We chose the nuclear backdrop because it's a thriller. 12 days later, one of the reactors at the three mile island nuclear generating station in pennsylvania melted down. Radiation in the area around the plant increased only by a small amount. But the timing of the accident and the film conspired to make nuclear power seem terrifying. Craig mazon: As a child of the seventies and eighties, the spectre of nuclear blank was very intimidating and very frightening.