The Omega Man

The last man alive... is not alone
The last man alive... is not alone
THE OMEGA MAN (15)
D: Boris Sagal
Warner Bros. (Walter Seltzer)
US 1971
98 mins

Science Fiction

W: John William Carrington & Joyce H. Carrington [based on the novel 'I Am Legend' by Richard Matheson]
DP: Russell Metty
Ed: William H. Ziegler
Mus: Ron Grainger

Charlton Heston (Dr. Robert Neville), Rosalind Cash (Lisa), Anthony Zerbe (Matthias)

Following a conflict of germ warfare and the decimation of the world population, a lone survivor protects himself against the the loathsome, night-crawling creatures that mankind has become.

This filmed version of Richard Matheson's fantastic novel "I Am Legend" is definitely a production of its time, and as such seems badly dated now, particularly because the year of its prophecy is 1977. 

A previously filmed version (The Last Man On Earth) paid more attention to the horror style of the original source material and a recent remake under the book's original title gave it some Hollywood gloss. This version will unfortunately fade into obscurity, despite being marginally better than the other films, though it does play fast and loose with the book's original ending, in which it becomes apparent that the good guy is actually the villain and those deemed to be bad are merely the next step in human evolution. Perhaps some adaptations just don't carry to the screen well.

5/10

Charlton Heston in The Omega Man
Charlton Heston in The Omega Man