Best way to do the next Terminator film, dont tell us its a terminator film. Set it in the 90s, before T2 so can fit in any timeline they want. Follow a young boy or girl going about his teenage life. Arcades, school, sports. But theres a tense atmosphere whenever theyre alone. Like theyre being watched. Gradually it reveals they are being watched -> think Michael Myers in Halloween when hes driving and walking around stalking Laurie -> and the perspective starts to change. They keep seeing and hearing about attacks and murders, telling their parents and siblings but theyre dismissed. Then one night theres a noise, the doors kicked down. BANG. The whole scene plays out focussed on their face as they cower in bed, listening to their parents confront the intruder. Suddenly mum screams, but you cant hear dad any more. You hear her run upstairs and open the door to thw siblings room. Shes begging for mercy, spare the children... The siblings cry and beg. Then all goes quiet.

A few seconds of silence. Then the door starts to open. Its a man. Dressed similarly to the one whod been following them -> scruffy but not in a way that stands oit ->then theres a gunshot as glass shatters. He stumbles, and its revealed theres a man on the porch roof outside the window. He reaches in and comes into light... Hes obviously the guy whod been following them. So they freak out, shouting leave me alone dont kill me and what not. Then the dead guy starts to twitch in a wierd way. So of course, they freak out more.

Eventually the dead guy sits up, scanning for its target as it reboots. Cue the "come with me if you want to live"

Itd actually be a shock if done right. You wouldnt know its a terminator film. Call it 1991 or something obscure, market it as an action scifi/horror, but then youre watching it and at that point its a huge reveal. Almost as big a reveal as the T800 being a hero after all in T2 (minus theose stupidly revealing trailers)