History Film / Threads

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Essentially, almost ''nothing'' goes right for the U.K. as a whole, if not the world, and all the attempts to prepare for a nuclear attack are woefully ineffective and done too little, too late. The educational videos played for students warning of what they should do in the event of a nuclear attack are completely at odds with the reality numerous families face when an actual attack does come. The attempts to build a makeshift above ground shelter with only a couple hours' notice do nothing to prevent nor protect against rolling firestorms, radiation sickness and eventual death. Even with a formal continuity of government in place, the Sheffield branch in particular fails to address any infrastructure, housing or food concerns, and the officials we do see who survived quickly fall to a combination of a failing bunker, lack of communication and infighting. What few people survived the attack in Sheffield are forced to flee the city ruins for the countryside, dodging pockets of radiation and having to jumpstart agriculture and a new economy with antiquated equipment and a shortage of supplies and knowledge. Thirteen years on, the situation hasn't improved much at all. Education is nearly non-existent, theft and violent crime are rampant, the survivors of the attack are dealing with RapidAging, cancers, and stunted growth, and the daughter of the lead female character quickly discovers how dire humanity's prospects are [[spoiler:when she has a TragicStillbirth]].

* ThisIsNotADrill: Several examples--

** The Sheffield emergency council hears an alarm from the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HANDEL HANDEL Warning Console]], and the phrase is nearly invoked in response--

The film depicts the terrifying consequences of [[UsefulNotes/NuclearWeapons nuclear warfare]] upon an unsuspecting world. Set mainly in [[OopNorth Sheffield]] during the height of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, ''Threads'' follows two families, the Becketts and the Kemps, amongst the other members of their town, as they deal with the absolute destruction of their society as a result of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar which was a fear weighing on people's minds at the time]]. The findings of the 1955 ''Strath Report'' noted that the UK was singularly vulnerable to a nuclear exchange due to the country's location, small size, high urban population, and dependency upon food imports. The film reflects this fairly accurate assessment of the UK's likely situation with what the uninformed might call a hopeless and pessimistic outset - ending with a medieval world where agriculture predominates, starvation is ever-present, modern medicine doesn't exist, martial law prevails, capital punishment is routine, children are undereducated savages, the ozone layer is gone, and Survival Of The Fittest is the only way to get by.

* ShownTheirWork: Thanks to the army of scientific advisers (including Creator/CarlSagan) listed in the end credits. The only really dodgy bit of science is the large scope of the destruction of the ozone layer as a result of the nuclear exchange. It ''should'' eventually regenerate itself over time in the absence of any pollutants, but even this is something that scientists aren't 100% certain on.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To the very similar 1965 DocuDrama ''Film/TheWarGame'', though that movie wasn't shown on TV until a year after ''Threads'' was released, because the BBC outright refused to broadcast it out of fears of widespread panic back when it was made.

* SerialEscalation: The escalation scenario that leads to Armageddon in the first place. After a sudden pro-Western coup in Iran that overthrows Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Soviet Union quickly invades to usher in a socialist government and gain a foothold in the Middle East. The Americans quickly retaliate by sending in paratroopers and setting a deadline for withdrawal, and when the Soviet Union refuses to back down, they dispatch bombers at their main staging base in Iran. The Soviet Union destroys most of the aircraft with nuclear-tipped air defense missiles, making the Americans disintegrate the base with a single battlefield nuke. In return full-blown naval combat erupts with the Soviets sinking the aircraft carrier ''Kitty Hawk''. The Americans blockade Cuba, [[CycleOfRevenge and after that the war escalates into a full-blown global nuclear exchange, with dire consequences for humanity]].

* StoryboardingTheApocalypse: The world's narrated degeneration into chaos. Also the teletype-style printed reports. ''[[AtomicHate "80 megatons fall on UK."]]''
* SubterraneanSanityFailure: The Emergency Council are trapped in their bunker when the apocalyptic nuclear war [[FalloutShelterFail brings Sheffield Town Hall down on top of their exits]], leaving them trapped underground as they wait to be rescued and struggle to control the situation. In the days that follow, dwindling supplies, worsening conditions, and escalating stress weigh heavily on the Council, and many of them are reduced to screaming at each other over the slightest disagreement, to the point that even the radio operator ends up barking abuse at the people trying to rescue him. [[spoiler: By the time the rescuers break through the rubble, the bunker ventilation has failed, and the entire Council has suffocated to death.]]

* WarComesHome: This story features a nuclear war spreading to the rest of the world, in this case the United Kingdom. Set in [[OopNorth Sheffield]] it follows two families as they have to deal with both the nuclear attack and the fallout as society crumbles around them in its aftermath.

[[caption-width-right:300:''"You cannot win a nuclear war."'']]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/threads_1.png]]

[[SnicketWarningLabel To any would-be viewers]]: if you're looking for a story with a happy or hopeful ending this movie is '''''not''''' the way to go, and a strong stomach is pretty much mandatory. There are no [[JumpScare jump scares]], the BodyHorror is tame by the standards of modern SFX, and there is little {{Gorn}}[[note]]Though lots of SceneryGorn[[/note]] despite the ample opportunities the setting presents. Yet its strict adherence to a realistic portrayal of nuclear war and its after-effects makes it [[NightmareFuel one of the scariest films ever made]].

The film depicts the terrifying consequences of [[UsefulNotes/NuclearWeapons nuclear warfare]] upon an unsuspecting world. Set mainly in [[OopNorth Sheffield]] during the height of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, ''Threads'' follows two families, the Becketts and the Kemps, amongst the other members of their town, as they deal with the absolute destruction of their society as a result of nuclear war with the Soviet Union (which at the time of release was [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar arguably more likely]] than it is today). The findings of the 1955 ''Strath Report'' noted that the UK was singularly vulnerable to a nuclear exchange due to the country's location, small size, high urban population, and dependency upon food imports. The film reflects this fairly accurate assessment of the UK's likely situation with what the uninformed might call a hopeless and pessimistic outset - ending with a medieval world where agriculture predominates, starvation is ever-present, modern medicine doesn't exist, martial law prevails, capital punishment is routine, children are undereducated savages, the ozone layer is gone, and Survival Of The Fittest is the only way to get by.

* AwayInAManger: Ruth gives birth in a stable on Christmas Day, unable to reach the farmhouse because there was a guard dog in the way.

* DepopulationBomb: People born after the attack are often mutated. People born before the attack don't last long in general.
* {{Determinator}}: Amid the remnants of the survivors 13 years after the attack, there appears to be ''one'' single teacher who is still trying to teach kids to learn grammar (albeit with dated "Words and Sounds" educational videos) and learn arts and crafts

** A short time later, as Ruth tells Jimmy that she's pregnant, she responds to his concern and confusion by saying that it's "not the end of the world." [[RuleOfSymbolism Thirteen years later]], that statement takes [[TragicStillbirth on a new meaning]].

* RuleOfSymbolism: Of the "baby in a manger" variety; Ruth's child is born on Christmas Eve, and the following scene has her huddling around a fire with other survivors (presumably in the same barn) on Christmas Day with the newborn Jane crying in the background.

* SpiritualAntithesis: Specifically, Ruth Beckett compared to Denise Dahlberg of ''Film/TheDayAfter''. Both of their families were better prepared for the nuclear exchange, and both eventually abandon (or try to abandon) their shelters [[DespairEventHorizon out of despair]]. Yet while Ruth--in her grief over losing Jimmy--says she couldn't care about her baby anymore, during Denise's own breakdown she laments that she doesn't [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy have someone to remember Bruce by]] and can't even remember his face now. [[spoiler:Denise also succumbs to radiation sickness not long after she tries to escape the shelter, while Ruth appeared to have avoided the worst of the fallout ... for a few decades at least.]]

* TooDumbToLive: The officials who keep on smoking ''while trapped underground''.
* TragicKeepsake: Jimmy's handbook about birds, which Ruth finds near Mrs. Kemp's body and takes along with her. [[spoiler:When Ruth dies 13 years later, the book is shown briefly as one of the few items Ruth carried with her through the rest of her life as a memento]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Essentially, almost ''nothing'' goes right for the U.K. as a whole, if not the world, and all the attempts to prepare for a nuclear attack are woefully ineffective and done too little, too late. The educational videos played for students warning of what they should do in the event of a nuclear attack are completely at odds with the reality numerous families face when an actual attack does come. The attempts to build a makeshift above ground shelter with only a couple hours' notice do nothing to prevent nor protect against rolling firestorms, radiation sickness and eventual death. Even with a formal continuity of government in place, the Sheffield branch in particular fails to address any infrastructure, housing or food concerns, and the officials we do see who survived quickly fall to a combination of a failing bunker, lack of communication and infighting. What few people survived the attack in Sheffield are forced to flee the city ruins for the countryside, dodging pockets of radiation and having to jumpstart agriculture and a new economy with antiquated equipment and a shortage of supplies and knowledge. Thirteen years on, the situation hasn't improved much at all. Education is nearly non-existent, theft and violent crime are rampant, the survivors of the attack are dealing with RapidAging, cancers, and stunted growth, and the daughter of the lead female character quickly discovers how dire humanity's prospects are when she has a TragicStillbirth.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: As Jane rushes heads towards the makeshift hospital during the ending, she passes by a pair of shoeless (possibly naked) corpses hung in the foreground, implying that they were either DrivenToSuicide or, worse yet, [[HumanResources being used as food by cannibals]].

** By contrast, the Becketts have a sturdy basement, and are lucky enough to own a house situated well outside the initial blast zone. Though they still experience a death in the family and Ruth runs away from home soon after, it appears as though her parents have all the supplies they need to survive the apocalypse and potentially start a new life for themselves. Unfortunately, the one thing they forgot about was securing and defending their home. [[spoiler: A time later, a gang of looters break in and murder Ruth's parents to steal their food. Ruth also remarks that they're STILL breathing in the radiation, as nuclear fallout can settle anywhere and gamma radiation can penetrate even through thick surfaces, and is ultimately inescapable. So, even if the house hadn't been raided, Ruth's parents would have most likely fallen severely ill from radiation exposure and eventually perished anyway. Their true problems after the attack would just be BEGINNING]].

* HypocriticalHumor: Soldiers arrest some men for looting food, then gripe over the flavour of crisps they've stolen, clearly intending to eat it themselves.

* LaserGuidedKarma: One of the looters responsible for [[spoiler:seemingly killing Ruth's parents and stealing their supplies]], possibly the one who committed the act, is himself shot and killed by a group of soldiers checking houses and arresting looters, just after he attempts to flee from them. The other two are rounded up and sent to the detention camp seen a few scenes later.

* NoHealthcareInTheApocalypse: The film points out that, even if Britain's National Health Service survived a nuclear attack, it would be unable to cope with the effects of even a single nuke on a single city. This is illustrated via a scene set in a hospital which has been overrun with bomb casualties, where operations (including amputations) are being carried out without anaesthetics, under conditions where even basic levels of hygiene are impossible to maintain. The accompanying narration states that doctors can now do very little for their patients and are "no better equipped than the nearest survivor."

** Before the war actually breaks out, various diegetic sounds in the soundtrack (a note in music that Allison listens to, the whistle at the joinery, the explosive sound of a Phantom taking off) sound just like air raid sirens or explosions, until they're shown to be something else.

* HopeSpot: Thirteen years after the nuclear exchange, sunlight has finally returned after the nuclear winter ended, and a limited form of agriculture has managed to start back up, suggesting that humanity may be starting to rebuild. [[spoiler:However, Ruth suddenly dies in her thirties from cancer as a result of the radiation and UV exposure, and Jane, her mentally-disabled daughter, is forced to fend for herself in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. After Jane becomes pregnant, she gives birth to a baby, but from what we see of it, it's severely deformed and [[TragicStillbirth not breathing]]. The film ends as Jane screams, implying that [[DownerEnding the residual radiation will prevent a true recovery for a very long time]]. Made all the worse by the fact that Ruth herself [[{{Foreshadowing}} predicted that this would happen thirteen years prior]] after breaking down in tears in her parents' fallout shelter.]]

* AFateWorseThanDeath: So, you survived the initial bombing? Too bad for you, because the aftermath is far worse than anything you could imagine.

* NothingIsScarier: We only see brief glimpses of what Jane's deformed, stillborn baby looks like, but what we do see isn't pretty. From Jane's horrified screams, our imagination can easily fill in the gaps.

-->'''Bob:''' Jesus Christ, they've done it! ... ... They've done it ... !

-->'''Bob:''' Of ''course'' it bloody scares me, but there's naught we can do about it, is there? [[WhileRomeBurns Might as well enjoy ourselves as much as we can!]]

The film depicts the terrifying consequences of [[UsefulNotes/NuclearWeapons nuclear warfare]] upon an unsuspecting world. Set mainly in [[OopNorth Sheffield]] during the height of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, ''Threads'' follows two families, the Becketts and the Kemps, amongst the other members of their town, as they deal with the absolute destruction of their society as a result of nuclear war with the Soviet Union (which at the time of release was [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar arguably more likely]] than it is today). The findings of the 1955 ''Strath Report'' noted that the UK was singularly vulnerable to a nuclear exchange due to the country's location, small size, high urban population, and dependency upon food imports.[[note]] [Assuming the use of ten ten-megaton hydrogen bombs, the minimum number the report thought needed to render the UK militarily useless in a war] "'''Blast and heat''' would be the dominant hazard, accounting for more than '''9 million fatal casualties against less than 3 million fatal casualties from radiation''' [of a total UK population of 51 million]. [...] On the basis of an attack with ten bombs we also reckon that, in addition to casualties, a '''further 13 million people''' - many of them suffering from radiation sickness - would be '''pinned down in their houses or shelters for at least a week'''. Evacuation would increase this number. [...] It would be quite '''unrealistic to hope to maintain anything like normal medical standards''' [...] the '''chief difficulty would be to distinguish those who, in addition to having received burns or other injuries, had also been exposed to a lethal dose of radiation and who would therefore ultimately die, and on whom it would be wasteful to expend scarce medical resources'''. [...] An attack upon the largest towns with ten hydrogen bombs would totally disrupt the industrial and commercial life of the country. Direct damage would be concentrated near the points of attack but these are likely to contain about one-third of the population and about half the industry. The normal communication and transport systems would come to a stop and the inability to move food, fuel, and material would also stop ordinary social and economic processes. The whole mechanism of money transactions would be disrupted. [...] Commercial '''stocks of food would suffer heavy loss'''. These losses would further deplete available supplies. In the period immediately after the attack the widespread contamination from fall-out would make internal '''distribution of whatever stocks were available virtually impossible''' in large parts of the country. People in areas of severe fall-out would, therefore, have to depend for a week or more on the food which they had stored in their shelters and homes at the time the bombs fell. [...] These considerations suggest that those who survive the attack would have to live for a '''considerable period under siege conditions''', and that the '''risk of starvation would be very real''' unless as substantial strategic reserve of food had been accumulated and distributed about the country in peace. It would, moreover, be essential that the '''Government should be in a position to take immediate and effective control over all food stocks and over their distribution'''. [...] The initial phase of attack would be succeeded by a critical period during which the surviving population would be struggling against disease, starvation, and the unimaginable psychological effects of nuclear bombardment. But provided what was left of the nation could get through that period and the survivors were able to devote their resources to the work of reorganising the country, they should eventually be able to produce a wide enough range of goods to meet ordinary civilian needs. The standard of living of the reduced population, althrough substantially lower than at present, would still be well above that of the greater part of the world. [...] there would be '''no hope of providing anything approaching peacetime standards of medical care''' [...] Research should be carried forward into methods of decontaminating water [even today there are no practical ones] [...] Plans should be made for the emergency distribution of limited supplies of drinking water pending the restoration of mains supplies [...] Plans should be prepared to enable the police and the courts to operate quickly and effectively under the conditions foreseen [...] In some parts of the country, particularly if several bombs fell in the same area, there '''might be complete chaos for a time and civil control would collapse'''. In such circumstances the '''local military commander would have to be prepared to take over''' from the civil authority responsibility for the maintenance of law and order and for the administration of Government. He would, if called upon, exercise his existing common-law powers to '''take whatever steps, however drastic, he considered necessary to restore order'''. [...] The '''ordinary machinery of the courts and prisons could not operate'''. Plans were made during the last war for '''"war zone courts" to function in areas which were involved in military operations'''. These plans should now be examined to see if a simple scheme could be worked out for the prompt dismissal of criminal cases." [[/note]] The film reflects this fairly accurate assessment of the UK's likely situation with what the uninformed might call a hopeless and pessimistic outset - ending with a medieval world where agriculture predominates, starvation is ever-present, modern medicine doesn't exist, martial law prevails, capital punishment is routine, children are undereducated savages, the ozone layer is gone, and Survival Of The Fittest is the only way to get by.

* ApocalypseHow: The movie ends somewhere between Planetary Societal Disruption and Societal Collapse (though the film mainly concentrates on its effects on Great Britain). Although the human population of the UK is reduced to medieval levels and the nuclear winter, fallout, and loss of modern infrastructure, education, and industry has made sustaining a viable population extremely difficult, they are able to maintain a handful of more primitive tools and devices. A montage of photos suggests that after about ten years post-war Britain is capable of generating a limited amount of electricity, and is able to manufacture and maintain Industrial Revolution-era technology. It's hinted that conditions may worsen into a Class 4 (Total Extinction), due to the effects of nuclear winter.