Terminator screenings surprise fans with early look at new movie

Moviegoers at 15 different Alamo Drafthouse theaters around the country got a surprise screening of the newest Terminator film on Sunday night -- nearly two weeks in advance of regular showings.

The movie’s stars Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in a short video before the film began to announce the surprise and warn attendees not to leak the plot details before release.

“If you spoil our movie, I will hunt you down,” Hamilton said, jokingly.

“She’s serious,” Schwarzenegger added.

Attendees also received a promotional poster and a soda jacket as a part of the event.

Not scheduled for wide release until Nov. 1, “Terminator: Dark Fate” is the fourth soft reboot of the franchise that started in 1984. The series has struggled since the 1991 release of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” widely regarded as the last successful film of the series.

Steve Biscotti is a longtime fan of the Terminator films and received an invite to the New York City Alamo Drafthouse screening on Twitter under the guise of a repeat showing of the second film. Biscotti took his father, who first introduced him to the films.

“I grew up with “Terminator 1,” and "Terminator 2″ was one of my favorite movies and it still is,” Biscotti said. “I’ve gone to see every Terminator movie in theaters since.”

Biscotti suspected the “repeat airing” was a ruse from the moment he got the invite because this isn’t the first time that Alamo Drafthouse has surprised fans of a long-running franchise.

In 2009, a screening for 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” turned out to be an early viewing of JJ Abram’s “Star Trek” reboot. Just earlier this month, Joaquin Phoenix made appearances at multiple Alamo Drafthouse showings of “Joker” in Los Angeles before and after the film premiered in theaters .

“Dark Fate” is the first reboot attempt for the franchise to feature actress Linda Hamilton. Hamilton shot to fame as Sarah Connor in 1984, but hasn’t been involved in any of the reboot attempts made since 2003. Reflecting on the latest film, Biscotti thought Hamilton was the “missing ingredient” in every prior attempt.

“It's not a Terminator movie if it doesn't have Linda,” Biscotti said.

Hamilton joins fellow Terminator veteran Arnold Schwarzenegger and new-to-the-franchise stars Mackenzie Davis, Gabriel Luna and Natalie Reyes in the latest film. Tim Miller, who recently directed 2016’s “Deadpool,” is the director.

Early response of the film has been largely positive. Multiple Twitter users who attended the screening referring to the film as “The Force Awakens” of the Terminator franchise. “The Force Awakens,” the first film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, was critically well received, but criticized for replicating the plot of the original 1977 film closely.

“I was so excited to see “Dark Fate” and as a fan who enjoyed “Terminator 3”, but was let down,” Biscotti said. “I felt like this was the film we all hoped for and deserved since 1991.”