Threads 1984

 Threads 1984 Review 

5/5 

Mick Jackson nuclear drama is an unforgettable watch. 

40 years later, this BBC apocalyptic drama is not just terrifying but a devastating and powerful watch as well. 

In the middle of the 1980s, the Soviet Union and the United States of American went to war and spread fears not just in Europe but even in the UK because of the threat of a nuclear war on the horizon. This would later been known as the cold war as would end in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union but back in 1984 this was a real threat to the UK. The Government had made a series of Public Safety Announcements called protect and survive and gave tips and advice of what might happen if a nuclear attack had hit the UK. There have been a few adaptations of nuclear war most particularly in 1983 with the film The Day After in 1983 which has a similar situation to Threads and the animated story When The Wind Blows in 1986 based on the book of the same name by Raymond Briggs. Threads was made on a budget of £400,000 and was the first to depict a winter nuclear attack on screen. The film was directed by Mick Jackson, [The Bodyguard] and written by Barry Hines [Kes]. The film premiered on 23rd September 1984 at 9:30pm on BBC Two and featured a message at the start of the film depicting what the films themes will be about by Newsnight Presenter John Tusa. After the films release, it was regarded as “the scariest film ever produced and left people with nightmares and had scared many generations of people.” The film had only been released on tv twice in the 80s, once in 2003 and also in 2024 to celebrate its 40th anniversary. 

Threads tells the story of Ruth [Karen Meagher] and Jimmy [Reece Dinsdale], a young couple from Sheffield and have decided to get married after Ruth unexpectedly gets pregnant with their first child. While living their peaceful and quite life in Sheffield, they move into their first property and can start planning for the arrival of their first child. 20 miles north of Sheffield, lies the UK’s only NATO Base and throughout we see fighter jets leave the base to go and help out in the war. Back in Sheffield, news channels have been keeping viewers up to date with the events in the middle east between the USA and the Soviet Union and fears of a nuclear attack in the UK might happen and the residents don’t want to believe that a nuclear attack is about to happen and appear to shrug off the threat. However, things take a turn for the worst when a nuclear bomb explodes and destroyes the NATO base north of Sheffield and sends panic throughout Sheffield  and that they’re worst nightmares have come true.  During the fallout of the explosion, a pregnant Ruth and Jimmy are separated during the chaos and its up to a pregnant Ruth to survive not just for her but her Baby’s future as well. 

Going into this film, I had a lot of expectations on this as I had been wanting to watch this film for a while and after finishing this film I felt a much different person to  what I was at the start. Threads is a terrifying, behind the sofa and astonishing film and while it was made on a budget of £400,000 this is in my opinion one of the scariest films ever produced. Furthermore, this film was something that I never expected to be the finished product and just blew my mind. 

There are so many positives to come out of Threads but I Have limited them to at least 3 big positives as it would take me forever to name them all. The first huge positive I can take from this film is without a doubt the story, as you could not make films like this anymore and the story really shows this.  I believe this maybe one of the best horror stories out there and there are so many big elements that make the story feel really not just scary but horrifying as well. That is because the film doesn't include jumpscares and instead uses the imagery on screen to depict the horror on screen and this was absolutely ground breaking and made the film feel more scarier and also to make the viewers feel for these characters and this was done extremely well with the story.  Another major positive to mention is the script. I say this because the script by Barry Hines is hauntingly stunning and with the story it brings this horror story to life in an empathic way as possible. In Addition, the script had a very solid balance to it and used the realism of the what might have happened into full fruition and also sets the tone of the story from the very start. Also, writing a story around a nuclear attack is difficult but I think that this is the best way to write a film script about a nuclear war and I have to give credit to Barry Hines’ superb writing talent for creating a horrifying but engaging watch as as well. Finally, and probably one of the best things to come out of this film is its horrifying realism on the world at the time and this really shows after the attack has happened. There are so many moments of this film that really felt genuine and the visual horror was there to see. One scene I will always remember is after the attack when Ruth walks through the street and sees the destruction at first hand and at one point, [What I may say next may be quite upsetting.] She sees an older woman covering up a mutilated baby in her arms. That scene truly made me terrified alongside just hearing the sound of wind in the background made this scene even more chilling and unsettling. There is one other scene that also made me feel unsettled and  towards the end of the film and Ruth’s daughter, all grown up and named Jane and two boys are caught stealing supplies from other people’s houses and she and one of the boys engage in a dispute over food and Jane is subsequently raped at this time but we don’t see this on camera, but it gets worse at the final stages of this film. Jane is then seen in the hospital in labour about to give birth but unfortunately her baby doesn't survive and were left with Jane holding her baby on a bloodied towel before cutting to the credits. Truly Devastating to view. 

To sum up, Threads is not a film to take very lightly as this a truly horrifying piece of film media that will leave many people with different feelings by the end. Threads is a devastating and soul destroying film that will live on to be in my opinion one of the scariest films I have ever seen.