Horror films come in a range of guises from the dark psychological horror of films like the Shining to gore such as Saw, but there is not one horror film quite as horrific as Threads. This low budget British film, set in the Northern town of Sheffield in South Yorkshire is probably the most terrifying film that has ever been made, and its relevance rings true particularly during these troubled times we currently live in.
The film shows the lead up and aftermath of a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom. When the film was made, in 1983, the year of the Nato training exercise that nearly ended in disaster, operation Able Archer, this film looked set to become a stark reality.
The opening of the film sees a spider spinning it’s web – and opens with the line “In an urban society, everything connects. Each person’s needs are fed by the skills of many others. Our lives are woven together in a fabric. But the connections that make society strong also make it vulnerable”.
The reason that this film is so terrifying, is the fact that it could all easily be so real. During the 80’s that fear of nuclear war, and the breakdown of society afterwards was lodged firmly into the public psyche. But nowadays, during these troubled times, we have a new enemy that is picking away at the threads of society all across the world – and the opening line of the film becomes hugely relevant once again.
For the businesses across the cities such as https://www.etempa.co.uk/ who offer web design in Yorkshire, to the lives of normal families, to the staff in the government trying to deal with the crisis, there are stark similarities that can be seen – and if we are not careful, we are walking into the collapse of society as we know it.