 4y ago

Where do you live that a police station seems like a safe place?

xyzelement 4y ago
Where do you live that if being chased by a murderer, you'd run past a police station rather than seek safety inside? I get the political angle you are aiming at but it's BS in the absolute.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]