The Best Post-Apocalyptic Movies Like Fallout
The Fallout series is all about trying to make it in the post-apocalyptic world.
Where lawlessness and violence rule the land and help is not really an option. To survive these conditions people must either band together or go full lone wolf.
Here is a list of 15 movies in the same vein as Fallout to give you that doomsday fix.
15. Six String Samurai
Six String Samurai Official Trailer
In this film, nuclear war strikes the US after Russia starts World War 3. This attack leaves most of the country uninhabitable.
With Washington DC gone, what remains of the government commands from an area called Lost Vegas and is ruled by a man named King Elvis.
The story fasts forwards 40 years later following a man named Buddy who saves an unnamed kid from a gang, bringing the two together. Buddy heads out for Lost Vegas in hopes of becoming the new King after news spreads that King Elvis has died.
This film has a ton of Fallout influences in it, from the post-nuclear settings to the offbeat humor, it even has a town literally named Fallout that they travel through. It easy to see this film’s influence on the Fallout video game series.
Buddy and the Kid are on route to Lost Vegas to become the new Kings of Rock and Roll.
Bombed out buildings with a dash of a sombrero.
14. The Survivalist
Survivalist Official Trailer
The Survivalist is a movie about a man who lives off the land after a depopulation epidemic has killed off most of the world. The man lives in a small cabin in the woods, hunting for food, growing vegetation, and protecting his property from outsiders. One day he finds two women outside his home and strikes an agreement with them sparing their lives. As time goes on their relationship changes from business to personal and they band together against a group of raiders hunting them down. This film has an awesome way of storytelling and truly captures the setting of life after the fall of civilization. Survival in this world comes by any means necessary and placing your own life before anyone else, including family.
The Survivalist played by Martin McCann.
The two females of the story Milja and her mother Katherine.
13. Zombieland
Zombieland Official Trailer
Zombieland is a fun and over-the-top zombie film with an amazing cast. It features several young teens as they fight to survive the zombie apocalypse across America. They meet Woody Harrelson’s character Tallahassee along the way and with him comes a new sense of family. The cameos in this film are just another reason why everything stays feeling light and it never takes itself too seriously. These misfits are exactly the kind of people who would survive the zombie hordes and that’s why we cheer for them every step of the way. This movie shares in Fallout’s wasteland vibes and emphasizes trust among few while still taking a minute to have fun. This is the only zombie movie that still matters.
Getting eaten alive by a zombie Amber Heard is not a bad way to go.
Who ate the last Twinkie?? I promise I won’t be mad. Well, maybe just a little mad.
12. Stake Land
Stake Land Official Trailer
Stake Land is a film about Vampires taking over the world and follows a man named Mister who is a vampire hunter by trade. All major cities have become too dangerous to live in as survivors in America hide out in the suburbs and small towns. The story follows a boy named Martin who is taken under Mister’s wing after his parents are murdered. They fight their ways North to a promised land known as New Eden hoping to find safety from all the terror. This film gives nod to genre influences that came before it like Vampire Hunter D and Underworld. This is a must see for any fans of those series.
Zombie creatures roam the lands and they feast at night. Always be ready for anything.
Nick Damici plays Mister, a professional Vampire Hunter who makes it look easy.
11. Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner 2049 Official Trailer
Blade Runner 2049 is a sequel to the 1982 cult classic Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford. Blade Runners are specialized bounty hunters that track down and terminate rogue cyborgs called Replicants. These replicants are found throughout society in the future and it distorts the Uncanny Valley between humans and machines. Ford reprises his role in this film as a retired Blade Runner who finds himself still haunted by unanswered questions and what it means to be alive. Ryan Gosling also stars in this film as another Blade Runner named K, who is caught up in the same web of questions. This is one of the best films to ever capture a dystopian future. It won 2 Oscars for a reason. The cinematography in this film is in a class all to itself. The visuals are part of the story and it sets a tone few can match. Blade Runner 2049 is about one man versus everything in order to seek the truth, no matter the costs.
Gosling plays K, who has a long-term girlfriend that is an AI hologram. Talk about it’s complicated.
You can ask Greedo who shot first. Wait a minute… wrong movie franchise. Let’s start over.
10. Dredd
Dredd Official Trailer
Dredd is an action film based on the long running comic book series of the same name. Dredd is short for Judge Dredd as he plays judge, jury, and executioner of those locked in his sights. The setting takes place in a dystopian futuristic wasteland called Mega-City One. Dredd and his partner Judge Anderson take on the city’s number one drug lord Ma-Ma, fighting for the control of the city’s future. Dredd is an excellent example of what happens when the law is gone and replaced by vigilante justice. Morality isn’t so cut and dry anymore when everyone is both a victim and a villain.
Killer outfit. Literally.
Judge Anderson presiding. Let the guns provide the justice.
09. Doomsday
Doomsday Official Trailer
It’s the near future and a deadly virus outbreak has killed off most of Scotland. The rest of Great Britain has built a wall to quarantine it from spreading only to discover a potential cure lies within. After discovering this potential cure, a group of British soldiers set out to rescue the doctor who is rumored to be working on it. While in Scotland the rescue team is captured by medieval looking knights who take them prisoner. All seems lost when they find out a cure isn’t available and the mission might have been for nothing. This movie has an awesome original idea in blending the old world with the modern day. It’s really cool seeing medieval castles with modern day tanks together in an action film. This movie just like Fallout has a carefully balanced blend of the old world infused with the post-apocalyptic new. This is definitely worth a watch.
When all else fails use the armored Duck. Work every time.
We should have never should have asked these guys for directions.
08. The Day
The Day Official Trailer
The Day is a film about a small group of survivors who are trying to feel from a pack of cannibals on their tail. This movie takes place in the future after an unnamed event wipes out the old ways of life and food production which leads many to turn to cannibalism. The group once had twelve members but overtime has been dwindled down to five remaining members now. Food is next to nowhere and the only hope for the future lies in the seeds that they have on them. Hoping to plant food for the future and break away from the madness of eating other people to survive.
All that remains of their group now are these five survivors.
Shawn Ashmore plays Adam and offers a standout performance in the film.
07. War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds Official Trailer
War of the Worlds is a film based on the classic book written by H.G Wells. It stars Tom Cruise as a divorced father of two named Ray Ferrier. At the start of the film, Ray has just picked his kids for the weekend when the world is suddenly invaded by alien forces from another planet. Things devolve into chaos quickly when humanity finds itself outgunned and unprepared. Using only his brain and quick reflexes, Ray will do anything he can to protect his kids from both aliens and humans alike. Just like Fallout, this film shows that humans aren’t the only thing on the surface that are out to get you and the unknown is often scarier than certainty.
State of Emergency has been declared and on one is getting out.
Tim Robbins has some of the best scenes of the entire film shared with Cruise bunkered in a basement.
06. I Am Legend
I Am Legend Official Trailer
Will Smith saved us from almost everything in the 1990s and early 2000’s. His best attempt at doing so was in the film I Am Legend. In this movie Smith plays a former scientist who happens to live through a biological global pandemic that has killed just about everyone on Earth. He sets out not only to survive but to preserve humanity from total extinction. There are predators roaming the world now as mutated creatures which resulted from the pandemic. Will Smith’s character has the smarts to save humanity and find a cure but is running out of time. This film captures the Fallout environments to a tee and also has mutants around every corner in a fallen metropolis setting. This is a must-see for any fans of Fallout and one of the best post-apocalypse films of all time.
I’m standing right here, you don’t have to yell in my ear.
Mans best friend means more than ever when you’re the only two alive in New York City.
05. A Boy and His Dog
A Boy and His Dog Official Trailer
And oldie but a goodie is the film A Boy and His Dog. The story is about well, a boy named Vic and his dog named Blood who is telepathic, following them as they try to survive in the post-apocalyptic Southwest United States. Vic was born without any formal education and lost both of his parents at a young age leaving him with no moral figures or guidance. Vic is obsessed with only two things: sex and food and he is always on the hunt for both. Blood his dog, helps Vic find women in exchange for food as they pillage and plunder the wastelands of America. This film has dark themes and humor throughout and like Fallout paints a future with large groups of people living underground to avoid the hell that has unleashed on the surface. This movie is still a cult classic and worth seeing for any fans of Fallout.
Blood he dog is pretty much nothing like Lassie.
Even before Miami Vice, Don Johnson still got all the ladies.
04. The Postman
The Postman Official Trailer
Kevin Costner has several post-apocalyptic films but the best one overall is The Postman. After the US government collapses, there are no more rules or people left to enforce them, leaving society in chaos. Costner plays a man who decides to continue the legacy of the United States Post Office even if it means going back to the Pony Express days. This small act begins to restore order and hope in the people. This new-found hope is not good news for opposing local gangs who set out to kill the Postman and his followers. This film just like Fallout shows the power struggle between people when the laws of government have become a vacuum.
I think I may have the wrong address guys, my mistake.
You’ve got a mail. Rain, snow, or apocalypse… the mail still has to be delivered. That’s dedication.
03. Book of Eli
The Book of Eli Official Trailer
The Book of Eli is a film by the Hughes brothers (Dead Presidents, Menace to Society) about a man who is left to protect the word of God from a lost world. After an extinction level event occurs in the United States, all is lost including religion. Eli treks westward on a mission to record and preserve his book for future generations. Next to no one can read anymore and others see this knowledge as power to control the masses. Eli finds a common bond with a local woman who furthers his cause as they flee from local gangs. This film just like Fallout, shows the dangers of nuclear war and its aftermath. Food is next to nowhere and all luxuries of the past are extinct, leaving everyone desperate enough to do anything to get ahead.
Five against one? You’re going to need more than that to take on Eli.
Mila Kunis plays Solara, who believes in Eli’s cause.
02. The Road
The Road Official Trailer
The Road is a gripping film based on a book by the same name. It tells the story of a small family trying to survive on the East Coast of the United States shortly after a catastrophic event. This unnamed event wipes out almost everything and everyone that most likely was caused by nuclear war. The father in this story does whatever it takes to protect his only son from gangs, starvation, and strangers. The Road is one of the most haunting films about the post-apocalypse because of its accuracy. This movie feels like what it really would be if it happened. Just like Fallout, this movie leaves you feeling alone in a fallen technological world and shows how dangerous humanity can be after the order is gone.
The most dangerous thing in a rogue nation are other hungry humans.
This is what the world is now, a graveyard of what once was. Ghost cities and debris.
01. Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max: Fury Road Official Trailer
Mad Max: Fury Road is a post-apocalyptic film from the same name of the 1980’s Mad Max: The Road Warrior series. We follow Max as he starts off in the hands of an evil gang. This gang controls everything in the region including all the water, which leaves the locals at their mercy. Max meets others with mutual interests to help him escape and ultimately, face his enemies. This film really captures the atmosphere of Fallout better than all other films on the list. Fury Road is a high-octane action film where help is scarce, so is ammo and there’s really nowhere to hide.
This is the gang calling the shots now, who also have their own metal band. I’m OK with all of this.
The start of either a really bad day or a beautiful new friendship. Maybe both.
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