Review of The Omega Man (1971) by Jeff Z — 12 Jan 2014

The film versions of Richard Mattheson's book I Am Legend make for an interesting study into Hollywood.

You've got one man - the last man alive? - in the city of Los Angelos, who does battle against sub-humans. In the book, it's vampires. In the recent Will Smith version, it's weird beast ghoul thingies. In this film, it's silly cultists (and they are damn silly, damn stupid, and not at all frightening).

So you have elements of a big sci-fi/horror blockbuster. A major metropolis... empty! That's not cheap, whether you CGI out the people or use more analog filming & editing techniques. And ghastly, ghoulie creatures. And some high octane action sequences. Which are not cheap.

But that's really not what the book is about. I Am Legend is about one man's loneliness and, more importantly, about the perceptionof monsters. That's not the content of a blockbuster is it? That requires the sensibilities of an adult drama, of an indie flick. And anyway how do you write a script about ONE man being lonely?

I can forgive them that. What I cannot forgive is the complete misinterpretation of the title I Am Legend. In both the Will Smith version (which is basically a remake of The Omega Man) and The Omega Man, the main character Neville becomes a legend because he develops a cure to save the rest of humanity.

In other words, boring Hollywood claptrap.

In the book, Neville realizes that, to the vampires, he has become a sort of Bram Stroker. The last man alive. A slayer, a scourge, a fearful creature of the day who slays them as they sleep. To his own mind, he is the last normal human being. But to the vampires, he is Legend.

Final Say: A flawed but entertaining film.

How to Watch It: There's very little reason to watch The Omega Man, rather than the recent remake. So you're better off simply watching Will Smith's I Am Legend, unless you really like the subject material. Actually, now that I think about, skip the films, read the book.

Trivia: Omega Man refers to the Greek alphabet & the Bible: I am the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. So The Omega Man is suggesting that Neville (played by Charlton Heston) is the last man alive. He's also messianic in nature.