How a 1970’s Film Influenced the Fallout Franchise
Discover how the cult classic film “A Boy and His Dog” inspired the world-building and themes of the beloved Fallout video game series.
Recently, I published a story on Fallout 76, the online version of the Fallout franchise. While playing, I had an insightful conversation with a fellow player who invited me to join an Xbox Live Party. As we talked, I found myself explaining the origins of the Fallout universe and its surprising connection to a 1975 cult film: A Boy and His Dog.
Back in the mid-2000s, I discovered this film at a small video rental store called Video Culture, which had a section dedicated to Criterion Collection films. Among the selections were movies like If… (1969), Slacker (1990), and Metropolitan (1990), some of which became favorites of mine. One day, I stumbled upon A Boy and His Dog, a film described as an “R-rated, rather kinky tale of survival.” This wasn’t part of the Criterion Collection officially, but was in the section nonetheless.
The film ultimately left a mark on my taste for classics there out, even though I didn’t realize at the time how much it had also influenced Timothy Cain, the creator of the original Fallout game. Timothy Cain is highly respected among video game fans, and he continues to make games to this day.
He has some insightful perspectives on the amount of time it actually takes to develop a video game, a concept that many larger companies seem to struggle with nowadays.
Years later, I watched an interview in which Cain revealed that A Boy and His Dog had been a major inspiration for Fallout. The film’s cynical humor, bleak landscapes, and depiction of humanity’s fight to survive in a shattered world had a deep impact on the tone and world-building that would define the Fallout series.
The Post-Apocalyptic World of A Boy and His Dog
Released in 1975, A Boy and His Dog is based on a novella by the famed late science fiction writer Harlan Ellison. Set in the then-distant future of 2024, after the devastation of World War IV, the Earth has been reduced to a barren wasteland. The film follows a young man named Vic, who roams the ruins with his dog, Blood.
Blood, however, is no ordinary dog — he can communicate telepathically with Vic and helps guide him through their bleak reality.
The bond between Vic and Blood is central to the story. Their relationship is built on mutual necessity — Blood helps Vic locate women (his seemingly one sole reason to go on), while Vic provides food and protection.
This partnership, characterized by sharp wit and biting satire, had a significant impact on the Fallout series, particularly in the recurring theme of companionship, as seen with the player’s loyal canine companion, Dogmeat. In the movie, A Boy and His Dog, Vic mockingly refers to his dog, Blood, as “dog meat” as a way of teasing his companion.
Both worlds feature complex human-animal relationships that reflect the desperate nature of surviving in a ruined society.
The surface world in A Boy and His Dog is chaotic and lawless, but the film also explores an underground society known as the “Downunder.” Much like the vaults in Fallout, this underground refuge is not the haven it appears to be.
The Surreal Underground Society and Its Influence on Vaults in Fallout
In the film, Vic is enticed into the Downunder by Quilla June, a woman who offers him the promise of safety and a return to civilization. But what Vic finds beneath the Earth’s surface is anything but paradise.
The inhabitants of the Downunder wear porcelain-white face paint, giving them an eerie, doll-like appearance. This visual symbolism reflects the artificiality of their controlled, sterile lives — a sharp contrast to the brutal existence on the surface.
The Downunder operates in perpetual night, creating an oppressive atmosphere of conformity. The society is ruled by a committee of leaders, and their methods of survival include using a “milking machine” to extract Vic’s sperm for artificial insemination. This twisted take on reproduction mirrors the grim vault experiments that later appeared in the Fallout games.
Much like the Downunder, the vaults in Fallout were designed as controlled environments to protect humans from nuclear fallout. However, as we discover in the games, many of the vaults were actually social experiments gone wrong, much like the grotesque practices in the Downunder.
Both the film and the game series share the theme of safety becoming a sinister illusion, where the promise of protection leads to moral corruption.
Vault 69 and Its Tribute to A Boy and His Dog
One of the most direct tributes to A Boy and His Dog in the Fallout series is Vault 69. This vault’s population consists of 999 women and 1 man, a satirical exaggeration of the reproductive themes explored in the film.
In A Boy and His Dog, the Downunder society is facing a genetic crisis due to the men of the Downunder being away from the surface for far too long, and they need fresh DNA to keep their population alive. Vic, initially lured underground with the expectation of fulfilling the desires of many women, quickly learns that his role is far more clinical — and far less pleasurable — than he had imagined.
Instead of the romantic encounters Vic envisioned, his sperm is harvested by a machine and distributed to the women via artificial insemination. This crushing disappointment highlights the satirical edge of the film’s narrative, playing with the idea of reproductive survival in a controlled society.
Fallout takes this concept even further with Vault 69, where the lone male is expected to repopulate with 999 women. What begins as a fantasy soon becomes a bleak commentary on the dehumanizing extremes humanity might go to to survive.
Vault 69 reflects Fallout’s ability to take absurd scenarios and infuse them with deeper meaning, often offering biting critiques of society under the guise of humor.
This setup encapsulates Fallout’s unique blend of satire and dystopia, where even the most outlandish scenarios serve as cautionary tales about the lengths societies will go to in times of crisis. Heavily influenced by A Boy and His Dog, Vault 69 stands as a symbol of how Fallout handles the absurd while maintaining a sharp commentary on human nature.
The Parallels Between A Boy and His Dog and Fallout
The thematic and visual similarities between A Boy and His Dog and Fallout are undeniable. Both present a future where survival is a brutal, unrelenting endeavor, and individuals are forced to make difficult, often morally questionable decisions. Vic’s journey through the wasteland with Blood closely parallels the lone wanderer’s journey in Fallout, complete with animal companions like Dogmeat.
In both the film and the games, the wasteland is more than just a backdrop — it is an active force shaping the characters’ lives. Harsh, unforgiving, and dangerous, it serves as the stage for moments of absurdity that underscore the stark realities of life after the collapse of civilization.
In Fallout, these moments of grim humor appear everywhere, from the twisted vault experiments to the interactions between players and their companions.
Without this low-budget cult classic, it’s hard to imagine what the Fallout universe would have looked like. A Boy and His Dog planted the seeds that grew into Fallout’s distinctive world, influencing not just the design of the vaults, but the tone of the game itself. The film’s portrayal of survival — brutal, ironic, and sometimes ridiculous — has resonated with Fallout fans for decades.
A Lasting Legacy
Ultimately, both A Boy and His Dog and Fallout explore the same essential questions: What becomes of humanity when society collapses? How do we hold on to our humanity — or lose it — during the fight to survive?
These dystopian themes, wrapped in satire and moral complexity, are the backbone of both the film and the game series. As Fallout continues to evolve, the influence of A Boy and His Dog remains a guiding force, ensuring that the film’s legacy endures across generations of fans.
If you’re interested, apparently you can watch the entire film on YouTube. Trigger Warning, Vic, as Blood puts it is “Not a nice person, not a nice person at all.” He is not chivalric and is the type of person you would expect to roam in the wastes. To spell it out for everyone here…
⚠️Please note that A Boy and His Dog (1975) contains mature themes, including depictions of violence, sexual content, and dark satire, which may be disturbing to some viewers. The film also includes material that reflects the cultural attitudes of its time, which may not align with modern sensitivities. Viewer discretion is advised.⚠️
For more information on the backstory of the film and an analysis check out this great video by GoodBadFlicks on YouTube.
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