In the original Terminator movie, a terrifying cyborg assassin from a post-apocalyptic future arrives on Earth 1984. He is programmed to kill a waitress who will give birth to a son destined to become a rebel leader that will destroy his kind.
The Terminator makes a comeback at Practically Awesome, a four-part Metro Cinema film series curated by Gazette film reviewer Scott Hayes. In addition to The Terminator, the series includes Clash of the Titans, The Thing and Jaws.
Hayes belongs to a new breed of film aficionados challenging the movie industry’s over-reliance on computer generated trickery to tell stories. His series honours the old school craft of creating special effects using imagination, originality and artistry.
“I want people to be outraged at what big movie studios try to sell us. We’re so caught up in making the most elaborate things through computer-generated images people have lost the ability to tell stories.
I defy anyone to tell you the plot of The Avengers, which has so many explosions, and the superheroes fight in New York and everything is so traumatic, and I’m sitting there not understanding what’s going on. Someone forgot to tell me the story,” said Hayes.
Sitting in his office, a small cubicle packed with books, DVDs, art and stacks of paper, Hayes is casually dressed in blue jeans and T-shirt, a very different figure from the age-old image of a curator as a fusty academic.
Hayes also dabbles in curating to highlight the special effects of creators who often spent years working on a project. They are Stan Winston (The Terminator), Ray Harryhausen (Clash of the Titans), Rob Bottin (The Thing), and Bob Mattey (Jaws).
“Terminator was a great concept. It came from a fever dream. It was originally meant to be a slasher movie. Like many great movies, it had a zero budget. But what stands out is how Arnold Schwarzenegger was so perfectly robotic, and the music was so driving. It was essentially a gritty Los Angeles survival story.”
For Hayes, there is no deeper pleasure than holding in high regard the men and women who crafted The Terminator’s special effects such as the cyborg’s skeleton.
“I have a love of the art and a deep appreciation of all the creative effort that goes with film-making. It’s an impressive art form that takes so much time collectively.”
Clash of the Titans (1981) was added in part to Hayes' own private fascination with Old World mythology. But more than that, he was captivated by how Harryhausen fashioned clay figures of the monsters and patiently moved them around creating scenes through stop motion animation.
“It says a lot for someone to dedicate their time, to realize a film that sometimes takes years to make.”
The Thing (1982) is included as one of Hollywood’s overlooked summer films.
“It’s one of the greatest horror movies. When it came out it was trashed, but it was a masterful suspense movie.”
In remote Antarctica, an alien beast that assumes any shape it touches, attacks a group of scientists.
“They’re paranoid. They cannot trust anyone but themselves. If you haven’t seen it, it has some of the greatest special effects ever.”
And lastly, Jaws (1975), an incredible movie that transformed how Hollywood created, filmed and marketed blockbusters, closes the series.
The Terminator screens Saturday, July 7 at 7p.m. Following is Clash of the Titans on Sunday, July 8 at 7 p.m. The Thing runs Friday, July 20 at 9:15 p.m. while Jaws is viewed on Sunday, July 22 at 4 p.m.
