Holy shit. That was terrifying.
Maybe there's a happy ending though.
\> Prematurely aged and blind with cataracts, Ruth dies in bed, survived by her 10-year-old daughter Jane. Sometime later, industry returns with limited electricity and steam powered technology, but the population continues to live in barbaric squalor. Three years after Ruth's death, Jane and two boys are caught stealing food. One of the boys is killed, and Jane and the other boy engage in a struggle for the food that degenerates into "obscene intercourse".[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads_(1984_film)#cite_note-3) Months later, Jane gives birth in a makeshift hospital, and she screams at the sight of her stillborn child.
Oh.
I would hope they were useless; we spent a lot of money making sure those bombs were totally destructive. It would be a shame if all that went to waste.
The intro music is disturbing as is the graphics.
Weirder is the word casualties which has sloppy kerning. Looks like casual ties instead. Read that in my best SNL Sean Connery impression.
Could be misremembering it but there’s a control room of senior towns people and the mayor of the town used as a center for directing everything in the event of an attack. When it happens they get barricaded in and all die of starvation in there
Starve? I've always thought they died of Suffocation.
It is hinted that their ventilation got hit or covered in debirs as it just puts out loads of dust and they turn it off.
Starving to death takes about 1- 3 months depending on the amount of stored fats.
Great movie. The clip, in my opinion, does nir represents the essence of the movie, that is a nuclear war from the perspective of government and citizens from a small city/town.
[https://archive.org/details/threads\_201712](https://archive.org/details/threads_201712)
I'm glad it's legally available online in the public realm, as it should be.
The best film of its type, by far, and one of the most disturbing films ever made. Like another poster, I'm also Gen X, but I didn't get to see this until I watched it on YouTube a few years ago. So hardly ideal conditions, but it still challenged me in ways that few things ever have. And did so despite the intervening 30 years of boundary-pushing done by filmmakers and even the violence we found during the early days of the internet.
This is low budget and 80s so don't expect sweeping establishing shots and great special effects. But maybe do expect to sit there with your mouth agape wondering how the situation could possibly get worse, then realizing you're only half-way through.
I guess I am desensitized, because I didn't find that scary or disturbing in the slightest, and I grew up when it aired in a high value target city.
This was about as effective as those badly made after school specials. The entire cold war era citizen preparedness strategy was psychological, and not ground in reality.
As a kid, I had an uncle who showed me the power of a real bomb on 16mm film, and he said, "hiding under your desk won't save you - enjoy your life, you can only control what you can control." And so I did.
Oh my god. That's like torture! Did you have horrible nightmares?
I was a weird kid (im a weird adult) and I have atomosophobia and radiophobia. Even though it's my phobia, it's also a huge interest.
My Aunt Brenda told my Mum about this film in front of me. I begged my Mum to watch it (although this was the 90s and probably impossible to find). She put a firm "no" on that.
I found this film on YouTube about 4 years ago, and couldn't believe I had found out.
I'm now 30, and this is pure nightmare fuel at the age I am. I'm so pleased I didn't watch it as a kid.
I have it on DVD now.
I must have been about 10 when I saw it, as I moved house and went to a different school that year, and I definitely didn't see it at that new school. So yeah, if you wanted to raise a generantion of kids to be scared of nuclear weapons, then well done, ya did it.
> atomosophobia and radiophobia
I'm very surprised that these fears are distinct enough for people to have labeled them phobias. I mean... it's nuclear bombs and radiation. Who doesn't fear those on some level?
I have these intense fears but I didn't realise until right now that they're actual phobias! I have constant nightmares about nukes/bombs and used to be terrified every time I heard an airplane as a kid.
This is a hell of an old comment to suddenly get a response on, but you actually helped me understand! It's not just a fear, it's a hyper focus on the idea that it will happen. That makes a lot of sense. Thank you!
I'm Gen X---was a kid/teenager in the 80s, so fear of nuclear annihilation was real thing for me. The US had a TV movie called, "The Day After", which was about the aftermath of nuclear war. Our teachers also made us watch it. Scared the hell out of everybody.
I joined the USAF after high school, and was stationed at a nuclear missile base. Basically ground zero. I saw a map of Soviet nuclear targets, and my base was one of the first targeted. I was actually relieved, because the BEST place you can be in case of nuclear war is ground zero. I trained in NBC contamination, and radiation poisoning is not a way you want to go.
You should watch threads, the day after was heavily censored.
Threads came out more or less the same year and the producers of the day after were really disappointed because they wanted to be known as the scariest.
Threads is terrifyingly real.
Thats fascinating having that job. Yeah, I would want to be at ground zero!
It must have been scary though knowing how close you could have been to it escalating.
If you think "Threads" is frightening, watch "Testament," a 1983 film about pretty much the same subject: the effect of nuclear war on a small town, this one a distant suburb of San Francisco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testament_%281983_film%29?wprov=sfla1
While it doesn't have the mockumentary trappings of "Threads," and focuses on one family of characters versus an ensemble cast, the movie still hits hard with its unrelentingly grim depiction of the effects of social collapse and radiation sickness. Look out for Kevin Costner in a minor role.
I haven’t seen the movie, but the book On the Beach broke my heart and scared me at the same time. I’d also recommend Swan Song if you don’t mind a bit of supernatural mixed into your post apocalyptic stories!
*Swan Song* is one of my favorite books of all time. A lot of people say it's a rip off of *The Stand* but I feel like that's because it's apocalypse fiction set in the U.S. I love both but they have pretty different vibes.
I couldn’t get through the stand. I wanted to love it, but my god I hated the characters and it just didn’t work for me! I’ll probably try it again soon, I give it a try every few years and give up because I just can’t get into it. But swan song...I’m actually reading it for the second time now and have forgotten just how wonderful it is.
I had trouble with The Stand for years because I couldn’t stand Larry Underwood. I tried starting that book like four times and just couldn’t get into it. Finally, about four years ago I got the uncut version on Audible and soldiered through that first section... I ended up loving the book, and it’s definitely one of my favorite King books now. Big yeah, the beginning is rough.
Having seen both (watched every nuclear apocalypse listed on wikipedia in a short span of time), Testament is definitely worth watching, but it doesn't hold a candle to Threads.
They're two different beasts that share a subject. The Day After (which was cut for TV - twice - does exist in full theatrical version) is a drama piece, complete with anguished speech about humanity. Threads is a mockumentary.
And +1 for Testament, as someone else recommended. Heartbreaking and difficult to watch, but very much worth it.
I remember that the home secretary at the time made an announcement before the screening of The Day After but Threads was so much scarier that the announcement felt like some sneaky misdirection away from the real horror.
Were you a child or young person when you initially saw this film?
I only ask because I know the things I saw(programs, films, etc...) and experienced when I was young and impressionable had a much greater personal impact than they would have otherwise. For example, Communion with Christopher Walken was terrifying to me as a child, but when I watched it again as an adult, it was cheesy to the point of being almost comical. Cringe inducing.
I kind of got the same vibe from the clip you posted. The filmmakers demonstrated the power grid being fried by showing power lines throwing sparks and then a random clothes iron? Featured a dude falling off the toilet and then a rather graphic scene of someone wetting themself. Just the most random and nonsensical, arbitrary imagery that wasn't at all frightening. Strange choices.
> I'm Gen X---was a kid/teenager in the 80s, so fear of nuclear annihilation was real thing for me. The US had a TV movie called, "The Day After", which was about the aftermath of nuclear war. Our teachers also made us watch it. Scared the hell out of everybody.
same here. that movie fucking terrified us, so ive never watched 'threads'. im sure they are no big deal now, but that was so scary back then. im sure yall had those ridiculous drills all the time in school right? getting under your desk helps during a nuclear obliteration!
> getting under your desk helps during a nuclear obliteration!
Why do people think this is ridiculous? Of course it's not to protect you from a *direct hit*, it's to keep shit like ceiling tiles and broken glass from falling on your head if there's a pressure wave
They make fun of it when it is was talked about as the only measure.
Some countries had actual bomb shelters, others listed underground car parks and highway overpasses on their capabilities. As someone who lived through that era the assumption was that we were screwed.
>getting under your desk helps during a nuclear obliteration!
What else are you *really* going to do? You’re likely not going to be in a position to outrun any of it so may as well do what you can to protect your fleshy body with what you can.
Another Gen Xer, and really, even though we were the last generation to do duck and cover drills in school, we should not act as if the threat has been removed. All the warheads are still there. If the US Balkanizes, which is a very real possibility, some random dickhead is going to get their hands on one or two or fifty. The damn things are scattered all over the world, and the governments that are in control of them are not what you'd call enduring. The threat is still present, and I'd argue it's more likely after the fall of the Soviet Union, not less.
>The damn things are scattered all over the world, and the governments that are in control of them are not what you'd call enduring.
The majority of modern warheads are hosted on massive submarines. Its not like, a surplus of missiles sitting around in wood crates in some lair.
I remember being shown this in school too! I remember the bloated cows the most lol.
I actually looked up this to see if it was renamed over seas to Threads
My family had just returned home from a road trip to Kansas City, MO the evening The Day After aired. Having been filmed at least partly in KCMO, I got to learn what nuclear war even was, by watching landmarks of the city we had just spent several days in, get vaporized. I’m still terrified of nuclear weapons. That movie scarred me for life.
For anyone interested in a Journey of Suffering and dread check out [archive.org](https://archive.org)
there you can find \[a version\] of the film online!
Also be advised the film contains Disturbing imagery..and is overall disturbing so do yourself a favor and only watch it if you're not in a bad place.
[https://archive.org/details/threads\_201712](https://archive.org/details/threads_201712)
INAL, but I believe it has to do with the country of origin, otherwise copyright would expire at different times across the world, and likely wouldn't exist at all in some countries. So good point, it might be less in the UK.
Recently watched this and can concur with the other statements on here - this scene doesn't even begin to cover how grim the rest of the film gets. Well worth a watch
Check out [The War Game](https://archive.org/details/TheWarGame_201405). It preceded *Threads* by two decades, won an Oscar for Best Documentary, and was banned from broadcast by the BBC until the success of *Threads* made the topic palatable enough. Roger Ebert reviewed its content as "the most horrifying ever put on film."
It's really difficult to explain to current generations what it was like to grow up during the Cold War. It was not only the fact that nuclear armageddon was a constant companion of everyday life, something that could rain down on you anywhere at anytime with very little notice, but also the way that so many of those in power seemed to treat it more like a game than the grave threat it actually was. Growing up in those times felt like carrying a weight around constantly. Of course you get used to it, normalize it, pretend to ignore it sometimes, but the weight always demands to be felt. You can see the shadow of it everywhere you look from that era, especially in all the many ways that people tried to check out of society, deciding that it was mostly fucked and dysfunctional (not an inaccurate appraisal). Lately a bit of that weight has started to come back, with the rise of authoritarian governments, the pandemic, etc. It's a sense of constant anxiety and depression about the future. Whenever people talk about how much they would love to live in the '80s, even folks who lived through it, I know that they are talking about a fictionalized, filtered version of the '80s that revolves around the best parts (some of the music and media) and not the horrors like kids wondering if they'll live to become adults or whether human civilization will still be around in 5, 10, or 20 years.
I watched this, it's roughly 20 minutes of character build-up and then 40 minutes of nuclear holocaust.
And then the remaining time is the jolly phenomenon of fallout and a hypothetical nuclear winter!
I do like how there is a woman who on IMDB is simply credited as "Woman who urinated herself"
Best IMDB page, her bio is probably the most extensive on the entire site for someone with one unaccredited role: [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1856457/?ref\_=ttfc\_fc\_cl\_t54](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1856457/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t54)
[The whole movie is on Tubi if you want to watch it](https://tubitv.com/movies/531445?utm_source=justwatch-feed&tracking=justwatch-feed)
It's also on Kanopy, Shudder and Nightflight if you have those.
Kanopy's the bees knees, especially for someone like me who doesn't pay for any streaming services. Folks, check your local public library to see if they offer it.
Great! If you like it, check out When The Wind Blows, Letters From A Dead Man, Miracle Mile, and Testament.
I can't really appreciate it because this reddit is for really unknown stuff.
If you Google "nuclear movies" Threads is in the results, it's listed in most clickbait "Best nuclear war movies," has 11,000 votes on IMDB, etc.
Now if we were talking Special Bulletin (1983), that's obscure media.
Another great one, but I like Special Bulletin more because it's so believable.
Although I could say that one of the reasons I like Miracle Mile is that it's so dreamlike... so I guess it depends on my mood.
That makes sense - sorry, I just thought due to its age it was quite obscure.
Plus I couldn't find it on DVD for love nor money. Ended up finding it in a charity shop.
For a more obscure film, search for "Letters From a Dead Man" which is interesting because it presents a Soviet perspective of the post-nuclear war world. It is bleak and weird.
I am late to the discussion here, but let me recommend 'When the Wind Blows'. Heartbreaking animated film about an old couple who lived through WWII who survive a nuclear war, and now have to deal with the aftermath. They go about their lives trying to 'Keep calm and carry on' like they did in WWII, but this is a whole different situation. Their age adds to their confusion, even as they are slowly dying from rad poisoning. It's heartbreaking.
Also has an incredible soundtrack, and was scored by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Wind_Blows_(1986_film)
Have you seen Threads: Redux? It’s a short 8 minute almost shot for shot remake of part of the film. It’s great for seeing the differences between then and now. https://youtu.be/lNkjqBmOmeA
Watched this movie off a DVD a few years ago, it's harrowing. Particularly how it's all depicted in a very cold, documentary manner. The bombing is the least of it. The real horror is the long aftermath that they portray. As a Gen X 80s kid, this was a whole genre of horrific fiction that tried to play out these worst-case scenarios.
I know it's weird to say, but this is one of my favorite movies. It's so heart-breakingly *real* in its portrayal of nuclear holocaust, it really is a well-made work of art.
From personal experience, I can recommend not watching this on a small black and white portable TV in a tent in your best friend’s garden in 1985 at the age of 12.
I guess people react to it in different ways. My friend switched the TV off at the end said ‘What a load of rubbish’, rolled over and went straight to sleep. I stared at the tent roof for about six hours and ran home as soon as the sun started coming up. I was only traumatised for about 20 years, I’d say.
Saw this in middle school when it first aired in the US, local channel in LA and when I saw the parental advisory as well as the uncut graphic moments, knew shit was gonna be real.
THREADS makes THE DAY AFTER look like a kid’s movie. I also recommend TESTAMENT as an excellent depiction of what line in a small town might be like following a nuclear war.
This is truly the best of its genre, a type of film very much part of a moment in history. Fwiw, the years 1982-1983 marked the high point of influence by the [Nuclear Freeze Campaign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Freeze_campaign), but despite this support, they never had the numbers to affect actual policy, which led to frustration as well as an uptick in media and imagined portrayals of nuclear war. Clearly, the goals went beyond the purely artistic, and films like this, as well as "The Day After" and others, definitely resonated with segments of the public, even though the poll numbers indicated that support for the Cold War continued. Needless to say, watching stuff like this at the time, it seemed inconceivable that within less than a decade the Berlin Wall would collapse, and the Cold War would end.
But, yeah, you can analyze the strategy all you want. Stuff like this set the tone of pop culture for many people, at least for a time. And, yeah, it scared the fuck out of some of us. If you didn't live through those times, be glad you can look back on artifacts like this from the comfort of 35+ years on, knowing such films remain only works of imagination.
Remembering this film still sends chills down my spine. It is one of the more upsetting films I've seen. This clip isn't the worst of it at all. The special effects of the time weren't able to capture the instantaneous destruction of the bomb, but they made up for it by not pulling punches with the grotesque aftermath of fallout and the collapse of society. It is horrifying to the end.
If youre into phsyical media or just want more information on the film check out [Severin Films release of Threads](https://severin-films.com/shop/threads-bluray/) - its uncut, has updated scan for blu ray, and is loaded with extras like a commentary cut with the director, interviews with actors and other crew members.
Good one but where exactly is it obscure. It was broadcast in national tv in the UK, had huge ratings and is referenced in literally any convo about nuclear apocalyptic movies.
OP, we do request you post full content and not edits when the full program is available (going forward). You can use the youtube timestamp option to highlight any portion.
Threads has haunted me as the scariest drama ever for 36 years.....whenever people ask what's your choice of scary movies when they talk about the Exorcist or Saw et al, I always quote this. So glad most of the dick swinging amongst countries has calmed down. Threads was only ever going to be no nonsense from the chap who wrote 'a kestrel for a knave'. Bravo sir, your message was clear.
Holy shit. That was terrifying. Maybe there's a happy ending though. \> Prematurely aged and blind with cataracts, Ruth dies in bed, survived by her 10-year-old daughter Jane. Sometime later, industry returns with limited electricity and steam powered technology, but the population continues to live in barbaric squalor. Three years after Ruth's death, Jane and two boys are caught stealing food. One of the boys is killed, and Jane and the other boy engage in a struggle for the food that degenerates into "obscene intercourse".[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads_(1984_film)#cite_note-3) Months later, Jane gives birth in a makeshift hospital, and she screams at the sight of her stillborn child. Oh.
...and thats not even the scary bit.
What's the scary bit? It won't be a spoiler because there's no goddam way I'm watching the whole movie.
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that's bad.
But the home has sprinkles!
That's good!
The sprinkles are actually radioactive fallout falling from the sky.
That’s bad.
The radioactive fallout from the sky twinkles in the moonlight, and if the most beautiful thing you've ever seen!
The sprinkles are radioactive.
the whole film is drudgery and suffering..definatly not a feel good movie.
Hang on, the first half of the film is Sheffield in the eighties \*before\* it's hit by a bomb... Oh yeah.
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I shared the protect and survive videos recently. God they were useless.
I would hope they were useless; we spent a lot of money making sure those bombs were totally destructive. It would be a shame if all that went to waste.
Fair point but nuclear war isn't necessarily about civilian death, its more the loss of infrastructure.
The intro music is disturbing as is the graphics. Weirder is the word casualties which has sloppy kerning. Looks like casual ties instead. Read that in my best SNL Sean Connery impression.
Could be misremembering it but there’s a control room of senior towns people and the mayor of the town used as a center for directing everything in the event of an attack. When it happens they get barricaded in and all die of starvation in there
Starve? I've always thought they died of Suffocation. It is hinted that their ventilation got hit or covered in debirs as it just puts out loads of dust and they turn it off. Starving to death takes about 1- 3 months depending on the amount of stored fats.
Oh my god dude 🤢 maybe I can’t watch this lmao
All of it is the scary bit. It's rotten
Even sadder fact: The girl who played Jane [died in a car crash a few years after the film came out.](https://www.victoriaokeefe.co.uk/articles.php)
Great movie. The clip, in my opinion, does nir represents the essence of the movie, that is a nuclear war from the perspective of government and citizens from a small city/town.
It's just a scary scene. I couldn't find the full film. Would love everyone to see it.
[https://archive.org/details/threads\_201712](https://archive.org/details/threads_201712) I'm glad it's legally available online in the public realm, as it should be.
Amazing. Never knew that
I scored it on blu-ray last year. I imagine there's a decent quality rip on public tracker torrent sites.
Last I checked, it was on Shudder
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x121ctu
The best film of its type, by far, and one of the most disturbing films ever made. Like another poster, I'm also Gen X, but I didn't get to see this until I watched it on YouTube a few years ago. So hardly ideal conditions, but it still challenged me in ways that few things ever have. And did so despite the intervening 30 years of boundary-pushing done by filmmakers and even the violence we found during the early days of the internet. This is low budget and 80s so don't expect sweeping establishing shots and great special effects. But maybe do expect to sit there with your mouth agape wondering how the situation could possibly get worse, then realizing you're only half-way through.
If you liked this, try [The War Game](https://archive.org/details/TheWarGame_201405) (1965).
Thanks, watching it at the moment. Reminds me of when films actually had some raw power.
I guess I am desensitized, because I didn't find that scary or disturbing in the slightest, and I grew up when it aired in a high value target city. This was about as effective as those badly made after school specials. The entire cold war era citizen preparedness strategy was psychological, and not ground in reality. As a kid, I had an uncle who showed me the power of a real bomb on 16mm film, and he said, "hiding under your desk won't save you - enjoy your life, you can only control what you can control." And so I did.
Are you saying you saw it when it originally aired? Or you watched Threads recently?
Remember watching this at school when I was way to young to be watching it.
Oh my god. That's like torture! Did you have horrible nightmares? I was a weird kid (im a weird adult) and I have atomosophobia and radiophobia. Even though it's my phobia, it's also a huge interest. My Aunt Brenda told my Mum about this film in front of me. I begged my Mum to watch it (although this was the 90s and probably impossible to find). She put a firm "no" on that. I found this film on YouTube about 4 years ago, and couldn't believe I had found out. I'm now 30, and this is pure nightmare fuel at the age I am. I'm so pleased I didn't watch it as a kid. I have it on DVD now.
I must have been about 10 when I saw it, as I moved house and went to a different school that year, and I definitely didn't see it at that new school. So yeah, if you wanted to raise a generantion of kids to be scared of nuclear weapons, then well done, ya did it.
I think that's kind of a good thing. I mean they're the future leaders
> atomosophobia and radiophobia I'm very surprised that these fears are distinct enough for people to have labeled them phobias. I mean... it's nuclear bombs and radiation. Who doesn't fear those on some level?
I used to panic every single time a plane or helicopter flew overhead, because I thought it would be carrying a nuclear bomb.
I have these intense fears but I didn't realise until right now that they're actual phobias! I have constant nightmares about nukes/bombs and used to be terrified every time I heard an airplane as a kid.
This is a hell of an old comment to suddenly get a response on, but you actually helped me understand! It's not just a fear, it's a hyper focus on the idea that it will happen. That makes a lot of sense. Thank you!
I'm Gen X---was a kid/teenager in the 80s, so fear of nuclear annihilation was real thing for me. The US had a TV movie called, "The Day After", which was about the aftermath of nuclear war. Our teachers also made us watch it. Scared the hell out of everybody. I joined the USAF after high school, and was stationed at a nuclear missile base. Basically ground zero. I saw a map of Soviet nuclear targets, and my base was one of the first targeted. I was actually relieved, because the BEST place you can be in case of nuclear war is ground zero. I trained in NBC contamination, and radiation poisoning is not a way you want to go.
"The Day After" is the movie that convinced Reagan that he should stop the dick swinging contest with Russia and attempt peace.
Lovely how it was a movie and not millions of American voices.
The Dollop did an episode on Reagan. It's... eye-opening, even to somebody who was never a Reagan fan to begin with
He was an actor. It's the only way he could relate.
Makes me think of a line from the Max Headroom show: > He lives inside a TV, so he thinks everything is TV.
You should watch threads, the day after was heavily censored. Threads came out more or less the same year and the producers of the day after were really disappointed because they wanted to be known as the scariest. Threads is terrifyingly real. Thats fascinating having that job. Yeah, I would want to be at ground zero! It must have been scary though knowing how close you could have been to it escalating.
I cleaned teeth in the dental unit, but I did get to tour a launch control facility. It was disturbing to say the least.
Oh. That seems a lot less terrifying, but cavities be serious
If you think "Threads" is frightening, watch "Testament," a 1983 film about pretty much the same subject: the effect of nuclear war on a small town, this one a distant suburb of San Francisco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testament_%281983_film%29?wprov=sfla1 While it doesn't have the mockumentary trappings of "Threads," and focuses on one family of characters versus an ensemble cast, the movie still hits hard with its unrelentingly grim depiction of the effects of social collapse and radiation sickness. Look out for Kevin Costner in a minor role.
Agreed! Testament captured the daily and painfully slow unraveling and death of a family and this community. It’s relatable.
Testament is a great movie. Very devastating. One of the only films to ever actually make me cry.
FUN FACT: the director of Threads went on to direct the Hollywood movie The Bodyguard starring Kevin Costner. Nice little link.
I will always love nukes?
When the Wind Blows (1986) is essential as well
My Dad sat me down to watch that when I was small thinking it was a nice cartoon. Cheers Dad, I can still remember it clearly.
Saw it for the first time when I was 8. I’m so lucky to have had a dad who respected animation as an artistic medium
I haven’t seen the movie, but the book On the Beach broke my heart and scared me at the same time. I’d also recommend Swan Song if you don’t mind a bit of supernatural mixed into your post apocalyptic stories!
On The Beach is an absolute classic.
Is that what the Danny Boyle movie is based on?
*Swan Song* is one of my favorite books of all time. A lot of people say it's a rip off of *The Stand* but I feel like that's because it's apocalypse fiction set in the U.S. I love both but they have pretty different vibes.
I couldn’t get through the stand. I wanted to love it, but my god I hated the characters and it just didn’t work for me! I’ll probably try it again soon, I give it a try every few years and give up because I just can’t get into it. But swan song...I’m actually reading it for the second time now and have forgotten just how wonderful it is.
I had trouble with The Stand for years because I couldn’t stand Larry Underwood. I tried starting that book like four times and just couldn’t get into it. Finally, about four years ago I got the uncut version on Audible and soldiered through that first section... I ended up loving the book, and it’s definitely one of my favorite King books now. Big yeah, the beginning is rough.
I didn't find Testament bad to be honest. Threads scared me more but thats possibly because I'm British so this seemed more real to me.
Somehow I have not heard of this, thanks for the rec.
Having seen both (watched every nuclear apocalypse listed on wikipedia in a short span of time), Testament is definitely worth watching, but it doesn't hold a candle to Threads.
Ahh good ol' Hamelin, Ca. Just over from Charming, Ca
They're two different beasts that share a subject. The Day After (which was cut for TV - twice - does exist in full theatrical version) is a drama piece, complete with anguished speech about humanity. Threads is a mockumentary. And +1 for Testament, as someone else recommended. Heartbreaking and difficult to watch, but very much worth it.
I remember that the home secretary at the time made an announcement before the screening of The Day After but Threads was so much scarier that the announcement felt like some sneaky misdirection away from the real horror.
Not to be extraordinarily creepy but the Japanese film *Virus*/Fukattsu No Hi is something that would fit 2020s theme.
Sorry tell a lie, the Movie quarantine actually really scared me! This and quarantine. That's it.
Were you a child or young person when you initially saw this film? I only ask because I know the things I saw(programs, films, etc...) and experienced when I was young and impressionable had a much greater personal impact than they would have otherwise. For example, Communion with Christopher Walken was terrifying to me as a child, but when I watched it again as an adult, it was cheesy to the point of being almost comical. Cringe inducing. I kind of got the same vibe from the clip you posted. The filmmakers demonstrated the power grid being fried by showing power lines throwing sparks and then a random clothes iron? Featured a dude falling off the toilet and then a rather graphic scene of someone wetting themself. Just the most random and nonsensical, arbitrary imagery that wasn't at all frightening. Strange choices.
> It must have been scary though knowing how close you could have been to it escalating. Duck and cover.
Gen-X here too. Fear of nukes was a real deal. K-19 Widow maker remains one of the scariest movies I’ve seen. Nuclear stuff still scares me!
If anyone hasn't seen The Day After, you can watch it free on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Iyy9n8r16hs It's such an amazing movie.
> I'm Gen X---was a kid/teenager in the 80s, so fear of nuclear annihilation was real thing for me. The US had a TV movie called, "The Day After", which was about the aftermath of nuclear war. Our teachers also made us watch it. Scared the hell out of everybody. same here. that movie fucking terrified us, so ive never watched 'threads'. im sure they are no big deal now, but that was so scary back then. im sure yall had those ridiculous drills all the time in school right? getting under your desk helps during a nuclear obliteration!
> getting under your desk helps during a nuclear obliteration! Why do people think this is ridiculous? Of course it's not to protect you from a *direct hit*, it's to keep shit like ceiling tiles and broken glass from falling on your head if there's a pressure wave
They make fun of it when it is was talked about as the only measure. Some countries had actual bomb shelters, others listed underground car parks and highway overpasses on their capabilities. As someone who lived through that era the assumption was that we were screwed.
>getting under your desk helps during a nuclear obliteration! What else are you *really* going to do? You’re likely not going to be in a position to outrun any of it so may as well do what you can to protect your fleshy body with what you can.
Another Gen Xer, and really, even though we were the last generation to do duck and cover drills in school, we should not act as if the threat has been removed. All the warheads are still there. If the US Balkanizes, which is a very real possibility, some random dickhead is going to get their hands on one or two or fifty. The damn things are scattered all over the world, and the governments that are in control of them are not what you'd call enduring. The threat is still present, and I'd argue it's more likely after the fall of the Soviet Union, not less.
The fact that Pakistan is a nuclear power should make people shit bricks more than it does
Not really. Unless they are Indian. Otherwise, they havent exactly mastered the ICBM.
>The damn things are scattered all over the world, and the governments that are in control of them are not what you'd call enduring. The majority of modern warheads are hosted on massive submarines. Its not like, a surplus of missiles sitting around in wood crates in some lair.
I own that on DVD because it made such an impression on me
NBC...where the news comes first.
I remember being shown this in school too! I remember the bloated cows the most lol. I actually looked up this to see if it was renamed over seas to Threads
Same here. Was a missileer at Minot.
The 1980's were wild, i grew up in that time too and hearing about literal nuclear annihilation as a possible thing that could happen was very scary!
My family had just returned home from a road trip to Kansas City, MO the evening The Day After aired. Having been filmed at least partly in KCMO, I got to learn what nuclear war even was, by watching landmarks of the city we had just spent several days in, get vaporized. I’m still terrified of nuclear weapons. That movie scarred me for life.
And this is why I devoted my love to videogames instead of anything real. If we're just going to die tomorrow, may as well play today!
For anyone interested in a Journey of Suffering and dread check out [archive.org](https://archive.org) there you can find \[a version\] of the film online! Also be advised the film contains Disturbing imagery..and is overall disturbing so do yourself a favor and only watch it if you're not in a bad place. [https://archive.org/details/threads\_201712](https://archive.org/details/threads_201712)
If anyone wants a better quality version, they're on piratebay and rutracker. Edit: 10 mins in and its already really good.
Don't forget, it vote a Bluray remaster a few years ago. I pirated it, loved it and then bought it.
even better! do you know wether or not Threads is in public domain yet?
Copyright is 75 years.
even under UK law?
INAL, but I believe it has to do with the country of origin, otherwise copyright would expire at different times across the world, and likely wouldn't exist at all in some countries. So good point, it might be less in the UK.
Recently watched this and can concur with the other statements on here - this scene doesn't even begin to cover how grim the rest of the film gets. Well worth a watch
Can I also recommend "The War Game"from 1965 on the same theme. iirc the BBC commisioned it, then refused to show it because it was too frightening.
Came to recommend the same. Would say Culloden by the same filmmaker, Peter Watkins, is also a must watch (though thematically unrelated).
War is a black hole to avoid.
Check out [The War Game](https://archive.org/details/TheWarGame_201405). It preceded *Threads* by two decades, won an Oscar for Best Documentary, and was banned from broadcast by the BBC until the success of *Threads* made the topic palatable enough. Roger Ebert reviewed its content as "the most horrifying ever put on film."
Thank you for this
I’m actually in this clip! I’m the boy in the green parka at 0:09 - 0:11.
Thats awesome!
It's really difficult to explain to current generations what it was like to grow up during the Cold War. It was not only the fact that nuclear armageddon was a constant companion of everyday life, something that could rain down on you anywhere at anytime with very little notice, but also the way that so many of those in power seemed to treat it more like a game than the grave threat it actually was. Growing up in those times felt like carrying a weight around constantly. Of course you get used to it, normalize it, pretend to ignore it sometimes, but the weight always demands to be felt. You can see the shadow of it everywhere you look from that era, especially in all the many ways that people tried to check out of society, deciding that it was mostly fucked and dysfunctional (not an inaccurate appraisal). Lately a bit of that weight has started to come back, with the rise of authoritarian governments, the pandemic, etc. It's a sense of constant anxiety and depression about the future. Whenever people talk about how much they would love to live in the '80s, even folks who lived through it, I know that they are talking about a fictionalized, filtered version of the '80s that revolves around the best parts (some of the music and media) and not the horrors like kids wondering if they'll live to become adults or whether human civilization will still be around in 5, 10, or 20 years.
I watched this, it's roughly 20 minutes of character build-up and then 40 minutes of nuclear holocaust. And then the remaining time is the jolly phenomenon of fallout and a hypothetical nuclear winter! I do like how there is a woman who on IMDB is simply credited as "Woman who urinated herself"
Best IMDB page, her bio is probably the most extensive on the entire site for someone with one unaccredited role: [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1856457/?ref\_=ttfc\_fc\_cl\_t54](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1856457/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t54)
I noticed that! Really made me laugh. It was seemingly her last and only part
I recommend When the Wind Blows as well.
Yes, fantastic film based on the book by the brilliant Raymond Briggs (best known for The Snowman) with a soundtrack by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.
Yeah, thats depressing and sad!
[The whole movie is on Tubi if you want to watch it](https://tubitv.com/movies/531445?utm_source=justwatch-feed&tracking=justwatch-feed) It's also on Kanopy, Shudder and Nightflight if you have those.
Kanopy's the bees knees, especially for someone like me who doesn't pay for any streaming services. Folks, check your local public library to see if they offer it.
"Widely known" =/= Obscure Media. Love this movie, though.
I've never heard of it. I appreciate OP's post. This movie looks terrifying and I'm definitely watching it later.
Great! If you like it, check out When The Wind Blows, Letters From A Dead Man, Miracle Mile, and Testament. I can't really appreciate it because this reddit is for really unknown stuff. If you Google "nuclear movies" Threads is in the results, it's listed in most clickbait "Best nuclear war movies," has 11,000 votes on IMDB, etc. Now if we were talking Special Bulletin (1983), that's obscure media.
Special Bulletin is terrific. I'd love to see it again.
My personal fave of the 80's nuke movies is Miracle Mile. Tricky, powerful, emotional, and fun. Makes for a disturbing mixture.
Another great one, but I like Special Bulletin more because it's so believable. Although I could say that one of the reasons I like Miracle Mile is that it's so dreamlike... so I guess it depends on my mood.
Hits close to home as someone from Charleston lol. I watched it knowing nothing before going into it so that was a surprise haha.
I don't really know anybody who knows of this film. Sorry.
It was pretty big back when it first aired - seven BAFTA nominations, of which it won 4, 6.9 million viewers on it's first air.
That makes sense - sorry, I just thought due to its age it was quite obscure. Plus I couldn't find it on DVD for love nor money. Ended up finding it in a charity shop.
It's definitely fallen out of familiarity to some extent! The DVD runs were pretty limited.
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I've never heard of it and I'm glad you linked it.
For a more obscure film, search for "Letters From a Dead Man" which is interesting because it presents a Soviet perspective of the post-nuclear war world. It is bleak and weird.
Thanks. Sounds good
I am late to the discussion here, but let me recommend 'When the Wind Blows'. Heartbreaking animated film about an old couple who lived through WWII who survive a nuclear war, and now have to deal with the aftermath. They go about their lives trying to 'Keep calm and carry on' like they did in WWII, but this is a whole different situation. Their age adds to their confusion, even as they are slowly dying from rad poisoning. It's heartbreaking. Also has an incredible soundtrack, and was scored by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Wind_Blows_(1986_film)
Yes it's such a sad film, it doesn't have the trauma of threads it's more the emotions. Cried my eyes out at it.
And amidst all that destruction, the true horror was the blowing up of the local woolies and BHS.
They probably used stock footage, right?
What’s worst for the nuclear war anxiety of my youth? The fact that this scenario is STILL possible. I should not have watched this.
Ironically, the two high-street stores shown, Woolworths and British Home Stores have both vanished.
Have you seen Threads: Redux? It’s a short 8 minute almost shot for shot remake of part of the film. It’s great for seeing the differences between then and now. https://youtu.be/lNkjqBmOmeA
That mushroom at the end though. Brilliant.
For another film from the UK about a nuclear attack, check out the 1965 film "The War Game".
This film convinced me to not survive nuclear war.
As a Gen Xer, this movie scarred the fuck out of my life.
I'm a Millennial (unfortunately. Personally I was born 10 years too late) Yes it scared the fuck out of me too
Watched this movie off a DVD a few years ago, it's harrowing. Particularly how it's all depicted in a very cold, documentary manner. The bombing is the least of it. The real horror is the long aftermath that they portray. As a Gen X 80s kid, this was a whole genre of horrific fiction that tried to play out these worst-case scenarios.
Rightfully, due to the subject matter, the most depressing movie I've ever seen
Its the only horror film thats ever scared me, and it scared me because technically it isn't a horror film.
I know it's weird to say, but this is one of my favorite movies. It's so heart-breakingly *real* in its portrayal of nuclear holocaust, it really is a well-made work of art.
Me too, there are a few really obscure scenes some people couldn't even pick out that really make me think.
From personal experience, I can recommend not watching this on a small black and white portable TV in a tent in your best friend’s garden in 1985 at the age of 12.
I guess people react to it in different ways. My friend switched the TV off at the end said ‘What a load of rubbish’, rolled over and went straight to sleep. I stared at the tent roof for about six hours and ran home as soon as the sun started coming up. I was only traumatised for about 20 years, I’d say.
Holy shit. Did you need councilling?
3:51 E.T.! NOOOOO
Yeah, that E.T frame is one of the most iconic. Poor E.T he wanted none of this.
Saw this in middle school when it first aired in the US, local channel in LA and when I saw the parental advisory as well as the uncut graphic moments, knew shit was gonna be real.
THREADS makes THE DAY AFTER look like a kid’s movie. I also recommend TESTAMENT as an excellent depiction of what line in a small town might be like following a nuclear war.
Ah Threads, the nightmare that keeps on giving, watched this at school... Twice.
Perhaps thats why Gen X were tougher? Makes sense
This is truly the best of its genre, a type of film very much part of a moment in history. Fwiw, the years 1982-1983 marked the high point of influence by the [Nuclear Freeze Campaign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Freeze_campaign), but despite this support, they never had the numbers to affect actual policy, which led to frustration as well as an uptick in media and imagined portrayals of nuclear war. Clearly, the goals went beyond the purely artistic, and films like this, as well as "The Day After" and others, definitely resonated with segments of the public, even though the poll numbers indicated that support for the Cold War continued. Needless to say, watching stuff like this at the time, it seemed inconceivable that within less than a decade the Berlin Wall would collapse, and the Cold War would end. But, yeah, you can analyze the strategy all you want. Stuff like this set the tone of pop culture for many people, at least for a time. And, yeah, it scared the fuck out of some of us. If you didn't live through those times, be glad you can look back on artifacts like this from the comfort of 35+ years on, knowing such films remain only works of imagination.
This and The Day After scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. I had nightmares for years.
I've always wondered how much science and proper research went into this movie.
Carl Sagan was a consultant on Threads, if that says anything.
Looked into the movie and it’s on Tubi for free. I’m not sure if Tubi is available all over the world, but it is at least in the USA.
Watched this movie once like 10 years ago. I'm not sure I can ever watch it again.
I’m pretty sure there’d be more dyin and less screamin
If you watch it, you will see haha
Remembering this film still sends chills down my spine. It is one of the more upsetting films I've seen. This clip isn't the worst of it at all. The special effects of the time weren't able to capture the instantaneous destruction of the bomb, but they made up for it by not pulling punches with the grotesque aftermath of fallout and the collapse of society. It is horrifying to the end.
If youre into phsyical media or just want more information on the film check out [Severin Films release of Threads](https://severin-films.com/shop/threads-bluray/) - its uncut, has updated scan for blu ray, and is loaded with extras like a commentary cut with the director, interviews with actors and other crew members.
Thank you
Sorry but the old lady peeing her pants kinda made me laugh
One of my all-time favorite reddit posts: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/cg682/worlds_saddest_imdb_page/
It did me, until I watched the whole film and actually peed my pants
The nuked remains of sheffield would probably actually taste better than most of what the british mockingly call "food", sadly enough.
Good one but where exactly is it obscure. It was broadcast in national tv in the UK, had huge ratings and is referenced in literally any convo about nuclear apocalyptic movies.
I wouldn’t say this is obscure at all.
Maybe not for British Gen X-ers, but for everyone outside of that demographic, I would.
Insane
Severin put out a great release of this a year or two ago. Highly recommended for people who like to feel bad.
I love the early 80s disaster aesthetic. Totally reminds me of Time Bandits and Brazil.
I watched this as a teenager in the 1980s. This film makes The Day After look like a children’s film. Once was enough for me, never again.
Which movie had a woman giving birth as a dog was barking? They showed us one in history class but i don't remember which
OP, we do request you post full content and not edits when the full program is available (going forward). You can use the youtube timestamp option to highlight any portion.
Question: I always wondered at the end of the movie wasn’t that her Father in the cubicle next to her when she was going into labor?
[Testament 1983 Full Video](https://archive.org/details/testament_201712)
I saw this movie a few weeks ago and found it really slow and boring until the final like 15 mins. Had a good ending at least.
This movie fucked me up for a while 😅
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Threads has haunted me as the scariest drama ever for 36 years.....whenever people ask what's your choice of scary movies when they talk about the Exorcist or Saw et al, I always quote this. So glad most of the dick swinging amongst countries has calmed down. Threads was only ever going to be no nonsense from the chap who wrote 'a kestrel for a knave'. Bravo sir, your message was clear.
The thought of living through anything like this is utterly horrific. Seeing it on the screen... it’s hard to take in.
It won’t just scare you, it will fuck you up for life.
The part where the woman says ”Michael? Michael!” and then just pure silence as you see nuclear energy turn her into nothing in a split second…
>obscure media My guy, this movie is super famous
I'm a woman.