It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction by Skynet, a hostile artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future.

Filming, which took place mostly at night on location in Los Angeles, was delayed because of Schwarzenegger's commitments to Conan the Destroyer (1984), during which Cameron found time to work on the scripts for Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Aliens (1986).

The film's special effects, which included miniatures and stop-motion animation, were created by a team of artists led by Stan Winston and Gene Warren Jr.

After searching for addresses in a telephone directory, the Terminator systematically dispatches similarly-named women before locating the actual Sarah at a local nightclub, but she is rescued by Reese.

As they hide in a parking lot, Reese explains to Sarah that an artificially intelligent defense network known as Skynet, created by Cyberdyne Systems, will soon become self-aware and trigger a global nuclear war to bring humankind to its extinction.

On the verge of the resistance's victory, Skynet sends the Terminator back in time to eliminate Sarah, thereby preventing John's birth.

The Terminator is an efficient and relentless killing machine with a perfect voice-mimicking ability and a durable metal endoskeleton covered by living tissue to appear human.

Reese and Sarah escape, steal another car and take refuge in a motel, where they assemble several pipe bombs and plan their next move.

The gas station owner comments that a storm is coming and she replies that she is aware, alluding to humanity's impending conflict against Skynet, before driving away towards it.

In Rome, Italy, during the release of Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), director James Cameron fell ill and had a dream about a metallic torso holding kitchen knives dragging itself from an explosion.

[8] Cameron returned to Pomona, California, and stayed at the home of science fiction writer Randall Frakes, where he wrote the draft for The Terminator.

[19] Cameron wanted his pitch for Daly to finalize the deal and had his friend Lance Henriksen show up to the meeting early dressed and acting like the Terminator.

[18] Henriksen, wearing a leather jacket, fake cuts on his face, and gold foil on his teeth, kicked open the door to the office and then sat in a chair.

Cameron agreed to meet with Schwarzenegger and devised a plan to avoid casting him; he would pick a fight with him and return to Hemdale and find him unfit for the role.

In a later interview with GQ, he admitted that he and the studio regarded it as just another B action movie, since "The year before came out Exterminator, now it was the Terminator and what else is gonna be next, type of thing".

[36] Others who were considered for Reese, included Christopher Reeve, Matt Dillon, Kurt Russell, Treat Williams, Tommy Lee Jones, Scott Glenn, Michael O'Keefe, and Bruce Springsteen.

[47][50] Winston had a team of seven artists work for six months to create a Terminator puppet; it was first molded in clay, then plaster reinforced with steel ribbing.

[70] Variety praised the film, calling it a "blazing, cinematic comic book, full of virtuoso moviemaking, terrific momentum, solid performances and a compelling story ... Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast in a machine-like portrayal that requires only a few lines of dialog.

[66] The Los Angeles Times called the film "a crackling thriller full of all sorts of gory treats ... loaded with fuel-injected chase scenes, clever special effects and a sly humor.

"[74] In the May 1985 issue of Cinefantastique it was referred to as a film that "manages to be both derivative and original at the same time ... not since The Road Warrior has the genre exhibited so much exuberant carnage" and "an example of science fiction/horror at its best ... Cameron's no-nonsense approach will make him a sought-after commodity".

He continued, "Linda Hamilton is admirable as the woman in peril who discovers her own strength to survive, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is eerily wonderful as the unstoppable cyborg.

[81] Scottish author Gilbert Adair called the film "repellent to the last degree", charging it with "insidious Nazification" and having an "appeal rooted in an unholy compound of fascism, fashion and fascination".

"[88] Alan Jones awarded it five stars out of five for Radio Times, writing that "maximum excitement is generated from the first frame and the dynamic thrills are maintained right up to the nerve-jangling climax.

"[90] Writer Harlan Ellison stated that he "loved the movie, was just blown away by it,"[91] but believed that the screenplay was based on a short story and episode of The Outer Limits he had written, titled "Soldier", and threatened to sue for infringement.

Frelik wrote that the films Auger mentioned including The Terminator and Blade Runner (1982) had no applicable reason to be understood as tech-noir rather than science fiction.

[123] Schwarzenegger's biographer Laurence Leamer wrote that The Terminator is "an influential film affecting a whole generation of darkly hued science fiction, and it was one of Arnold's best performances".

[126] In 2008, The Terminator was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

[129] In 2019, Huw Fullerton of Radio Times ranked it the second best film of the six in the franchise, stating "The Terminator was a brilliantly original, visceral and genuinely scary movie when it was released in 1984, and no matter how badly the visual effects age it hasn't lost its impact.

"[130] In 2021, Dalin Rowell of /Film ranked it the fourth best film of Cameron's career, stating, "While its pacing and story structure isn't as tight as its sequel's, The Terminator remains one of the most iconic pieces of pop culture ever created.

"[131] Phil Pirrello of Syfy ranked it at number seven in the "25 scariest sci-fi movies ever made", stating, "Cameron forever changed both the genre and Schwarzenegger's career with The Terminator, an iconic, tension-filled flick that mixes science fiction, action, and certain horror movie elements into one of the best things to ever come out of Hollywood [...] Cameron's well-structured script is pure polish, with zero fat and a surplus of riveting tension that helps make it the timeless classic it is today.