The gray irradiated flesh of ghouls in Fallout serves as a living testament to the horrors of a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by nuclear warfare. It makes sense that ghouls, people and animals who have zombified due to exposure to radiation, have been a fixture of the Fallout series since its inception, all melted flesh and exposed organs. Now, they come to life in Prime Video’s new TV show, Fallout.
While the look of some ghouls resembles chemical burns that could repulse viewers, not every monster is all that, well, ghoulish. When compared to the monstrosities of the games, characters like The Ghoul (played by Walton Goggins) seemed a bit tame. Sure, his nose didn’t survive the nuclear apocalypse, but video edits compiling clips from the show highlighted how weirdly hot he was. According to Fallout associate costume designer Amy Westcott, his look played into his larger story as a character.
“I think the only reason that he was downplayed in terms of being more grotesque was because he still had his wits about him,” Westcott said via Zoom. “When you get to those ghouls that are really, really gross, they were really losing their minds. So I think to keep Walton as a central character — in terms of him being still with us, so to speak — it was imperative to see him at a stage of ghoulness, not all the way gone. You know, he couldn’t be feral.”
To decide on Goggins’ final look, the team imagined different stages of “ghoulness.” Those that received the proper medications, like Goggins’ character, are still able to talk and conduct themselves as a regular human might, more or less. As we see, his body and overall functions are basically intact. However, other ghouls degenerate into a more stereotypical (and true-to-the-games) zombified state in which they can’t communicate and act more like feral animals.
“There were so many different degrees of ghoulness. There are feral ghouls that have been around for longer, and they’re kind of on their way out,” Westcott said. “They don’t make any sense anymore. We had to just get them to a deeper level. And so I worked with my textile department getting not just the ghouls right, but the feral ghouls, which are so far, far beyond the regular ghoul aging.”
Take a look at other related media, and there’s no shortage of zombies and similar monsters. Most recently, HBO helped bring the fungus-infused zombies known as Clickers to life in the Last of Us TV show, and there’s the latest installment in the ongoing Walking Dead universe. To Westcott, the ’50s theme of the Fallout series and ghouls set its monsters apart from any others.
“That’s an optimistic time. So really, I think that’s what [sets] us apart a little bit is, you know. You’re seeing this person with their skin falling off, but they have a bow tie on, or they have a saddle shoe or a poodle skirt. But they’re a wreck. So, there was a bit of optimism that we were trying to show in that too.”
To Westcott, details like these don’t just help distinguish ghouls from other similar monsters, but also reminds viewers of the humanity of those impacted by ghoulification.
“I think that keeping the ghouls human was really super important to us, because they were people once and that was important to remember. […] Even the feral ghouls. I mean, they were supposed to be in rags, really. But then sometimes there would be a shoe or a tie or an earring, like, something. So you get some remnant that they were a person once, and I think that we all empathize with them as well.”
