Like many renowned films, I am always late to the party.
I had heard whispers and seen the image above for many years not knowing exactly what Threads was.
Finally, as its 40th anniversary rolled around I thought it was time to see what it was all about, and well, this was quite something.
I can say, hand on heart, that this might be the most upsetting and harrowing film put to celluloid.
From the start, we have the vibe that something isn’t quite right. The country may be in recession, but wider pieces are moving around the board, as it becomes a despondent countdown to a nuclear blast that hits the northern city of Sheffield.
Hollywood often paints a disaster as an adventure, but Threads isn’t here to sugarcoat this type of disaster.
From the time two friends look up into the skyline of the city and utter the words ‘they actually did it’, the film careens into a post-apocalyptic nightmare. The blast is just the start, as the fallout sweeps the nation completely wiping out cities and life as we know it.
Across 14 years we follow what’s left of the Kemp family, in this dark wasteland as the survivors gallantly attempt to survive against surmounting odds. The government can’t save them, other countries, we suspect have suffered a similar fate, so the isolation and hopelessness really ring home. There are no knights in shining armour.
We often hear about nuclear deterrents (mainly from jumped-up politicians) as a way to protect countries, but if the devastation they wreak is anything near what’s on show here, why would you want to subject any other living being to this kind of suffering?
There are images here that you simply can’t unsee, whether it is the blast itself, the black skies which now inhabit the UK, rats eating human remains, burnt-out bodies smoking in the rubble of former towns – while I went in cold I feel like future audiences need a disclaimer.
Threads isn’t about supernatural monsters or slasher killers, everything that happens here is borne out of man’s own lust for destruction and power, but I reiterate – is it worth it?
While I don’t know the background of the film, setting it in Sheffield seemed like an inspired choice, as at this time it wasn’t as familiar to some, especially foreign audiences who may only know London as a major UK city. This story is grounded with everyday people, fighting a recession, going to the pub after work and having unexpected pregnancies, things a lot of people in the 80s could relate to.
Threads, albeit very 80s feels oddly timely today given the hullabaloo around nuclear, mainly from U.S and Russian leaders. The discontent of nations and foreign wars endure to this day, but given the access world leaders have to this type of destruction at the push of a button it feels quite unnerving.
You can’t really recommend Threads, but I can say this is one of the most important British films put to screen in many decades and it is an important, if horrifying watch.
A 40th-anniversary documentary is currently in the works to accompany a special Blu-Ray release later this year, and I for one can’t watch to find out more about the making of the film plus its genesis.
Threads demands your attention like a warning siren, just hope it’s not too late.
Bloody Flicks 