Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Don’t even try to tell me this isn’t a horror film. Yes, it definitely falls mainly under the sci-fi genre but this film has so many horror elements, from the terrifying T-1000 (one of the most insane movie villains ever) to the horrific potential nuclear destruction of the world (which ultimately happened anyways) to the gore, violence, nightmarish interludes, and more.
But any argument aside, let’s just go ahead and talk about the opening, shall we? It starts off showing shots of present day downtown Los Angeles, cars in traffic, children playing in a park, and then suddenly it brightens so much that one almost has to avert their gaze before being dropped into the darkness of a skeleton’s gaze, the husk of a car its cocoon. What follows is a vision of extermination, machines hunting down and seeking humans, killing them on sight. Linda Hamilton’s voice explains all that has occurred that brought humanity to this moment…and how it can all change.
I remember seeing this opening and thinking, “There are no greater stakes. If this fails, we all die.” For a long time, August 29, 1997 was a day that I actually feared. Such was the impact of that film upon my fragile little mind.
