Ella Purnell's Horror Movie Phobia Started with One Terrifying Film

With Fallout Season 2 now streaming on Prime Video as an early holiday gift for fans of video game adaptations, it's the perfect time to recognize Ella Purnell's remarkable achievements in recent years, extending far beyond the wasteland of New Vegas. The British actress has established herself as a dominant force in science fiction and streaming entertainment, accomplishing this feat in just half a decade.

Fallout stands as more than just a success story—it holds the distinction of being the highest-rated live-action video game adaptation ever created, surpassing previous contenders like The Last of Us, Twisted Metal, and Halo. Purnell has also made her mark in animated comic book science fiction on Netflix and Prime, lending her voice to 'Jinx' in the critically praised series Arcane, working alongside Hailee Steinfeld. Add the equally celebrated teen thriller Yellowjackets, which has enjoyed a three-season run, and she's essentially dominated the 'cutting-edge television for younger audiences' space entirely.

Upcoming Projects and Personal Fears

The coming year will bring a second season of her dark comedy Sweetpea, the Sky series where she also holds an Executive Producer credit. The show follows a young woman with a boring, everyday job who becomes fixated on murder. It's quite intense with several gruesome scenes, which might seem surprising considering Purnell harbors a genuine terror of scary movies, particularly one timeless classic.

As she explained to Bafta: "One film that I definitely shouldn't have watched that a young age was (1981 Stanley Kubrick shocker) The Shining. I remember I went to a girl's sleepover and I was like, 'Finally (I'm) invited to the cool kids sleepover,' and then the really, really cool girl put on The Shining and all the other cool girls were watching and I was just like… (does terrified face)."

The Lasting Impact of Childhood Trauma

To Purnell's credit, The Shining truly represents incredibly unsettling cinema—a brilliantly crafted story about isolated psychological breakdown, featuring a hotel drenched in blood, grotesquely distorted elderly women in bathtubs, and the most frightening set of twins ever captured on film.

Purnell continued: "To this day I cannot watch horror films, I hate horror films, I'm terrified of horror films. I'm scared of them, I can't watch them. I don't like having an unpleasant movie viewing experience and it's not fun for me. I put that down to watching that film with the twins."

Facing Her Fears Professionally

Ironically, Purnell will need to confront her fear of being frightened quite soon, considering one of her upcoming films is The Scurry. This project—and this isn't a joke—centers on people trapped in an eco cafe that becomes invaded by a swarm of murderous squirrels. That premise sounds absolutely awful, though it does feature Rhys Ifans, so we'll reserve judgment for now and hope it leans heavily into comedy.

If that weren't challenging enough, she's also set to appear with Pete Davidson in a movie about rescuing humanity titled That Time We Met.