Editorials
[Best of 2018] How ‘Fallout 76’ Became the Franchise’s First True Horror Game
*Keep up with our ongoing end of the year coverage here*
After five games over the span of 21 years, the Fallout series has established itself as one of the best post-apocalyptic sci-fi RPGs out there. Given its setting and the fact that the end of the world is arguably the most popular setting in horror and science fiction, it isn’t surprising that Fallout touches on the horror genre quite often.
It’s not like you’d expect a game about journeying through a nuclear wasteland to be filled with sunshine and roses, but Fallout has always surprised gamers with unexpectedly dark sense of humor, truly terrifying storylines, locations, and creatures. Yet, no one describes the series as part of the horror genre, probably because of the not-scary-at-all music and generally bright landscapes.
That all changed with Bethesda’s newest entry in the franchise, the online RPG Fallout 76. With the general consensus being that the game is kind of a messy experience that doesn’t justify the sacrifices it makes, I’m here to argue why what is considered to be the game’s worst mistake is actually its biggest blessing.
One of the biggest complaints about Fallout 76 is that the lack of NPCs takes away the dramatic weight of the story. Indeed, the lack of NPCs to talk to means you no longer have quests where you can actually make decisions and gain or lose karma points. Gone are the days where you would suffer over having to decide whether to nuke an entire town or not, as you have no one to talk to or to judge you. Instead, the only voices you ever hear in Appalachia are those from other players, robots, and holotape-recordings of long-dead quest givers.
No NPCs and the lack of companions means you have absolutely no one to walk to in Fallout 76. Sure, the whole idea is to have human players replace the NPCs, but the servers have a 24-player size limit and the biggest map size in the franchise, making the experience feel more like The Road than New Vegas. It’s quite an isolating experience, one that leaves you completely vulnerable to the hundreds of creatures that can and will kill you at any moment. From the moment you step out of your vault, you are thrown into the harsh and deadly Appalachia region. Unlike previous games in the franchise, there are no towns with NPCs to protect you, no Brotherhood with laser rifles to kill the super mutants chasing you. You are on your own. Appalachia truly feels like a desolated nuclear wasteland, and because it’s open world, it becomes too easy to wander off from a quest and end up in a radscorpion’s nest with nothing but a simple pipe-gun and a board as your weapons.
The other big change in Fallout 76 is the emphasis on survival, in the form of a thirst and hunger meter that you must fill. I don’t know about you, but I rarely worry about my radiation levels while playing a Fallout game. I completely forget about it until I’m 75% radiation or so. But with the addition of hunger and thirst, I’m constantly worrying about keeping my character well. It’s a small thing, as you don’t really suffer that much if your hunger levels go down, but it’s an added worry to an already stressful and scary experience. Having to resort to eating raw radroach meat is about the worst thing I’ve done in this game, but it was either that or starve. For added role-playing, I found the “Cannibal” perk to be both fun and creepy, as I can simply walk up to a dead moleman, super mutant, or ghoul and eat their raw flesh. It never fails to creep the real players around me.
Confession time. Despite me writing for a horror website, I am quite easily scared. I had to watch a “let’s play” video of Alien Isolation on mute just to find out how the story ended because I was too afraid to continue. Likewise, I’ve always loved the Fallout games, but the mere sight of a radroach coming straight towards me – or even worse, a Deathclaw – terrifies me as much as any “proper” horror game. But at least I could always pause the game when I got overwhelmed by a group of super mutants or ghouls, not in Fallout 76. Because this is an online game, there’s no pausing, nothing to stop the waves of attackers coming your way, and you can’t use VATS to take a short break and strategize. One mistake and you’re done for. You’re along to fend off against the harsh and endless landscape of post-apocalyptic West Virginia.
Speaking of West Virginia, one of Fallout 76’s greatest strengths is in the way it takes West Virginia mythology into the world of the game, making for some of the most horrifying creatures in the history of the franchise. Are ghouls and zombie-like scorched not scary enough for you? How about a Wendigo? Just like the scorched, a wendigo is a human that was mutated by radiation, except looking like a cross between Slenderman and Gollum. Think mutated dogs and two-headed cows are cute? How about a giant rabid sloth, or a headless juggernaut with hands like maces? Fallout 76 makes encountering each new creature a ghastly and surprising experience, as you never know what new creature will jump at you with enough strength to kill you with one punch. I’ve played about 60 hours of the game and I feel like I haven’t encountered even 25% of the game’s creatures.
Then there’s Mothman. Fallout 76 brilliantly teases the existence of this mythological creature throughout the map, as you constantly find churches where the entire congregations appear to have been sacrificed in some dark ritual, with candles forming a circle around the altar, where statues of demon-like beings are clearly being worshiped. In my time exploring Appalachia, I’ve found more cult gatherings than I’ve found Power Armor. But that’s not enough, during one of my travels, I suddenly spotted a set of bright eyes observing me from a distance. Big, bright, red eyes are the only notice you get that the enigmatic Mothman has found you. I jumped and nearly fell off my couch once I realized what was in front of me, yet the Mothman didn’t do anything. Reports from other players range from being killed by the half-man-half-moth god, to receiving a blessing by the creature before it takes off. Whatever your encounter ends up as, there’s no denying the sense of dread that looms over this enigmatic insect.
Fallout 76 may not have a time-pressing story with impactful decisions, and it may get lonely out there in the wasteland. But it only serves to make this the first horror experience in the franchise, as for the first time you actually feel like you are in a post-apocalyptic and hopeless land full of dangers. Honestly, I never knew how much I wanted this in a Fallout game.
Editorials
‘Immaculate’ – A Companion Watch Guide to the Religious Horror Movie and Its Cinematic Influences
The religious horror movie Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney and directed by Michael Mohan, wears its horror influences on its sleeves. NEON’s new horror movie is now available on Digital and PVOD, making it easier to catch up with the buzzy title. If you’ve already seen Immaculate, this companion watch guide highlights horror movies to pair with it.
Sweeney stars in Immaculate as Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Cecilia’s warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside gets derailed soon enough when she discovers she’s become pregnant and realizes the convent harbors disturbing secrets.
From Will Bates’ gothic score to the filming locations and even shot compositions, Immaculate owes a lot to its cinematic influences. Mohan pulls from more than just religious horror, though. While Immaculate pays tribute to the classics, the horror movie surprises for the way it leans so heavily into Italian horror and New French Extremity. Let’s dig into many of the film’s most prominent horror influences with a companion watch guide.
Warning: Immaculate spoilers ahead.
Rosemary’s Baby
!['Rosemary's Baby' - Is Paramount's 'Apartment 7A' a Secret Remake?! [Exclusive]](https://i0.wp.com/bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Rosemarys-Baby.jpeg?resize=740%2C416&ssl=1)
The mother of all pregnancy horror movies introduces Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), an eager-to-please housewife who’s supportive of her husband, Guy, and thrilled he landed them a spot in the coveted Bramford apartment building. Guy proposes a romantic evening, which gives way to a hallucinogenic nightmare scenario that leaves Rosemary confused and pregnant. Rosemary’s suspicions and paranoia mount as she’s gaslit by everyone around her, all attempting to distract her from her deeply abnormal pregnancy. While Cecilia follows a similar emotional journey to Rosemary, from the confusion over her baby’s conception to being gaslit by those who claim to have her best interests in mind, Immaculate inverts the iconic final frame of Rosemary’s Baby to great effect.
The Exorcist
William Friedkin’s horror classic shook audiences to their core upon release in the ’70s, largely for its shocking imagery. A grim battle over faith is waged between demon Pazuzu and priests Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow). The battleground happens to be a 12-year-old, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), whose possessed form commits blasphemy often, including violently masturbating with a crucifix. Yet Friedkin captures the horrifying events with stunning cinematography; the emotional complexity and shot composition lend elegance to a film that counterbalances the horror. That balance between transgressive imagery and artful form permeates Immaculate as well.
Suspiria
Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American newcomer at a prestigious dance academy in Germany who uncovers a supernatural conspiracy amid a series of grisly murders. It’s a dance academy so disciplined in its art form that its students and faculty live their full time, spending nearly every waking hour there, including built-in meals and scheduled bedtimes. Like Suzy Bannion, Cecilia is a novitiate committed to learning her chosen trade, so much so that she travels to a foreign country to continue her training. Also, like Suzy, Cecilia quickly realizes the pristine façade of her new setting belies sinister secrets that mean her harm.
What Have You Done to Solange?
This 1972 Italian horror film follows a college professor who gets embroiled in a bizarre series of murders when his mistress, a student, witnesses one taking place. The professor starts his own investigation to discover what happened to the young woman, Solange. Sex, murder, and religion course through this Giallo’s veins, which features I Spit on Your Grave’s Camille Keaton as Solange. Immaculate director Michael Mohan revealed to The Wrap that he emulated director Massimo Dallamano’s techniques, particularly in a key scene that sees Cecilia alone in a crowded room of male superiors, all interrogating her on her immaculate status.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
In this Giallo, two sisters inherit their family’s castle that’s also cursed. When a dark-haired, red-robed woman begins killing people around them, the sisters begin to wonder if the castle’s mysterious curse has resurfaced. Director Emilio Miraglia infuses his Giallo with vibrant style, with the titular Red Queen instantly eye-catching in design. While the killer’s design and use of red no doubt played an influential role in some of Immaculate’s nightmare imagery, its biggest inspiration in Mohan’s film is its score. Immaculate pays tribute to The Red Queen Kills Seven Times through specific music cues.
The Vanishing
Rex’s life is irrevocably changed when the love of his life is abducted from a rest stop. Three years later, he begins receiving letters from his girlfriend’s abductor. Director George Sluizer infuses his simple premise with bone-chilling dread and psychological terror as the kidnapper toys with Red. It builds to a harrowing finale you won’t forget; and neither did Mohan, who cited The Vanishing as an influence on Immaculate. Likely for its surprise closing moments, but mostly for the way Sluizer filmed from inside a coffin.
The Other Hell
This nunsploitation film begins where Immaculate ends: in the catacombs of a convent that leads to an underground laboratory. The Other Hell sees a priest investigating the seemingly paranormal activity surrounding the convent as possessed nuns get violent toward others. But is this a case of the Devil or simply nuns run amok? Immaculate opts to ground its horrors in reality, where The Other Hell leans into the supernatural, but the surprise lab setting beneath the holy grounds evokes the same sense of blasphemous shock.
Inside
During Immaculate‘s freakout climax, Cecilia sets the underground lab on fire with Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) locked inside. He manages to escape, though badly burned, and chases Cecilia through the catacombs. When Father Tedeschi catches Cecilia, he attempts to cut her baby out of her womb, and the stark imagery instantly calls Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s seminal French horror movie to mind. Like Tedeschi, Inside’s La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) will stop at nothing to get the baby, badly burned and all.
Burial Ground
At first glance, this Italian zombie movie bears little resemblance to Immaculate. The plot sees an eclectic group forced to band together against a wave of undead, offering no shortage of zombie gore and wild character quirks. What connects them is the setting; both employed the Villa Parisi as a filming location. The Villa Parisi happens to be a prominent filming spot for Italian horror; also pair the new horror movie with Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood or Blood for Dracula for additional boundary-pushing horror titles shot at the Villa Parisi.
The Devils
The Devils was always intended to be incendiary. Horror, at its most depraved and sadistic, tends to make casual viewers uncomfortable. Ken Russell’s 1971 epic takes it to a whole new squeamish level with its nightmarish visuals steeped in some historical accuracy. There are the horror classics, like The Exorcist, and there are definitive transgressive horror cult classics. The Devils falls squarely in the latter, and Russell’s fearlessness in exploring taboos and wielding unholy imagery inspired Mohan’s approach to the escalating horror in Immaculate.
Five Underseen Vampire Horror Movies to Stream This Week
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man’ Is Now Available to Watch at Home!
‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition
‘Mountain Man’ – Joe Manganiello Will Battle Zombies in Upcoming Horror Movie
You must be logged in to post a comment.