Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas began as Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel before Terry Gilliam adapted it into the 1998 film starring Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke. The German dubbed version gave the cult film a second life with European audiences, and short clips from dubbed movies often circulate online as soundboard reactions detached from their original scenes. Its lasting appeal comes from the film's reputation for excess and paranoia, so even a fraction of a second in German signals chaos to viewers who know the reference.