With their latest releaseAdolescencecontinuing to dominate theNetflixcharts globally, the production team at Warp Films have wasted no time in setting their next target- a fresh adaptation of a controversial, terrifying drama about nuclear war.
Released in 1984,Threadsis a British drama focusing on the impact of nuclear Armageddon on the citizens of Sheffield in England. The escalation in scope and stakes might make it seem an unusual fit for producers of social dramas and satires likeFour Lions, but the Sheffield-based studio relates to the film more than just geographically.
Mark Herbert, the CEO of Warp Films, revealed in a statement toThe Hollywood Reporterthat “Threadswas, and remains, an unflinchingly honest drama that imagines the devastating effects of nuclear conflict on ordinary people. This story aligns perfectly with our ethos of telling powerful, grounded narratives that deeply connect with audiences. Reimagining this classic film as a TV drama gives us a unique opportunity to explore its modern relevance.”
While the initial premise may seem a far cry from thegrounded, intimate focus of Adolescenceand a shift in scope from what the studio has explored in the past,Threadsis very much still an examination of social systems and complex relationships, just in a much more horrifying environment.
What made Threads so disturbing?
The film portrays the build-up, impact and aftermath of a fictional nuclear strike, but with as much authenticity and accuracy as was possible at the time, building on contemporary fears about the cold war’s nuclear arms race. The film wasn’t just about the physical toll the blast would take on cities and people, but like much contemporary post-apocalyptic media, also examined the societal breakdown that would come in the months and years following impact.
Director Mick Jackson was working in the BBC’s Science Features Department at the time of production, so he not only knew the technicalities of what could happen in the event of a nuclear strike, but also how to convincingly frame their story as a pseudo-documentary film. It’s an inescapably bleak account, harrowing because of its reality but also because of its incredibly detailed approach to telling its story. The scenes of nuclear devastation are horrifying but brief, with nearly an hour of both build-up and aftermath dedicated to examining the strains on relationships and society, before and after the bomb dropped.
After the immensepopularity of HBO’s miniseriesChernobyl, it’s clear that fears about the impact of nuclear radiation are still a topic that terrifies and resonates with audiences today.Chernobylshares plenty in common withThreads, particularly in its grisly scenes focused on the horrific physical toll of radiation exposure. Released two years before the 1986 Chernobyl disaster,Threadswas shockingly prescient in many of its images.
Adolescenceremains in the top 10 onNetflixaround the world, and has been met with acclaim from critics, filmmakers and even world leaders. In tackling an issue like nuclear war, Warp Films’s production will bring a lot of attention to the topic, and will hopefully avoid many of the pitfalls faced by the original film at the time of its release.
Threads Release Controversy and Legacy
As a BBC co-productionThreadsdebuted on the television network in 1984, where its initial premiere on September 23rd was dubbed “The Night Where Nobody Slept”, disturbing millions of British households with no idea what they were in for. Thanks in part to its documentary-style presentation employing similar film-making techniques to BBC’s live newscasts, many viewers found the film simply too real, and the film saw only three airings in the four decades to follow.
Regardless, the film was well-received by critics and excelled the following year atBritain’s BAFTA awards, winning for four of its seven nominations. In the decades since, critics have praised the film’s legacy and impact, with The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling it “The only film I have been really and truly scared and indeed horrified by” for the newspaper’s ‘the film that frightened me most’ series.
Despite its reputation and awards success,Threadswas never particularly widely reviewed beyond the UK, and as such any re-imagining of this story is likely to be far more widely-seen than the original, which eventually hit the US through belated broadcast re-runs and digital media releases.
Warp Studios’ adaptation comes at a time whenThreadsis enjoying unprecedented levels of popularity however, following its recent re-release and several prominent documentary productions examining its impact. Just last year in the lead-up to the film’s 40th anniversary, fans of the film successfully lobbied to find the identity of the iconic bandaged traffic warden who graces the poster, perhaps the most well-known image associated with the film.
It’s not yet confirmed who will write or direct the re-imagining ofThreadsnor whether familiar faces likeAdolescence’s Stephen Grahamwill appear, only that it will be a series, presumably expanding significantly on the 112-minute runtime of the original film.
Emily Feller, executive producer and CCO at Warp, says the series will offer “fresh interpretations” of the impact of nuclear war in a contemporary context, and that “an adaptation of the incredible film can reexamine its significance for then and for now — allowing us to engage with a modern audience.”
Since the BBC’s re-issuing ofThreadslast year, far more viewers have been sharing their thoughts on the disturbing film. For international audiences it is appropriately available to stream now onShudder, or viewers can explore some of thecontemporary post-apocalyptic films likely inspired by it.
