Terminator 2 Effects Tests Go Behind The Scenes Of Nuclear War

By Nick Venable | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

While the first Terminator film did its part in jolting the adrenaline of my youth, its sequel, T2: Judgment Day, came close to ruining all signs of optimism from ever forming beyond my nine-year-old, barely formed mind. I knew all my state capitals and a slew of world capitals, and now I knew exactly what they would all look like in the aftermath of nuclear warfare, thanks to the amazing effects work done all the way back in 1991. Don’t get me wrong, I knew about WWII, and I had hypothetically wrapped my brain around what these kinds of bombs did, but an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie is responsible for the end of my innocence.

Two effects tests from that classic sequel have emerged, thanks to the Stan Winston School of special effects. And believe it or not, at around a minute, they still show off two of the greatest effects in the film.

Of course they would show off Sarah Connor getting burned up, the exact moment in which my childhood died. Incidentally, it’s a really great and non-complicated effect using tissue paper, tempera paint, and napkins. Then you blow it all to hell.

The second scene shows the T-1000, as Janelle, killing her husband, John’s stepfather, with the super-cool gigantic blade coming out of the end of her arm. It was a troublesome effect where the final result was worth everything the crew had to go through.

I bet Edward Furlong wishes there was an effect that gave him a super-successful career after this. Though American History X was pretty amazing.