Threads

[EvilNed]

You think you've seen the most dystopian film ever? You're sure of it? Well, think again and then go watch Threads. It's a BBC film from 1984, that depicts an alternative (and much grimmer) outcome to the Cold War: All out nuclear war. You brits out there might already have seen this. It starts out rather slow and tedious at times. We losely bond with two young people who are planning to get married because the boy accidently knocked the girl up. In the background of all this, the cold war escelates (ironically, the film depicts a fictional invasion of Iraq by the US) and suddenly 40 minutes into the film... Bang. And it all goes down hill on the "feel-good"o'meter there. Holy **** on a ****ing stick. This is the REAL thing. A realistic depiction of a nuclear war and it's aftermath. Since the film has a tendancy to jump alot in time, we even get to see how England is like 13 years after the disaster. It's so gritty, realistic that it could rip the heart out of anyone who ever thought that a nuclear holocaust would be "cool and adventerous, just like the Mad Max films!". It's not. The film points out that society would pretty much revert back to medieval times, with all the mud, misery and murder that accompanies it. No joy anywhere. ****. I feel like killing myself after watching that film.

[capncnut]

I remember seeing it on tv when it came out and I thought it was terrfying. Nowdays, it's sort of of meh because it has aged so badly. But it's still a good movie and has some bizarre sequences in it (the woman pissing herself when the bomb goes off being one of them). The plot begins to fizzle somewhat (I didn't particularly like the characters tbh) until the bomb goes off and from then on it's a grim experience. Pretty much a society gone wrong: people sick and dying, crazed attackers, refugees, confusion etc. While I do agree that's an excellent BBC drama, it just plods a bit too long for my liking. Check it out though, the BBC repeat it like every 5 years or so.

[Danny]

aye still ranked i believe in one of the 100 scriest moments...according to channel 4 for what thats worth. theres tons of american versions of the same story, particularly from the 1980's, really bug's the hell outta ya those sorta films.

[Cykotic]

Ahh yes... I remember this one. The first Time I saw it, I can remember jumping every 5 minutes. I swear, this is one of the scariest films ever made

[MikePizzoff]

Sounds like a UK version of The Day After. I'd like to check this out.

[Cykotic]

Believe me, Threads makes The Day After look so tame!

[EvilNed]

It was definetly very harsh. The scariest part was how society would look in 10 years after a nuclear holocaust. Very dark and the stuff utmost nightmares are made off.

[Cykotic]

indeed... I remember watching this and just having some very f***ing scary nightmares. But the fact that one day, this could actually happen is a terrifying thought....

[coma]

Believe me, Threads makes The Day After look so tame! Day After was super hardcore when it was first broadcast. It woke a lot of people up to what the reality of the arms race was. I found the end to be extremely shocking at the time. Its pretty unexpected. I think it implied they ate the old guy and killed everybody else. I have threads. I watched the first bit a long time ago and found it boring, but when I come across it I will check it again.

[Cykotic]

Wasn't there a phone number that people could call if they were freaked out by The Day After? I know that Carl Sagan was in an interview right after the original broadcast and I know he was freaking out about the film.... Would any of the Mods mind if I post Threads on here? Just for those who have no idea what the hell any of us are talking about?

[capncnut]

I saw The Day After on the Sci Fi channel at like 2pm one day, it's just an overblown 4 hour turd! I thought the best movie on the subject was Testament with Jane Alexander and William DeVane. That one hit me hard.   In the film, Jane Alexander plays Carol Wetherly, the wife and mother of a 5-member family living in the small California town of Hamlin, geographically near the San Francisco Bay Area. After her husband Tom (William Devane) heads to his job in San Francisco one morning, it is hinted that the city (and most other large cities in the country) is destroyed by nuclear missiles. Carol is left to manage with her 3 children, Brad (Rossie Harris), Mary Liz (Roxana Zal), and Scottie (Lukas Haas). The majority of the 90 minute film focuses on the four of them trying to survive while the fabric of their community slowly deteriorates after the nuclear holocaust. The town itself has not been directly damaged or destroyed, but they face the lack of electricity and supplies, the increasing danger of nuclear fallout, and the general chaos and lawlessness as desperate people around them will do anything to survive. As the film continues, we learn that more and more people have died of radiation sickness. While some friends and neighbors leave the area for parts unknown, the Wetherlys remain. The movie is famed for a tragic sequence where Carol buries her youngest child in the backyard after he dies from radiation poisoning.

[Debbieangel]

I saw all three of those movies and they scared the crap out of me! Out of all three tho I think Threads was the scariest in my opinion!

[Neil]

Definately films of their time... The 80s was a depressing time due to the constant threat of nuclear war I remember being at home once with my girlfriend and the air-raid warnings went off in our town. They'd never gone off before, but it was clear what they were and I cannot describe the feeling in my stomach - unsure if it was the sign that the madness had kicked off... We spent the next ten minutes flicking through TV channels trying to see what was going on... Then the sirens went off... It was just some mistake... That was horrible!

[MikePizzoff]

Definately films of their time... The 80s was a depressing time due to the constant threat of nuclear war I remember being at home once with my girlfriend and the air-raid warnings went off in our town. They'd never gone off before, but it was clear what they were and I cannot describe the feeling in my stomach - unsure if it was the sign that the madness had kicked off... We spent the next ten minutes flicking through TV channels trying to see what was going on... Then the sirens went off... It was just some mistake... That was horrible! Jesus I can't imagine the horror of that situation. I remember when I was younger I was playing one of my Agnostic Front albums really loud and at the end there's the sound of air-raid sirens. Well my Mom heard it and flipped out; she thought they were coming from outside. It was funny at the time.

[coma]

...the sound of air-raid sirens. Well my Mom heard it and flipped out; she thought they were coming from outside. It was funny at the time. Not if you grew you with Duck and Cover and civil defense drills. In the 70s we had to go in the halls and kneel and cover our heads and wait for the bomb. Turns out it would be useless and was just indoctrination. NICE! I saw The Day After on the Sci Fi channel at like 2pm one day, it's just an overblown 4 hour turd! If you saw it in the early 80s you wouldnt think so. It was a film of the era. And at the time it was very frank. The disclaimer at the end "A real Nuke war would be much, much worse" really freaked me out. On the Beach is a great Nuke film. Hey, im twitching now! Sweet!