Disturbing truth behind 'scariest film ever made' that's streaming for free

A 40-year-old film depicting the effect of nuclear war on an English city is still considered one of the most disturbing ever to be made - and it's now available to stream for free.

Released in 1984, Threads follows two families in Sheffield as they navigate nuclear fallout after tensions bubble over between the Soviet Union and US. It depicts the physical effects of nuclear weapons and the subsequent societal impact in unflinching detail, securing its status as one of the 'scariest films ever made' according to viewers.

The film was broadcast on the BBC last week for the first time in more than a decade, with an introduction from the film's producer and director Mick Jackson also airing. In it, he shed light on how the film came to be including a horrifying admission about one of the film's most unsettling details.

Throughout Threads we hear government announcements about what to do in the event of a nuclear war breaking out. Delivered in a deadpan male voice, the soundbites discuss steps to take in worst case scenarios.

One particularly chilling announcement talks about how to label and store a body if somebody dies in your 'fallout room'. It goes on to share what to do if the body is in your house for more than five days, recommending to "bury the body for the time being in a trench or cover it with earth and mark the spot of the burial."

While many believed the announcements to be a fictional part of the film, Jackson revealed they are actually real. "The government announcements you hear in this movie are real," he confessed.

"You may be familiar with them from watching Panorama: If the Bomb Drops. Somebody got hold of these things which were pre-recorded and pre-made, that were only to be used in the immediate run-up to nuclear war.

"They're chilling. The narrator is saying in a very bland voice, 'If someone dies in your house, put them in a plastic sack and number it and name it and put it in a place in the garden and mark it with a stick'. That's chilling."

Jackson went on to share that he shot the film for the BBC in just 17 days and on a small budget of £400,000. Despite its humble budget and hurried production, it has a rare perfect score of 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and has multiple accolades behind it; it was up for seven BAFTA nominations in 1985, taking home four of them: Best Single Drama; Best Design; Best Film Cameraman and Best Film Editor.

Threads is now available to stream free on BBC iPlayer