Redditors Picked 4 Most Terrifying Old Nuclear War Movies, and You Must Watch Them All

Watching a movie can be a devastating experience especially if it tells about something that everybody is even afraid to think about. In these terms, the most terrifying movies are definitely the ones based on true historical events. Or on the contrary, the ones that follow a story that everybody hopes will never happen in reality.

War movies are the ones that come to mind, but there’s nothing worse than nuclear war movies. And even though it can be tough to follow such stories, it’s important that everybody knows the possible aftermath of events in case they happen.

So Redditors picked 5 movies that serve the purpose.

1. Threads (1984)

This is the movie that is actually credited with being the first to even show nuclear winter. The story centers on two families living in the small town of Sheffield, England, who discover that nuclear war is closer to them than they thought.

As the relationship between NATO and the Soviet Union reaches its dramatic peak, it becomes clear that when it comes to war, no one is left out. And the most frightening thing about the movie is that, unlike all horror movies, this one is not imaginary. It's something that can happen every day of our lives, even now.

“Be warned, from a hardened horror movie fan, ‘Threads’ is the single most terrifying film I’ve ever seen. It literally fills you with existential dread by the end and makes you very conscious that what they show in the film could happen any moment still today,” Redditor mackerelscalemask said.

2. The Day After (1983)

Another movie that is called the scariest non-horror ever created is The Day After directed by Nicholas Meyer. The movie portrays a realistic portrayal of what could have happened to the world if there ever were a nuclear attack.

It goes through every stage of it, from the lead up to the strike itself, leaving a terrible mark on the heart of those who see it.

3. War Games (1983)

War Games gives a devastating portrayal of what can happen if reality is mixed with the world of games. Centering around a young computer wiz kid accidentally ending up connected to the supercomputer that has all the power over the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

As a game, he starts the escalation between the country and the Soviet Union, but turns out that he might have started the real war. Is there a way to stop what seems to be unstoppable?

“My wife had never seen this, but then we were both blown away by how good it was and how relevant it still is. I was very surprised, I thought it was going to just be a silly kids movie I had deified. Instead I think I enjoyed it more now than when I was younger,” Redditor SnooMacarons9618 said.

4. Testament (1983)

The movie is definitely one of those that ends with an extremely shocking aftertaste that you won't be able to forget for a long time. Testament focuses on the life of a suburban American family that is traumatized after a nuclear attack.

After the attack, it becomes impossible to connect with anyone outside of the small town where the main characters live, and they have only one goal left – to keep each other safe, no matter what. But that's just too difficult when the future of the nation is in jeopardy.