Terminator FanFilm Festival

These are a selection of Terminator FanFilms from various creators on YouTube. Enjoy!

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Crystal Peak-A Terminator Future War Fan Film

• Written and Directed by Matthew Lee Blackburn
• March 6, 2020

An aerial machine patrol begins making drops near an important Tech-Com base and a patrol must clear the area of deadly machines before they can infiltrate Crystal Peak and destroy the human resistance.

Crystal Peak-A Terminator Future War Fan Film is a fan film done on the extreme cheap. There are a lot of CGI gun ricochets added in along with awkward CGI explosions. The HK that they show here looks fake like a cut and paste image. I am not expecting high quality, but I am expecting passable. Visually this film does not quite get there.

But the most egregious sin are the Terminators that they feature. Both are some dude in a Terminator mask wearing a green poncho. It looks disproportionate and awkward. This big ass head on a disproportionate body. There was obviously a limited budget here and they wanted to show everything. The thing is the less money you have, the choosier and more creative you need to be and they forgot to be creative and choosey. They could have purchased a Terminator bust relatively cheap for front shots to establish it was a Terminator and done action shots from behind.

Another thing that took me out of the story was during the finale as the human soldiers were flooding out of a hatch to take on this Terminator assault on Crystal Peak. The hatch they were coming out of was clearly a painted plastic garbage can lid that was not physically attached to anything. I am not one that needs a big budget, but I need convincing production values and this just did not have them.

At several points in the story it was mentioned that they were after a Terminator head but not a whole Terminator. Yet the implication at the end is that this film serves as a prequel at the minimum to T2. Arnie was a full on unit in T2.

The acting is stiff. I am not sure if they rehearsed before they began filming or not, but it certainly looks like they did not. The camera is often static and the dialogue is filled with verbal acknowledgments of dialogue from previous films done in such a way that you are beaten over the head. One liners or just bits of dialogue are reworked for the use of this film. The muscular hero chomps on a cigar much like Schwarzenegger did in Predator. It just feels like they are beating the viewer over the head.

Crystal Peak-A Terminator Future War Fan Film is a fanfilm that you can check out if you are interested in seeing what people want to do but it is not that good of a watch. Skip!

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Terminator No Fate

• Directed by Kerryn Williams
• October 26, 2020

An elite Tech-Com team is sent to a SAC-NORAD facility and uncovers a secret hidden by the military that could potentially change the tide of the Future War.

Terminator No Fate has better than expected production values. At least it looks that way. They keep the top the shots tight, and I can buy that this takes place in some type of facility in a post-apocalyptic world.

There is not much in the way of effects which is a smart move. You may want to look all cool and flashy like a well-funded Terminator film but not everybody has that kind of money to pull it off in a 30 minute or so fan film. The only significant special effect is an explosion, and it is not that good but it is brief and it is really not a focus of anything. It is just there to let you know what happened.

The Terminator make up is just enough to let you know that there is a machine under that fleshy exterior. My gripe when it comes to their Terminator is the actor. Schwarzenegger to his credit moved smoothly but machine like in the first two films. He tried to act like a robot with a flesh exterior. This guy just tries to look mean and does not blink.

I give them credit for doing what is essentially a time loop story that fits in neatly with first film mythology. This team has found Terminator plans in the possession of NORAD with Cyberdine fingerprints all over them. Based on that information and this discoveries connection to John Connor, this Terminator sends back data to Skynet that lets Skynet know John Connor is the one to target.

This is not too bad of a story. It is heavy on the humans and short on the Terminators. I know there are budget limitations but the Terminator factor needed to be upped in some fashion. Other than that it is not too bad.

Terminator No Fate is not a bad fan film. I think with a little polish it could have been something great but still it is not a bad watch.

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Batman versus The Terminator

• Directed by Mitchell Hammond
• February 22, 2014

Batman, having survived Judgement Day, makes his way across the devastated United States to join forces with the human resistance and John Connor.

There is not much story here. Batman versus The Terminator is short and to the point. It is about five minutes or so long. What it has going for it is a very interesting cross universe concept executed very well in its limited time. We have the right mix of future war and Batman action without one overshadowing the other. The animation is great. It is stylized in such a way that it has an amazing look to it.

My only complaint is Batman versus The Terminator far too short. It leaves you wanting so much more. In the comics Batman has fought thew Predator and that was a great comic story. This is a great short animated fanfilm that is just a tease. MAKE THIS A DC ANIMATED RELEASE!!!!

Batman versus The Terminator is a great fanfilm that you should definitely watch. It is a tease but it is a fantastic tease.