Amazon Prime Video is wishing everyone a happy apocalypse this month as all eight episodes of Fallout season 1 hit the streaming servic e. But even if this show is a breakout hit that gets an immediate second season order, it could be two years or longer before new episodes arrive. So if you’re looking for more postapocalyptic stories, then you’ve come to the right place.
However, the thing that you need to remember is that there’s almost nothing else that shares the exact tone of Fallout, which can be really funny without slipping into farce. Regardless, some of our picks clearly inspired the Fallout games and the TV show. And you can see for yourself as we run down the five great movies that you need to see if you like Fallout.
Six-String Samurai (1998)
A lot of the quirky humor from Fallout may have come from Six-String Samurai, a cult classic film that envisions a nuclear apocalypse in the ’50s before shifting to an alternate present. In the aftermath of Armageddon, Elvis reigned as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Lost Vegas. Now, the King is dead, and Buddy (Jeffrey Falcon) thinks he’s the guy who should inherit the throne.
As Buddy makes his way across the wasteland, he picks up a sidekick whom he calls the Kid (Justin McGuire). Buddy also discovers that he has a nemesis, Death (Stephane Gauger, with Lex Lang as the voice of Death), who has already killed most of his rivals for Elvis’ crown. There can only be one King, and it’s probably going to come down to these two.
Watch Six-String Samurai on YouTube.
The Road (2009)
The Road is one of the best postapocalyptic movies, but it shares none of the lighthearted qualities of Fallout. It’s more like The Last of Us than anything else, but it’s a truly griping story about a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son, (Kodi Smit-McPhee), whose names are never mentioned. When the film begins, the family has already lost the boy’s mother (Charlize Theron), and the father notably keeps his last bullets to shoot himself and his son if they are ever captured by the gangs of cannibals that wander the wasteland.
Out of all of the movies on this list, The Road easily has the most impressive cast, which also includes Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker, Michael K. Williams, and Garret Dillahunt. But in this world, the only ones that the boy and his father can truly trust are each other.
Rent or buy The Road on Prime Video.
Turbo Kid (2015)
Almost every postapocalyptic story is set in the future. Turbo Kid flips that trope by setting its story in an alternate version of 1997 where water is scarce and The Kid (Munro Chambers) would rather be alone. That’s why The Kid is so unnerved when he meets Apple (Laurence Leboeuf), a young woman who aggressively tries to befriend him and simply won’t take no for an answer. Apple eventually wears The Kid’s defenses down and they genuinely become close.
Veteran character actor Michael Ironside is the most recognizable member of the cast. He plays Zeus, a warlord who captures Apple. To save her, The Kid takes on the persona of his comic book idol, Turbo Rider. But he’ll have to fight his way through Zeus’ best warriors before discovering a shocking secret about both Apple and Zeus.
Watch Turbo Kid on Prime Video.
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
A pre-Miami Vice Don Johnson stars in A Boy and His Dog, a postapocalyptic story that is set in the year 2024. Compared to this film, maybe things aren’t so bad in the present. Johnson plays Vic, a teenager who is accompanied by his telepathic dog, Blood, (voiced by Tim McIntire). Vic and Blood don’t necessarily have the closest relationship, and they’re very transactional with each other. Blood finds women for Vic to sexually satisfy himself, while Vic provides the food that Blood can’t get alone.
Fallout‘s developers have cited A Boy and His Dog as an inspiration for the games, as well as for the franchise’s beloved canine companion, Dogmeat. In the context of this film, Vic seems more than willing to abandon Blood just so he can keep having sex with Quilla June Holmes (Susanne Benton) and potentially the other female members of her underground civilization. But Vic is going to have to question his priorities before the end of the story.
Watch A Boy and His Dog on Freevee.
The Book of Eli (2010)
Gladiator 2‘s Denzel Washington leads the cast of The Book of Eli as the title character. The book in question is something that many people are very familiar with, but in this postapocalyptic hellscape, there’s only one copy left and it’s in Eli’s possession. Eli believes that the book holds the key to restoring the world, and he’s willing to fight and kill to protect it during his quest.
Warlord Bill Carnegie (Gary Oldman) also wants the book, but for entirely different reasons. Carnegie understands that the book offers him a way to further dominate his people and expand his influence. One of Carnegie’s followers, Solara (Mila Kunis), was sent to seduce Eli. But instead, she becomes his companion on an increasingly dangerous journey as Carnegie and his men close in on them.
Watch The Book of Eli on The Roku Channel.
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