History NightmareFuel / Threads

*** '''[[blue: Blast casualties between 2 1/2 and 9 million]]'''

** What happened between Jane and the boy almost certainly wasn't an isolated incident. By this stage in the story, the oldest of the kids born into the post-nuclear world are reaching sexual maturity, but do not know how to cope with the resulting urges and, because of their near total lack of education and limited language skills, are unable to ask or give consent. So young boys are growing up thinking they can force themselves on girls; who, like Jane, then have to give birth to mutated babies. As more and more of the pre-war generation die off, there will be fewer people who are in a position to so much as try to educate these kids not to engage in this kind of behaviour. And, if any of the second generation of post-war babies which result survive into adolescence, the pattern will then repeat itself.

''The Day After'''s ending, while a DownerEnding, had some instance of [[RayOfHopeEnding hope with the persistence of human empathy and kindness]] ([[HopeSpringsEternal with the implication that the survivors will start over again]]). In ''Threads''? None of that. Showing only the pure horror and cruelty of the aftermath 13 years after the initial attack and [[DownerEnding snuffing out all hope for humanity's survival]].

-->"''Threads'' works on the viewer with a peculiar power: one finds oneself horrified, fascinated, numbed, provoked, unsettled, made restless. Its power may be the effect of its oscillation between form and content being so heavily weighted toward the pole of content--in this case, that threat of nuclear destruction which cannot help but feel 'real'--so that we are unable to relax into ''Threads'' as 'just' a movie."

** And no, ''Protect and Survive'' is '''not''' depicted in a good or helpful light. In fact, in the moments where some characters do adhere to the guidelines, it's simply '''''worthless''''', especially if you lived near ground zero of the detonation, or your windows and roofs were obliterated in the blast, allowing the fallout to come in.

Barry Hines]]'''\\

** The first attack is an exo-atmospheric one, which generates an {{EMP}} that knocks out all power across Britain and most of North West Europe.

*** Apparently the artificial method they used to recreate the mushroom cloud -- a giant smoke bomb set off near RAF Finningley -- led to genuine panic on the streets. People thought an ''actual nuclear weapon'' had just been detonated. Could've been a highly disturbing bit of EnforcedMethodActing had they been rolling the film.

-->'''Bob''': "Jesus ''Christ'', they've done it. (''[[StillSucksThumb quietly, holding his thumb to his mouth in shock]]'') They've done it..."

** The Kemp family suffer ''very horrific'' ends. Michael dies when the third nuclear strike collapses Jimmy's aviary and crushes him; Mrs. Kemp succumbs ''slowly'' and '''painfully''' from radiation exposure and fourth-degree burns from the intense heat; Mr. Kemp expires alone in a graveyard from radiation poisoning, not even keeping down the bottle of Scotch. [[TragicKeepsake The only thing keeping him company alongside that Scotch is Michael's electronic handheld]], and [[DespairEventHorizon completely breaks down due to all the horrors he's experienced]] [[SoundtrackDissonance while the handheld plays an upbeat tune]].
-->'''Mrs. Kemp''': "Oh, I wish I were dead. [[FateWorseThanDeath I wish it were me]]."
-->'''Mr. Kemp''': "[[SurvivorGuilt I wish I could swap places with him]]."

-->'''Clive Sutton''': "What is that in terms of food, then, 500 calories?"
-->'''Dr. Talbot''': "I don't know. A few slices of bread, some soup... [[DeliciousDaydream a lamb chop, a treacle tart]], a few pints of beer... (''furiously'') '''[[PrecisionFStrike BASTARDS!]]'''"

* When Ruth walks around in the rubble after the explosion. The only sound is coming from the wind, and she sees burnt corpses, a mother looking for her daughter, a lost child, and a delusional middle-aged woman who is holding her clearly burnt-to-death baby. [[WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises The unflinching, wide-eyed and devastated face]] of the latter may perhaps be one of the most haunting still images ever shot of a rehearsed pose.

* As a result of the nationwide devastation and associated diseases and famines, Britain's population rapidly falls from 56.3 million ([[https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/timeseries/ukpop/pop 1983 estimate]]) to 11 million.

''The Day After'''s ending, while a DownerEnding, had some instance of [[RayOfHopeEnding hope with the persistence of human empathy and kindness]]. In ''Threads''? None of that. Showing only the pure horror and cruelty of the aftermath 13 years after the initial attack and [[DownerEnding snuffing out all hope for humanity's survival]].

* What's the most horrific thing about this film? ''Everything you see in it would happen in the event of a nuclear war''. It's made ''very'' evident that the filmmakers [[ShownTheirWork did their homework to make it as realistic and non-fiction as possible]]. After the nukes drop, there won't even be the violent glamour of ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' or ''Film/MadMax''-style adventures in or exploration of a new post-apocalyptic world; we'll all just '''die'''. [[FateWorseThanDeath And it sure as hell wouldn't be a quick or painless death, either]].

* Did you survive the nuclear war? [[SarcasmMode Congratulations]], you've condemned yourself to AFateWorseThanDeath. It's telling that the victims of the initial strike got off ''lucky'', ensuring that the fates of all the characters are horrific ends.

-->'''Mrs. Kemp''': Oh, I wish I were dead. [[FateWorseThanDeath I wish it were me]].
-->'''Mr. Kemp''': [[SurvivorGuilt I wish I could swap places with him]].

-->'''Clive Sutton''': What is that in terms of food, then, 500 calories?
-->'''Dr. Talbot''': I don't know. A few slices of bread, some soup... [[DeliciousDaydream a lamb chop, a treacle tart]], a few pints of beer... (''furiously'') '''[[PrecisionFStrike BASTARDS!]]'''

''The Day After'''s ending, while a DownerEnding, had some instance of [[RayOfHopeEnding hope with the persistence of human empathy and kindness]]. In ''Threads''? None of that. Only showing the pure horror and cruelty of the aftermath 13 years after the initial attack and [[DownerEnding snuffing out all hope for humanity's survival]].

With its depictions of civilization after a nuclear attack, the fallout's impact even years after the initial bombings, and the overall bleak nature of watching completely innocent people become victims to numerous ailments of nuclear war, this is often considered ''NightmareFuel: TheMovie'' for '''good''' reason.

* The biggest piece of NightmareFuel about this film: ''everything you see in it would really happen in the event of a nuclear war''. This movie is almost non-fiction with how heavily it [[ShownTheirWork did its homework]]. After all the nukes drop, there won't even be the violent glamour of ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' or ''Film/MadMax''-style adventures in or exploration of a new post-apocalyptic world; we'll all just '''die'''. [[FateWorseThanDeath And it sure as hell wouldn't be a quick or painless death, either]].
** Actually, it's even worse than that. This film depicts a ''best''-case scenario, and it's been described increasingly as such by many critics and researchers. After all, there are still a few people left alive after thirteen years by the end of the film. Chances are, the true outcome would be far, ''far'' worse.
* There is a certain element of this [[SarcasmMode delightful]] piece of television which has been overlooked in its nightmare-enabling capabilities; it often traumatizes people who first saw it to this very day. Considering it was first broadcast in the mid 1980s[[note]]Aside from the original airing in 1984, it was shown in 1985 as part of a series of programmes marking the 40th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[[/note]] and was then not broadcast again until 2003, that speaks volumes.
* For many Britons -- especially those who live in or near Sheffield -- this film hit close to home and it hit ''hard''. Those OopNorth are so used to seeing places like [[BigApplesauce New York]], [[HollywoodCalifornia Los Angeles]], [[TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse Tokyo]] or [[BritainIsOnlyLondon London]] blown up in the movies that it doesn't affect them, but when [[AliensInCardiff it's a much smaller city in Yorkshire]]...

** "The attack warning's for bloody ''real!''"
* During the nuclear attack sequence, the panicked screaming of everyone on the streets in Sheffield is ''very'' haunting. Especially the screaming that can be heard during the shot of the mushroom cloud over Sheffield after nearby RAF Finningley[[note]]Now the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doncaster_Sheffield_Airport Doncaster Sheffield Airport.]][[/note]] is directly hit.
** The first attack is an exo-atmospheric attack, generating an {{EMP}} that knocks out a majority of power across Europe.
** Then the second attack occurs. Warsaw missiles attack military targets, specifically RAF Finningley.
*** There was a woman who was so scared that she [[BringMyBrownPants wet herself]].
** Apparently the artificial method they used to recreate the mushroom cloud -- a giant smoke bomb set off near RAF Finningley -- led to genuine panic on the streets. People thought an ''actual nuclear weapon'' had just been detonated. Could've been a highly disturbing bit of EnforcedMethodActing had they been rolling the film.
** The [[HeroicBSoD absolutely dumbstruck reaction]] that Bob, Jimmy's friend, has to the explosion over RAF Finningley is haunting as well as absolutely tragic. [[DeerInTheHeadlights He can only stare in silent horror at the resulting mushroom cloud]], visibly broken by the realization that everything he'd most feared has come to fruition.
-->'''Bob''': Jesus ''Christ'', they've done it. (''[[StillSucksThumb quietly, holding his thumb to his mouth in shock]]'') They've done it...

*** [[blue: 80 megatons fall on UK]]
*** [[blue: Blast casualties between 2 1/2 and 9 million]]
*** [[blue: Communications in chaos]]
*** [[blue: Command and control links failing]]
*** [[blue: Nuclear exchanges escalate]]
** Then the priority economic targets are revealed...
*** [[blue: Communications, Energy, Steel, Chemicals]]

* In the third attack, Mrs. Kemp tries to find Michael, only for the screen to be saturated white. Then there are scenes of animals horrifically burning due to the blast's intense heat, and seeing people combust into flames as they try to find or get into their shelter.
* The deathly silence, when the flash of heat is sweeping through the city and we see everything melting and Mr. Kemp desperately trying to put out his burning wife. Then the blast hits and everything is destroyed.

* The amount exchanged between the attack? '''3000 megatons'''. To put that into perspective, that's the amount of [[HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure 200,000 Little Boys]], or 60 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba Tsar Bombas.]] And ''210 megatons'' were dropped on the UK in total (%7 of the exchange). If that was only the UK, [[FridgeHorror how many megatons were the other countries hit with?]]
* The fate of most of the characters is horrifying, which is to be expected.
** The Kemp family's youngest son Michael is crushed to death under the collapse of Jimmy's aviary while crying in fear; Mrs. Kemp dies slowly and painfully from radiation sickness and fourth-degree burns, half-covered by a garbage bag after her husband leaves; Mr. Kemp dies alone in a graveyard from radiation poisoning after failing to get food, with only a bottle of Scotch for company that he can't even keep down. The last shot we see of him alive shows him sobbing as he presses buttons on Michael's game console to hear the tune it plays.

----

* The amount exchanged between the attack? '''3000 megatons'''. To put that into perspective, that's the amount of [[HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure 200,000 Little Boys]], or 60 Tsar Bombas. And ''210 megatons'' were dropped on the UK in total (%7 of the exchange). If that was only the UK, [[FridgeHorror how many megatons were the other countries hit with]]?

* As a result of the nationwide devastation, Britain's population rapidly falls from 56.3 million ([[https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/timeseries/ukpop/pop 1983 estimate]]) to 11 million.

** Also worth mentioning that when she drops to the ground just before her death... nobody but her daughter seems to notice. Everyone else, numb to death at this point, just carries on working the fields.

** This also sets an unsettling precedent: on the slim chance that later generations don’t simply die out, after being raised in an uncivilized and unforgiving world where language and comfort are non-existent, this basically means that mankind would eventually be reduced to little more than animals. Not only has most of humanity died, but their sentience would likely devolve as well. Mankind would have no choice but to start over again from the '''Stone Age.'''
** Jane's stillborn child is an apt metaphor for the future of humanity after a nuclear war: diseased, deformed, unwanted and, ultimately, dead.

* As a result of the nationwide devastation, Britain's population severally falls from 60.80 million to 11 million.