‘Threads’ (1984) Reminds Us That Dying in a Nuclear Apocalypse Isn’t Fun
Threads
Rather than make a nuclear conflaration look fun, the TV movie “Threads” reminds us we’ll suffer from it, if not die immediately. Bold!
Practically speaking, Mick Jackson’s Threads is not a horror movie, but many (including myself) would say it’s at least on the outskirts of the genre. While many remember the Cold War as a series of scares and propaganda triumphs (such as the fall of the Berlin Wall), “Threads” reminds us what an apocalyptic hellscape would be like. And, although the movie is dark and depressing, it’s also oddly refreshing to see an apocalyptic scenario without things like zombies, cyborgs, vampires, or god knows what else, making it a bit more “fun” for viewers. I think sometimes we need to get a glimpse of horror without the silly tropes (though let’s be real, some aspects of films even like The People Under the Stairs actually could happen, as unseemly as they appear).
Now, obviously, real life is also letting us view such scenarios, with Russia’s current attack on Ukraine, as well as other wars and assorted hellscapes created over the years (in the name of progress, freedom, and peace). So reality itself is reminding us what horror looks like, too, and it feels a bit odd talking about a film being scary when you can already see horrifying scenes on the news. So, with this kind of factual backdrop, how can one view a movie like Threads?
Does it merely distract from real issues, as we might accuse sillier films of doing? Is it even appropriate to focus attention on fictional depictions of deadly attacks, or is it a pathetic distraction? Personally, I think these are odd, specialized issues that pop culture writers don’t often seem to address, and I hope to be a bit sensitive to them as I proceed (though not so over-sensitive that I completely de-value powerful films such as these).
What “Threads” Can Tell Us About Today’s World
Honestly, Threads is one of those movies that I didn’t feel as much as I perhaps should have, and I don’t think I can fully convey why. Perhaps more horrifying than the movie is the fact that, for the most part, it didn’t really move me. I know it has impacted others, and they recount it as being among the scariest movies they have seen. However, it just didn’t rile me up or have me recoiled in fear. That’s when I realized I was simply feeling jaded with a lot of these apocalyptic scenarios. I was desensitized.
Now, obviously, that makes my intake of TV shows and films look bad, but I actually still think those would be a scapegoat. I also generally don’t feel comfortable pinning so much blame on the arts and entertainment. After all, a movie like Threads never really invented the problems it depicts. It only highlights them. The fact that I felt jaded likely has more to do with the broader life circumstances.
As I watched Threads, I am guessing I was thinking, “Well, we won’t be able to entertain or talk our way out of this situation.” And that is exactly the problem with authoritarianism and the dangers of nuclear weapons. After so many decades of being bombarded with all of this pro-war propaganda and artificially inflated scandals, it only makes sense to hit the snooze alarm every so often. At the very least, the non-stop panic alarm gets old, annoying, clichéd, and possibly even stops serving its purpose anymore, much like a car alarm that people ignore. Rather than spring to the vehicle or the motorists’ aid, many think “Man, that’s annoying!”
The Good Things About “Threads”
If you can’t tell, this is by no means a conventional movie review. In fact, I’ll merely mention the main actors’ names here: Karen Meagher, Reece Dinsdale, and David Brierly. That name-dropping out of the way, I might as well discuss some aspects of Threads that I remember appreciating. To begin with, I appreciate that the main characters are all quite detached from the political aspects of nuclear conflagration. There is a confluence of forces that they have little control over, do not fully understand, and wish to ignore. And who could blame them?
Also, in an odd sort of way, I felt out of place watching the whole thing. I live in (and, to some extent, with) the United States, not Britain. So there was already some comfortable distance between myself and the characters and events immediately depicted in the film. However, one thing becomes crystal clear: The social or political positions of the characters would no longer matter after the nuclear bombs go off.
That’s very similar to how it would be in the United States. There would be reduced interest in “Red States” vs. “Blue States” or petty debates in Washington. Would the Central Intelligence Agency even matter, by a certain point, if the mushroom clouds were large enough? And, on that note, if you watch Threads, I urge you to also watch real footage of various nuclear tests, maybe try to remember the cute little codenames. Also, remember how childish the arms race was, with the USSR’s launch of Sputnik inspiring the US to intensify its own efforts to build up its war technology. Also, it should be mentioned that a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union would have been just as devastating as one inflicted by them.
Could a Nuclear Conflagration Lead to Fun?
Obviously, we may look back upon the Cold War “for historical reasons”, but that’s not all. We can still find some relic ideas from that era prominently displayed today. But, again, it’s fortunate that “Threads” dared to strip out the entertainment aspects, just leaving us with the horror. Obviously, a spy aspect would prove attractive to filmmakers and moviegoers, but not every movie or TV show has to be attractive, and not everything should.
That being said, there’s still nothing wrong with looking at art that makes the apocalypse more palatable. After all, humor would become a struggle once such an event occurs…and that pretty much does seem inevitable at some point. But by all means, if the proverbial phoenix can occasionally rise from the nuclear ashes and wink at the camera, we might as well let it. Tragicomedy has its place, too.
What are your thoughts on Threads? Let us know in the comments!
Episode two of Wheel of Time felt like the beginning of a long journey. Stories are unfolding, lives are changing, and blood is spilling.
Let’s discuss.
The story
We begin this episode in the past with Elayne’s mother, Queen Morgase. It turns out her rise to the throne was a bit, shall we say, cutthroat. So when she shows up at the White Tower, Siuan is concerned.
She might have reason to be, too.
Meanwhile, Rand, Egwene, Moiraine, Lan and Aviendha are in the Spine of The World. As they travel through some of the most breathtaking lands I have ever seen on a TV show, Egwene is plagued with nightmares. We think at first that’s just her trauma working itself through her system. But we soon find out that it might not be that straightforward.
Finally, Perrin returns home to heal after his hand is almost cut in half. But when he gets there he finds the town has been infested by Children of The Light. And they’re looking for him.
What worked
There was something heartwarming in this episode about political espionage and choking religious persecution. And that is Elayne’s relationship with her family.
I have consumed a lot of fantasy content with royal families. And I have never once heard a princess call her mother ‘Mum’. I’ve never seen royal siblings get along. And I have sure as hell never seen a princess have a good relationship with her step-parent.
This was refreshing. Even though Queen Morgase is kind of a horrible person she seems like a good mother. And that’s an unexpected delight.
Of course, this is just one storyline among many. And while this can sometimes be overwhelming, in this case it wasn’t.
I’ll be honest, some of these storylines are going to drag for me. I know this because I’ve read some of the Wheel of Time books and I have an idea that not all the characters exactly pique my interest.
No one likes all the characters. No one likes all the storylines. While I am here for the political espionage between Queen Morgase and Siuan, not everyone likes it. While others might be fascinated with Selene trying to win Rand back, I couldn’t care less.
Having multiple storylines keeps everyone’s attention better. So long as things don’t get out of hand. Things can easily get out of hand. But this seems to be managed well.
So far.
What didn’t work
As I mentioned above, I’m not thrilled with Rand’s story at this point. And while it’s fine to not like a storyline when there are this many to choose from, it’s not fantastic that the one I like the least is the one involving our two main characters. And anytime we were with the team at the Spine of The World, the only thing that brought me joy was Moirain’s hat. It reminded me of Stockard Channing’s hat in Practical Magic.
The problem is that Rand is Charlie Brown with controversial magical powers. He is boring, serious, and pessimistic.
And yes, I understand that he has a heavy emotional burden and he’s the Dragon Reborn and that’s quite taxing and all. But let’s be fair, there isn’t a single person in this show that doesn’t have a heavy burden. And most of them manage to be fun occasionally.
All that being said, this episode of Wheel of Time did exactly what it needed to do. It set up conflicts at each of the three locations. It established emotional ties between the characters and the events. And it established goals for everyone.
This was, in short, a solid episode. Not groundbreaking, not mind-blowing or life changing. It was simply good. It was entertaining and moved the plot forward.
Well done.
(3.5 / 5)
Wheel of Time is back for season three. There are mixed feelings regarding this. Last season, there were some serious pacing issues. And some serious sticking to the book’s storyline issues. But we’re two seasons in, and we don’t give up so easily. So let’s dive into episode one, To Race the Shadow.
By the way, I highly recommend watching this episode with the subtitles on. You’ll see why.
The story
We begin this episode with Liandrin facing a trial of sorts for her rampant betrayal. She does her best to gaslight her Aes Sedai sisters into thinking that Siuan Sanche is the real traitor.
When that doesn’t work, she reveals how many Black Aes Sedai have actually infiltrated the tower.
Spoiler, it’s a lot.
In the aftermath, our whole team gathers to drink and enjoy one night of relaxation before they head out to the Tear to form an army for Rand. All is going well until they’re attacked by myriad creatures and a sentient axe.
What worked
This episode was long. It had a run time of an hour and eleven minutes. And a lot of that run time was spent in heavy dialog scenes.
Fortunately, these were well-done scenes.
If you’re going to have a lot of talking scenes, there are good ways and bad ways to do it. Last season, we saw lots of examples of the bad way to do it. But this episode did it well. For one thing, other things were going on while conversations were taking place. The characters are drinking, playing games, walking through an interesting city. And the scenes themselves didn’t stretch out. They weren’t repetitive. We heard what the character had to say, then we moved on.
It was also nice that the point of these scenes wasn’t just info dumps. We had character development. We had romantic interactions. We had plot development and foreshadowing.
Overall, this episode felt like what it was. A moment of calm before a storm.
Taking a step back, I’d be remiss if I didn’t address the fight scene at the start of the episode. Because it was epic.
The magic looked amazing. The martial arts that went along with it looked fantastic. The costumes were beautiful. It was just incredibly fun to watch.
More than that, it was emotional. We lost some characters in that fight that were important. And it was clearly emotionally shattering for many of our characters, who found themselves betrayed by people they trusted.
So many of them.
It was a great way to open the season.
What didn’t work
Despite that, this episode wasn’t without its flaws.
First off, there were a lot of dialog scenes. And they were good scenes, as I’ve already discussed. But it was one after another after another. And when your episode is, again, an hour and eleven minutes, it’s maybe a little much to have so much chit-chat. Couldn’t some of these conversations, important as they were, have been moved to maybe another episode?
Finally, I want to talk about Egwene’s travel through the arches.
I feel like maybe there were some deleted scenes here. Because there must have been more to that visit than what we saw, right?
We could have seen Egwene battle Rand. That would have been badass and emotionally devastating. We could have seen her with a quiet life with Rand back home at the Two Rivers. We could have seen anything except for the quick clip of Rand in a bloody river, followed by Egwene being shoved back out in a bloody shift.
Bad job. But at least it wasn’t an extended scene of Moiraine collecting bathwater, and then taking a bath while looking sad. If we’d started this season with another scene like that, it might have broken my brain.
Amazon dropped the first three episodes at once. So we’ll be back soon to talk about episode two. See you then.
(4 / 5)
Early 2000s is a special era for the industry. It accepts the cheesiness and corniness of movie making, in turn producing some gems in their own right. Eight Legged Freaks starring David Arquette and young Scarlet Johanson is a horror comedy about giant spiders who overtake a small town. As crazy as that premise sounds, the movie surprisingly has a ton of heart and is super entertaining. Let’s review, shall we?
Plot
We start Eight Legged Freaks with a shot of toxic waste spilling into the water supply of Joshua, a spider farm owner. He is friends with Mike, one of our protagonists, who is a science geek and a spider enthusiast. Mike notices something quite right upon visiting Joshua, but no one takes him seriously. We are then introduced to the rest of the crew. Mike’s mother Samantha, the town sheriff, is too busy chasing Ashley, his sister, who is dating the town mayor’s son Bret (something Samantha does not approve of). We also have Chris, who returns to the town to save his father’s legacy in the town mines. He has opposition from Wade, Bret’s father, who wants to use the mines for his business ventures. Lots of drama going on that will only get juicier once the spiders get loose.
The creepy crawlies quickly dispose of Joshua and make their grand appearance after Ashley rejects Bret’s advances, abandoning him in the middle of a desert. A glorious chase sequence ensues as the spiders make their way towards the town, wreaking havoc on its residents. In a true horror fashion (which the movie acknowledges), it takes some convincing from Mike and then from Samantha for the town to take the threat seriously. The tongue-in-cheek style of narrative adds the comedy aspect to a movie that would otherwise burn out fairly quickly.
The remaining characters hide out in a shopping mall as it’s the only somewhat sturdy building in the area. This doesn’t last long as the spiders break in, forcing them to run through the mines. Their resources to fight the creepy crawlies off are limited as the methane gas doesn’t allow them to use firearms. Such conditions require resourceful thinking from Chris, who uses perfume to fend off the leader of the spider group and save himself during the climax of the movie.
Character dynamics are not forgotten once the action kicks in. We have Chris confessing his long-term feelings for Samantha which she knew all along, which provided some comedic relief. Bret also reunites with Ashley and apologises for being an asshole. Mike finally gets the appreciation he deserves as his knowledge saves the townsfolk more than once during the whole ordeal.
We end the movie with the town’s radio show person telling the story as an urban legend during his segment. This brings it into question – how much of it happened the way he said it did? We can only guess…
Overall thoughts
Eight Legged Freaks is a fun creature feature with some self-aware commentary on genre tropes that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The acting is good, the pacing fitting and the characters are likeable enough for you to want them to make it through. Definitely a must watch, if you don’t suffer from arachnophobia, that is.
(5 / 5)