10 Movies To Watch If You Like The Fallout Games

Though Fallout 76was a major disappointment to fans and critics alike, that doesn’t take away the Falloutgames’ significance as a franchise. Because like BioShockand Elder Scrolls, Fallout and its sequels offered a unique RPG experience that came with interesting moral dilemmas.

Set in a post-apocalyptic version of America with a retro 1950s aesthetic, each Fallout game follows a different protagonist who leaves the protection of their underground vaults and wanders the nuclear wasteland. While the games were arguably influenced by the computer game Wasteland, there were movies that inspired the Fallout franchise as well including the ones listed below.

10 Blade Runner

While Blade Runner’s setting is more dystopian than post-apocalyptic, its ethical debate on robotics can be seen in the Fallout games. Particularly Fallout 4, which focuses on Synths (or Androids as they were called in Fallout 3).

Created by the Institute organization, these artificial humans serve as the source of conflict between two factions in Fallout 4 which the main character gets involved in. There’s even a Synth detective named Nick Valentine who emulates the retro Noir style in Blade Runner. Now even though Noir was more apparent in 1940s movies, it was still present in the early ‘50s.

9 The Postman

In the late 1990s, there were two post-apocalyptic movies that starred Kevin Costner and bombed upon release. But while age has been kind to the first of these, which was Waterworld, the same cannot be said of the second film known as The Postman.

Yet The Postman is worth mentioning in relation to Fallout: New Vegas as it features a courier of sorts getting caught between warring groups in a post-apocalyptic America. Plus, the Holnist group in The Postman have similar autocratic beliefs to Caesar’s Legion in New Vegas. There’s even a dam in both that plays a significant role.

8 Six-String Samurai

A major staple of the Fallout games is the various pop-culture references they have, though some are more obscure than others. Fallout: NewVegas, for example,has the New Vegas Samurai trophy which is a reference to the cult film Six-String Samurai.

But this seemingly insignificant reference becomes more relevant as Six-String Samurai and New Vegas share many similarities in terms of their plot and settings. For instance, both take place in an alternate America that was ravaged by nuclear war yet 1950s cultural elements still exist. They also have a protagonist trying to get to Las Vegas while dodging gangs and cannibals.

7 The Book Of Eli

Among the 2010s post-apocalyptic movies, The Book of Eliis rarely brought up these days as it barely left an impression and was quickly forgotten by the masses. But what caught the attention of many gamers at the time was the movie’s visuals and plot resembling Fallout 3.

This is largely due to The Book of Eli’s muted colors, which are similar to Fallout 3’s graphics. Additionally, both are about one man traveling across a post-nuclear war America. Yet the motivations differ with Fallout 3’s protagonist looking for his father while The Book of Eli’s titular character is trying to deliver a book.

6 Them! (1954)

It cannot be stated enough that the Fallout games borrow a lot of imagery from the 1950s. Particularly science-fiction films, such as the 1954 classic Them! Made during the Cold War, the movie’s plot is about giant ants that have been mutated by atomic radiation and now pose a threat to the American populace.

Though the premise sounds ridiculous now, it came from fearful speculations on how atomic energy could impact the environment. So naturally, the Fallout franchise took this concept a step further by making giant ants a natural enemy that the player’s character encounters in the nuclear wasteland starting with Fallout 2.

5 Damnation Alley

Apart from giant ants, another type of mutated creature that appears in the Fallout games are giant scorpions. Referred to as Radscorpions, they debuted in the first Fallout game with several sub-species appearing in the sequels.

But Fallout wasn’t the first work of fiction to include giant scorpions in a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland as there was a lesser-known 1970s movie that had the same concept. Known as Damnation Alley, it’s loosely based on a book by notable science-fiction author Roger Zelazny. The story is about a group of Air Force officers that travel across a desolated America to find the source of a mysterious transmission.

4 Fido

Following Shaun of the Dead’s success, there were other similar zombie-related comedies that came out. While some like Zombieland managed to get a sequel, others like Fido didn’t. Though Fido doesn’t specify when it takes place, it imagines a world with domesticated zombies.

This is mainly done through special collars that repress the zombies’ natural hunger for human flesh, much like the wristbands in the recent Disney Channel movie Zombies. In relation to Fallout, the zombies in Fido partially resemble the zombie-like Ghouls that appear in the games. Plus, there’s the 1950s aesthetic and a war that happened prior to the events in both works.

3 Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

If there’s one movie franchise that many people have compared the Fallout games to, it’s the Mad Maxseries. Starting with the 1979 film, these Australian post-apocalyptic movies feature the titular antihero who wanders a wasteland full gangs and cults.

Though where the series arguably got its distinct style was Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, which is referenced in the Fallout games. For example, the first Fallout game has a dog resembling the one Max had in The Road Warrior that the player’s character can befriend. Even Max’s signature outfit and gun from that movie can be obtained in the games.

2 A Boy And His Dog

While Mad Max may have popularized the post-apocalyptic genre in cinema, there were predecessors including A Boy and His Dog. Based on the novella by Harlan Ellison, another recognized science-fiction author, it’s a 1970s coming-of-age story about the title characters.

However, this classic scenario comes with a twist: it takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and the dog is telepathic. So it’s easy to see how this may have influenced Mad Max and the Fallout games. After all, dogs are an optional companion with the nickname ‘Dogmeat’ which is used as an insult by the main character of A Boy and His Dog. 

1 Radioactive Dreams

Yet another sci-fi film that has generally gone unnoticed, Radioactive Dreams came out in the mid-1980s and has now developed a cult following. But what’s more interesting is how many similar elements this movie has to the Fallout games as a whole.

For instance, both focus on characters that have been isolated in fallout shelters who decide to venture out into the nuclear wasteland populated by gangs and mutants. They also have 1950s Noir elements, since Radioactive Dreams’ main characters grew up reading detective fiction. Additionally, there’s a minor character who wears a device that’s similar to a Pip-Boy.