Actor from ‘one of the most depressing and scary films ever made' on why she won’t be watching it on TV tonight
An actor from a film that has been traumatising viewers for years has revealed the reason she likely won’t be watching it on TV this evening.
This comes despite the fact that the film is airing for just the fourth time ever.
Me personally, if I starred in a beloved film with 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes I’d be watching it at any given opportunity.
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Given the specific subject matter of this movie though, you can imagine the first watch to try spot yourself was probably enough.
The movie in question is a harrowingly accurate depiction of a post-apocalyptic Sheffield in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.
Check out the trailer here:
The film in question is called Threads, and is a movie that has been traumatising viewers for years.
One fan on Reddit said: “Watched this about 15 years ago and have never been able to watch it again. That being said, everyone should watch it.”
Another said: “Jesus, I'm going to need counselling. I saw this when I was a kid, I think I was 15, it had a limited run on cable after it aired in the UK.
“This is during a time when everybody was super fearful of a US and Soviet nuclear exchange. I literally lost sleep over this movie.
“It's not overly graphic. It's just filled with such despair and hopelessness. I got to rewatch it.”
Helen Marsh is a Sheffield local who appeared in the film.
She told The Star, a local newspaper in Sheffield, that being a teenager in the 80s wasn’t easy, and this was a fear this film tapped into.
She said: “The Thatcher era was well underway: miners' strikes, high unemployment, industry and communities decimated, and the constant threat of nuclear war forever in the press.
“Government leaflets of how to survive a nuclear war were being pushed through everyone’s door, and films like Threads, and The American version The Day After were being shown on our TVs.”
She went on to reveal, however, that she would likely not be watching the film this evening.
She said: “I am not sure if I’ll watch this tonight, probably not…. It’s a film that exposes our delicate fabric of life, the insanity of human nature, and the very real potential of self annihilation, while we all bury our heads in the sand.”
The film will be airing for only the fourth time ever.
The previous three air dates have all had significance, with the first airing in 1984 being followed up the previous year to line up with the 40th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The third and last air date was in 2003 in line with a Cold War special on BBC Four.
Threads airs on BBC 4 tonight at 10.20pm.
Michael Slavin