Hear My Eyes - Terminator 2: Judgment Day review | Arts Centre Melbourne

It’s been roughly 20 years since I last watched Terminator 2. And it's been a decade since I last stepped into a Hear My Eyes presentation, back when they paired Xavier Dolan’s Heartbeats with an amazing live score by Melbourne’s GL. Both unforgettable. Both somehow left sitting in the “I need to revisit that” pile. Well, consider that rectified. Hear My Eyes have resurrected Terminator 2 and strapped it to a live, pulse-rattling score by Belgian electronic heavyweight Peter Van Hoesen. What this evening offers isn't just a rewatch, it’s a complete sensory overhaul. It's a blockbuster icon colliding with brooding, atmospheric techno. Propelled by electronic sound and framed by a laser show, it gives the film a new intensity and presence.

Terminator 2 is a classic, but this isn’t about revisiting it, it’s about the experience Hear My Eyes have built around it, starting with the music. Van Hoesen brings over four decades of expertise to the performance. Generally a solo artist, for this event he is joined by the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) Synthesiser Ensemble, gathered around a purpose-built liquid metal style table, where they, alongside lighting artist Robin Fox, perform and shape the sound and light in real time.

While the film plays in full, at key moments the music kicks in to electrifying effect. In one scene, John Connor tries to run from the T-1000 on his motorbike. As the bike stalls and the threat closes in, suspense builds, then just as he gets it started, the beats drop in, transforming the moment into something suddenly urgent and intense. This is brilliantly repeated throughout, including Sarah Connor's dramatic escape from incarceration. You forget everything else, your surroundings fade, and you’re completely absorbed in the scene. There is nothing else.

Fox’s lighting is impeccably designed and executed, beginning with the very first sequence of Terminator 2, where the human resistance battles artificial intelligence androids. As lasers are fired on screen, Fox mirrors the action with beams cutting through the audience. When Sarah has her chilling nightmare about Judgment Day, the space fills with red and yellow light, creating a fiery glow that echoes the explosion and chaos unfolding in the film. There’s also a fun instance where Fox weaves his design into a scene involving a sniper’s rifle, a smart and playful detail that lands nicely. His design is constantly purposeful, precise, and perfectly in sync with the score.

What makes the concept so effective is the artistic balance between screen and performance. The score and lighting never compete with the film, instead they respond to it, enhancing its rhythm, tension and scale. Sound, light and image operate as a single, unified work, with each element feeding off the others. Given the strong, iconic visual identity and tightly structured action of Terminator 2, it feels particularly well suited to this kind of reinterpretation that Hear My Eyes are offering, resulting in a cinematic event that resonates with both movie lovers and music fans alike.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne
Season: until 28 Feb | 7pm, Sat 2pm
Duration:
 180 mins (including interval)
Tickets: From $89
Bookings: Arts Centre Melbourne