The Terminator

Very occasionally, a 'B' movie comes along which massively exceeds all expectations and ends up eclipsing all the 'A' movies of that time.

Even less often, that 'B' movie shakes up the whole genre and maybe even the whole film world. Forever changing people's expectations.

Only a few movies ever released have done all this and gone on to have a seismic effect on the culture and movies of the day and still be very anticipated re-release fifteen or twenty years later.

One of those movies is Star Wars. Another, surely, is The Terminator.

Both these movies shared a 'B' movie budget. Both were made by novice directors who were making only their second studio picture. Neither movies were expected to last more than a few weeks at the box office before quietly slipping into oblivion.

In the case of The Terminator, the budget truly was miniscule. Many more accomplished directors may have been forgiven for resigning themselves to 'B' movie results on the basis of the budgetary constraints alone... But The Terminator wasn't made by just any director. It was made by James Cameron, a man who would become almost infamous for his endless pursuit of perfection --a pursuit no less relentless than his cyborg assassin from the future in the film that made his reputation. Cameron would cement this reputation through the production of films like "Aliens", "The Abyss" and, of course, Titanic.

In my opinion, the common element that binds all 'cult' movies together is the absolute care and dedication shown by the filmmakers and cast during production -- regardless of the budget.

The proportion of low budget movies achieving such cult status seems to have fallen markedly since the 80's. Some movies made since have seemed to be becoming cult classics. Movies like "The Blair Witch Project" have appeared to be carrying on the tradition, only to disappear almost entirely six months or a year later in a 'puff of hype'.

Not so with The Terminator, for this time he really is "Back". Back with a vengeance -a limited re-release in theaters in the early millennium followed by a phalanx of special edition DVDs and later blu-ray discs with a stunning new film transfer, remastered sound and extras worthy of SkyNet.

Later, the franchise continues with new sequels.

All this means that hopefully a new generation of people will seek out and enjoy the original. And enjoy they will, for despite what your memory may tell you about the 1984 classic, it more than holds its own compared with it's hugely expensive sequels.

It's also a much darker, more brooding film. The absense of 'knowing' in the one-liners seems to give the film a 'sincerity' that is absent from the sequel.

Cameron works wonders in creating the tension in this dark world too (he insisted that much of the film was shot at night).

The effects, which in recollection may have seemed hugely inferior to the sequel, in reality are still very, very impressive. Rarely does the film reveal it's budgetary disadvantage. With it's new, crystal clear picture and stomping 5.1 sound it could have been made yesterday.

The truth is, of course, that The Terminator only really achieved it's huge success when released on video, so most of us will only remember seeing the film through the 'fog' of a grainy VHS or Beta copy. When seen in the proper way, the reason for it's hugely deserved cult status becomes all too clear...