Review of The Omega Man (1971) by Scott J — 02 Jul 2014

1971?s The Omega Man is based on Richard Matheson's book I Am Legend and is the second film adaptation of this classic tale after the Vincent Price horror The Last Man On Earth, and wouldn't be the last, though, it's probably the most famous. This version has a war between China and The Soviet Union spilling over to the United States and the rest of the world when a germ warfare plague spreads out of control. A military scientist Dr. Robert Neville (Charlton Heston) has developed a cure but, a helicopter crash keeps him from delivering it, destroying the supply save only enough for him to inoculate himself. Now the former Colonel appears to be the only man left alive on earth save for the vampire-like "Family" a dangerous group of plague infested victims who did not die but, have lost all skin and eye pigment and who can only dwell at night. Under the leadership of former TV anchor Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), they seek to eradicte anything that reminds them of the old world as they see the plague as punishment for man's sins. This makes Neville public enemy number one and they seek to kill him on a nightly basis. But, just as his lonely existence and one man battle against an army of fiends has driven him to the brink of madness, Neville finds he may not be the only human left alive after all and the discovery of a small hidden group of unaffected survivors gives him new hope... and gives The Family new fuel to add to their cleansing fires as they would see all dead.

This version is directed effectively by Boris Sagal (father of Sons Of Anarchy's Katey Sagal) from a script by John William Corrington and Joyce H. Corrington. He succeeds in creating a very bleak world that is a virtual ghost town of empty streets and scattered corpses for his lonely hero to populate. He then gives a sense of dread to the night as our vicious Family and their murderous intent is quickly established and we know what is coming when the sun goes down. The script gives his villains intelligence but, with a inquisitional sense of justice to which fuels their sentence of death for Neville and rejection of any hope of being cured. Sagal also gives us a man on the brink of madness whose only purpose in his secluded life to see his enemy destroyed as they would him. Once he discovers that he is not alone, the character transforms into a man with hope and new meaning as he befriends the tough but, beautiful Lisa (Rosalind Cash) and her group of survivors, who are mostly kids. But, best of all, Sagal gives the movie a real sense of fun and there is a lot of action as Neville seeks to save and cure this ragtag bunch while Matthias seeks to see them all destroyed. He takes the material seriously but, has a little fun with the action-heavy premise and lets his actors ham it up a bit. The film is so delightfully 70s, right down to Ron Grainer's funky score and the added nostalgia really makes this a good time and adds a lot of flavor to the film as well. It's not Shakespeare but, it's a great example of 70s Sci-fi and how it was done back then.

As for the cast, Heston hams it up just enough to put a smile on your face but, not enough to make you roll your eyes... OK, maybe a little. His Neville is noble and dedicated, if not a little wacky at this point and watching him go from Family hunting soldier to brilliant doctor to smooth player romancing Lisa is a lot of the fun. It's Heston at his best whether shooting up the bad guys or trying to charm the last woman on the planet, it's just fun to watch Heston being Heston. As for that last woman, Rosalind Cash is the quintessential 70s movie black woman... sassy, sexy and a street smart, smart ass. She tough but, can turn on the charm as easily as Heston and holds her own quite well with the legendary star making Lisa a very likable character and believable that she can be lethal if provoked. Villain Anthony Zerbe really adds flavor here with his very creepy Jim Jones-like Matthias who takes this group of mutated survivors and turns them into a murderous cult, if they weren't creepy enough already with their white skin, hair, eyes and black robes with Cool-Ray sunglasses. He portrays a man not only driven mad by what's happened to him but, drunk on his own power over the others and his self appointment as the hand of God cleansing what he sees as evil from an already desolated world. He is judge, jury and executioner and Zerbe, a very underrated actor, brings him just to the peak of over the top without sliding down the slope of camp. The rest of the cast have small parts, as it's Heston's show, such as Eric Laneuville as Lisa's infected brother Ritchie and Paul Koslo as hippie former medical student Dutch. But, they are effective in their parts and their performances fit in with a film of this type from this era, a little over the top but, not too much. The cast seem to be having a good time and Sagal lets them.

Yes, I love The Omega Man, been a favorite since childhood, and it is effective yet, entertainingly comic book, too. Add in the 70s nostalgia from it's style, clothes and tone of the performances and you get a really fun and quintessential example of 70s pre-Star Wars Sci-Fi and one of Heston's most famous roles among many. A real 70s blast of a good time.