Current Events > Is The Terminator (1984) a horror movie?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just curious how people view it.

Some people think the original qualifies as one. I kinda disagree. Its action sci fi.

I don't think many people feel the same about the originals, however.

Its a slasher with sci fi aesthetics. I say aesthetics because you could replace the terminator with a zombie or demon and the movie would feel the same.

Yes.

Imagine Jason but with shotgun instead of machete and in the city instead of rural town.

Sci Fi thriller.

Dark_Arbron posted...

Its a slasher with sci fi aesthetics. I say aesthetics because you could replace the terminator with a zombie or demon and the movie would feel the same.

This, basically. I don't think this denigrates it or somehow makes it "worse" just because it exists in a genre that had a tendency to be shlocky. Still a great movie.

i always laugh when he shoots up an entire police station, and then just drives around with no people or cops to be seen.

My friend said he was using gta cheats and turned off the cops >_>

It has the same themes and same beats as a horror movie.

For sure. I think people forget how terrifyng the first movie was.

I guess we can consider it a scifi action horror movie

To me, every movie with stop motion animation is a horror movie. Shit's creepy, son.

ai123 posted...

Sci Fi thriller.

I agree, thriller fits better than horror.

I'd say no

But it definately has horror elements and could be made as a horror movie.

Maybe, but a lot less than Alien is and a little more than Bone Tomahawk is

Of course it's a horror movie. The climax of being chased by a seemingly unstoppable robot is pure terror. It's why T1 is better than T2.

variasuite posted...

Of course it's a horror movie. The climax of being chased by a seemingly unstoppable robot is pure terror. It's why T1 is better than T2.

Is Westworld a horror movie?

The first movie was intended to be a horror movie. So it is a horror movie. Now does it hold up today as one is a better question.

variasuite posted...

Of course it's a horror movie. The climax of being chased by a seemingly unstoppable robot is pure terror. It's why T1 is better than T2.

To add to this, the terminator in T1 is the only one whose decay has been portrayed horrifically. Its like a walking corpse monster, including the fact its surrounded by flies (swarming to its decaying skin) going into the last act.

Also I havent seen all the Terminator movies but isnt the first one still the only one where the allies dont have a terminator of their own? Being chased by the T-1000 in T2 is still scary, but its nowhere near the feeling of helplessness Kyle and Sarah would have felt.

The key difference between the movies I think is the scene in T2 where the terminators and John first meet. They engage in an awesome fight followed by an awesome chase with action music. Imagine that scene taking place in T1 without feeling massively out of place. Just try.

I watched them both when young so I always associated Terminator with action but the first definitely had scary moments. Basically the entire ending sequence was scary especially when the giant metal monster finally appeared.

I'd say no.

Yes there's killing, but lots of action movies have killing. I'd consider Jurassic Park more horror than Terminator. Nothing in Terminator was more bone chilling than those t-rex and raptor scenes.

No, it is action.