Threads – Tag Null (TV Movie 1984)

Threads – Tag Null: Directed by Mick Jackson. With Karen Meagher, Reece Dinsdale, David Brierly, Rita May. The effects of a nuclear holocaust on the working class city of Sheffield, England and the eventual long-term effects of nuclear war on civilization.

“Iu0026#39;ve always said that no film can really scare you as an adult as films scared you when you were a kid. My benchmark for that being watching u0026#39;The Omenu0026#39; on video when i was about 13, nothing has ever quite lived up to it in the effect it had on me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRewatching u0026#39;Threadsu0026#39; a while back makes me change my mind.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI remember first seeing it in Ireland on the BBC when I guess i was about 14. Even in Ireland, a neutral country, anxiety about nuclear war was a big thing when we were kids in the 80u0026#39;s. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026#39;Threadsu0026#39; does really get to you, its very unsettling and disturbing. Unlike fictional horror films, u0026#39;Threadsu0026#39; is hugely different in one respect – itu0026#39;s real. This is what would happen, you canu0026#39;t distance yourself by saying itu0026#39;s make believe. There are still thousands of nuclear weapons armed and primed to be launched within minutes, 24 hours a day, everyday. Now we even have a country, the US, that says itu0026#39;s ready to use them, even if no one else does first.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRewatching it, the dated production values donu0026#39;t detract from the filmu0026#39;s power. It seems to bring the film even closer to the ordinary and the everyday. Itu0026#39;s the filmu0026#39;s ordinariness that makes it so viscerally disturbing – Hollywood special effects would at least have allowed you to distance yourself from it somewhat. In fact the film is more realistic for not having them. Someone else mentioned the scene of the woman in the shopping centre urinating where she stood out of pure terror as she sees the bomb go off a mile or two away from her – thats the scene that stayed with me the most too.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIts depressing to think in 2004 we are living in a world where politicians are again talking about u0026#39;winnableu0026#39; wars using nuclear weapons. In many things in life you get a second chance if you make mistakes, I donu0026#39;t think nuclear weapons use will give us the luxury of finding out afterwards was it all worth it. Watch u0026quot;Threadsu0026#39; and see if you think u0026#39;winnableu0026#39; nuclear war is something you want to give yourself or your children.”