By now, the Terminator movie franchise is best known for its many sci-fi staples and clichés, from time machines to evil artificial intelligence, and there's plenty of blockbuster-style action to be had, too. But when the franchise launched with 1984's The Terminator, this saga had a different tone. It was more like sci-fi horror, and that made it feel more unique than even top-tier entries like 1991's Terminator 2.
The Terminator franchise may be action/sci-fi at heart, but the horror elements are what make these movies so compelling. In 1984's The Terminator, more than any other movie, some essential horror clichés and tropes are used to full effect, giving this movie broader appeal outside the sci-fi crowd. Best of all, these familiar horror clichés feel fresher and cooler with a sci-fi twist, creating a wholly original moviegoing experience.
10 Things Aren't What They Seem
Horror movies create suspense and tension when things, such as people, objects or even animals, are not what they seem. Horror is often about what's hidden, and a monster or other antagonist can hide its true nature behind an innocent and trustworthy outer shell. This also allows horror to subvert expectations about innocent people and animals.
The Terminator follows this cliché with the T-800's organic exterior, one that makes it easily pass for humans. Most people in 1984 Los Angeles just see a burly, quiet man in punk clothes, but it's actually a killer robot from the year 2029, and only Kyle Reese knows it.
9 Constant Pursuits
In regular action movies, the protagonist is a fighter who will gladly confront the villains and even seek them out for a final confrontation. Conversely, horror movies depict their heroes fleeing the monster, creating a narrative of constant pursuit. Most Terminator movies do that, but the original does it best.
In 1984's The Terminator, Sarah Connor can't fight back, and even Kyle Reese doesn't stand much of a chance, so they spend the entire movie fleeing their mechanical pursuer. That creates incredible tension because the conflict isn't who wins the fight but when and if the unstoppable Terminator can finally seize its victims.
8 No One Believes the Threat Exists
Horror movie protagonists have it bad not just because of the threat but because everyone else doubts the threat. That makes horror movie heroes feel even more vulnerable since they must face the monster alone. This is doubly true if the threat is something unusual, such as an evil spirit or an undead killer.
1984's The Terminator embraces this cliché with the Terminator's true nature, causing serious frustration for Kyle Reese. Only he understands the threat, while Dr. Silberman doubted his story, and even Sarah herself was skeptical at first because advanced technology like Terminators didn't exist yet. That only made the Terminator's infiltration mission easier.
7 The Cops Can't Help
When someone is in serious danger, such as from a knife-wielding murderer breaking into their home, the obvious solution is to call the police for help. However, for the sake of the story, a horror movie can't bail out the protagonist so easily, so the police are often depicted as incompetent in one way or another.
Police officers will either not take the threat seriously or just get killed by the monster, so it's up to the heroes to save themselves. Such was the case in The Terminator, when the T-800 stomped through the police station and incited a tragic massacre. Sarah and Kyle were forced to flee and prepare to face the Terminator again on their own.
6 It's Not Dead Yet
One of the most essential horror clichés depicts the monster as a tough entity that doesn't just die from a few bullets or stab wounds. The monster is scary because it's stronger and more durable than the heroes, and if it gets knocked out, it will just get back up and keep going.
The "it's not dead yet" cliché can also trick the viewers into lowering their guard, only for the monster to bounce back for more. The T-800 did that a few times, such as when it emerged from the flaming truck's wreckage with its bare endoskeleton exposed. The T-800 did it again when Kyle blew it up, only for its legless torso to suddenly resume the fight.
5 Scary Mirrors
Mirrors are surprisingly common in horror movies. A bathroom mirror, for example, allows the hero to see a monster sneaking up on them, or at least see something in the reflection, then turn around and see nothing. The hero might also look at their own reflection and then see themselves contort or rot.
1984's The Terminator used the mirror cliché in a fresh new way. The T-800 used the mirror in its motel room to perform surgery on its damaged left eye, exposing its mechanical eye in the process. The Terminator was still in stealth mode, so it needed to freshen up its appearance, and that calls for a helpful reflection.
4 The Final Girl
A horror movie will usually have a few female characters on hand, but most likely, only one of them will survive to the very end. If a group of teens or young adults are being picked off one by one, horror movie fans can bet that the most interesting and most attractive girl will survive the ordeal, albeit barely.
1984's The Terminator did this, too, with Sarah Connor being the only named female character to make it out alive. The other two Sarah Connors were gunned down when the T-800 found them, and Sarah's female roommate Ginger was killed, along with her boyfriend Matt, when the T-800 came knocking.
3 The Early Warning
The tension in any horror movie will usually begin when a character gives an early warning about what's to come. Such warnings might come from a local who ominously warns the carefree heroes about how dangerous the night in the region can be, for example, or say something like, "Folks around here have all kinds of secrets."
In The Terminator, the rugged action hero Kyle Reese provided that early warning for Sarah right after they met at Tech Noir. Kyle explained the T-800 and its mission to a bewildered and terrified Sarah as they drove off, but Sarah didn't believe him at first. Kyle also warned the police and Dr. Silberman, but they doubted him even more.
2 Obligatory Sex Scenes
To relieve the tension and give the characters a cozy moment together, horror movies often include an obligatory sex scene. Fans even joke that the first two people seen sleeping together will be the first to die and might get offed before they can even put their pants back on.
Fortunately, 1984's The Terminator is more tasteful about this and has a good reason for its own sex scene. Sarah and Kyle weren't just getting intimate to take their minds things and bond with one another. Sarah will become the mother of John Connor, so, of course, John must be conceived while there's still time.
1 One Last Scare
The "one last scare" cliché is a part of the larger "it's not dead yet" cliché. What sets this cliché apart is the timing and context. Usually, the last scare arrives near a horror movie's ending, when the protagonists feel certain that the danger has finally passed.
The monster, often injured or damaged, will suddenly get back up for one last round, only to get put down for real. That stubborn persistence is what makes horror monsters so scary, even when the monster is doomed to fail. 1984's The Terminator did this when Kyle mostly destroyed the T-800 with his pipe bomb, and Sarah took a moment to check Kyle's body. Then, the legless Terminator body suddenly got up and started crawling after Sarah, complete with intense horror music to play up this final scare.