Review of Threads (1985) by James R — 05 Nov 2009

In 1984 towards the tail end of the cold war and at the height of Nuclear paranoia the BBC made this two hour TV movie. Threads makes the most of its BBC budget and actually appears as if it could have cost a lot more money.

Set in Sheffield the film focuses and a couples struggle to prepare for the arrival of a new baby. They spend there time planning for the future and making ready their new home while all the while in the background TV and Radio broadcasts report on growing conflict between USA and Russian forces in Iran.

The severity of this conflict escalates and cleverly looms like a dark shadow over what would otherwise just be a story of working class life in the north. The build up to the Bomb drop is very well handled, we see military presence build in the city streets and anti Nuclear demos taking place all over the place.

People prepare their homes as make shift bomb shelters with no real knowledge of what to protect themselves against. And then finally the bomb does drop and given the budget the effect of the explosion is done very effectively.

Its not Terminator 2 type Nuclear Bomb effects but its still well handled. After the bomb the second half of the film concentrates on the struggle to survive in the new world the war has created. People die from radiation poisoning and those that dont slowly die from starvation and disease.

Some die from the cold that the Nuclear winter causes. Interecut withinin the film is a Narration that gives off an almost documentary feel to the film. Not so much a how to survive guide as generally a message to just drive home the idea of how fucked we all are should this ever happen.

There are some niggles with this movie. Firstly post apocalyptic Sheffield doesnt look much grimmer than before the bomb went off. Maybe a more picturesque town would have driven the point of devestation home.

Secondly I couldnt work out why the new generation of teenagers that we see some 13 years after the war didnt speak properly. They would have still grown up around and been taught by people that still used the language.

But anyway these are pretty irrelevent gripes and Threads while to bleak to be enjoyable is a very well made film with a tight cautionary story, the like off which just isn't produced by the BBC anymore.