While ‘Piranha 2: The Spawning' may have received terrible reviews, the monster sequel still played a pivotal part in movie history when it inspired director James Cameron’s ‘The Terminator’. The Terminator is often thought of as James Cameron’s first big hit, and the sci-fi horror is the movie that made him a major blockbuster helmer. However, before Cameron had ever even met with ‘Terminator’ star Arnold Schwarzenegger, he had already directed another, often-forgotten horror movie.
While 1978’s ‘Piranha’ received surprisingly solid reviews and was singled out by Steven Spielberg as the “best of the Jaws rip-offs,” that creature feature had a great script by John Sayles and the assured direction of Joe Dante to buoy its meager budget. When it came time to produce a ‘Piranha’ sequel, the studio opted to go for the cheaper alternative of hiring a young, unproven director in the form of James Cameron. Then 27, Cameron was only offered the opportunity to direct ‘Piranha 2: The Spawning ’when the original helmer left due to creative differences.
The critically-derided sequel was Cameron’s first movie - which he was eventually fired from by the producer - and he was so burnt out by the experience of ‘Piranha 2: The Spawning’ that he contracted a fever while suffering exhaustion. It was then that the original villainous T-800 came to Cameron during a fever dream, with the stress of making the monster movie unintentionally inspiring the director’s later hit. Cameron envisioned, as he later described it, "metallic torso holding kitchen knives are dragging itself from an explosion" during a nightmarish vision, and thus the ‘Terminator’ franchise was born. -Collider
