Threads

Play trailer

Threads

1984

1h 50m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

War

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

15 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Young lovers Ruth (Karen Meagher) and Jimmy (Reece Dinsdale) decide to get married after Ruth unexpectedly gets pregnant. But their quiet lives in Sheffield, England, are threatened when the Soviet Union and United States go to war. After a nuclear attack destroys a NATO base 20 miles from Sheffield, the town falls into chaos. Ruth and Jimmy are separated as the fallout spreads. Ruth must struggle to survive alone in the post-apocalyptic landscape.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

An urgent warning against nuclear conflict, Threads is a chilling hypothetical that achieves visceral horror with its matter-of-fact presentation of an apocalypse.

Read Critics Reviews

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

04/17/2019

It's the accumulation of horrific detail that appalls and truly scares us - not just the putrefying bodies but the severing of civilization's entire network, modern man trapped in modernity's ashes.

Go to Full Review

Sam Toy

Empire Magazine

04/17/2019

5/5

Threads is most successful by its merciless refusal of sentimentality - every second is played for realism; this is a documentary of a nightmare, as we are taken, via a young unmarried couple, through a nuclear strike on Sheffield circa 1984, and beyond.

Go to Full Review

Sean O'Neal

AV Club

04/17/2019

For all its grim hopelessness, Threads had a subtextual faith that people would understand all this before it was too late.

Go to Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Aug 23

7/10

Though it’s far from an engaging film (it’s ghastly and soul-crushing, however), it ought to be required viewing.

Go to Full Review

Stephen A. Russell

Orion's Shoulder (Substack)

May 25

A staggering telemovie first glimpsed in my youth, it scarred me forevermore with the nagging suspicion that our maddening desire to undo everything is predestined: a scorched earth policy scored into our collective prefrontal cortex.

Go to Full Review

Cameron Meier

MeierMovies.com

May 13

3.25/5

And above all, over its 112 minutes, it continues to emotionally escalate the inescapable tragedy. This visceral relentlessness is its cinematic modus operandi.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Kyle J

Nov 12

I think about this film at least three times a week. No other film has haunted me, devastated me, or infested my mind with dread like this film. It pulls no punches, it hides nothing, and makes you hope you’ll be lucky enough to die in the initial blasts. God help you if you’re a survivor, or worse, one of their descendants.

See more

Nick M.

@5BaggersOnly Nov 9

Maybe the most devastating movie I’ve ever watched … horrific but should be watched by more people. Not sure I’d care to make it to a shelter if we end up seeing nuclear war.

See more

Bruce M

@BruceMc Sep 21

An absolutely tremendous document depicting the aftermath of nuclear war. Brilliant script and direction, editing and sound design are unparalleled. A truly haunting experience.

See more

Arid S

Sep 8

Well this was filmed in 1984, taking this into account in 2025, this still is a masterpiece, I can't imagine the sheer shock this would of caused people watching this on the BBC nearly 41 years ago.

See more

Maka M

Aug 13

Depicts how the common folk will suffer from leaders stupid decision ending in nuclear war, highly relevant and will probably be even more relevant in the future.

See more

Aug 8

I think everyone should watch this. It's a sobering docu-drama and makes you realise how utterly pointlessly fu***** we would be as a world if we inflicted nuclear war on the world. Really honest, sobering and engaging film. some of the scenes are absolutely wonderfully shot and really interesting, We should sit down every leader in a room and force them to watch it. This never rang so true. 'the war after nuclear war would be fought with sticks and stones' - A.Einstein

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Mick Jackson

Director

Reece Dinsdale

Jimmy Kemp

Karen Meagher

Ruth Beckett

Rita May

Mrs. Kemp

David Brierly

Mr Bill Kemp

Nicholas Lane

Michael Kemp

Eye in the Sky

95%

82%

Eye in the Sky

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Eye in the Sky

Escape From Mogadishu

95%

87%

Escape From Mogadishu

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Escape From Mogadishu

Zero Dark Thirty

91%

80%

Zero Dark Thirty

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Zero Dark Thirty

Mosul

83%

82%

Mosul

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Mosul

Number 24

100%

95%

Number 24

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Young lovers Ruth (Karen Meagher) and Jimmy (Reece Dinsdale) decide to get married after Ruth unexpectedly gets pregnant. But their quiet lives in Sheffield, England, are threatened when the Soviet Union and United States go to war. After a nuclear attack destroys a NATO base 20 miles from Sheffield, the town falls into chaos. Ruth and Jimmy are separated as the fallout spreads. Ruth must struggle to survive alone in the post-apocalyptic landscape.

Director: Mick Jackson
Producer: Mick Jackson
Screenwriter: Barry Hines
Production Co: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Western-World Television Inc., Nine Network Australia
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller, War
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 10, 2018
Runtime: 1h 50m

Most Popular at Home Now