I never saw Threads (for which, after reading your fascinating article, I am grateful) but I did see The Day After. I had completely forgotten about it until now and it all came back to me; how terrified I was when watching it and how uncertain everything seemed afterward. I was probably too young to see it but I was, even then, a die-hard scary movie fan and so went into this movie without batting an eye. So true; the scariest things really ARE the things that can really happen.