Monsters and Matinees: A trio of films bring to life Richard Matheson’s ‘I Am Legend’

A trio of films bring Richard Matheson’s “I Am Legend” to life

The idea of ​​the last man or woman on earth fires my imagination.

how will it happen when will it happen Why will it happen?

“Germs. Bacteria. viruses. vampires.”

That’s author Richard Matheson’s excellent answer to the “why” in I am Legend, his post-apocalyptic novella set in a world decimated by a mysterious virus. The already intriguing theme is made even better by Matheson’s addition of my favorite creature – the vampire.

Since its publication almost 70 years ago, his novella has been the source material for three films: The last man on Earth (Filmed in Rome in 1964 as L’ultimo uomo della Terra) with Vincent Price, The Omega Man (1971) with Charlton Heston and I am Legend (2007) starring Will Smith. (Yes, this is a much newer film than we write in monsters and matinees, but it’s important to include here.)

Matheson wrote I am Legend 1954 and put him in a mysterious illness for five months in January 1976.

Robert Neville is a 36-year-old researcher immune to everything causing a pandemic that has wiped out the world and turned the few survivors into vampires.

Through Robert’s first-person account, we learn about the “before-days” and his happy life with his wife and young daughter, the early signs of a disease spreading rampant overseas, and concerns about whether it might make its way to the United States could reach. One headline asks, “Is Europe’s disease windborne?” Yes it is.

The story – and the films – jumps between those horrific early days when terrified people succumbed to the disease, and Robert’s current life as he battles the nocturnal vampire attacks and his own demons.

He turns his home into a small fortress with slats over the windows and garlic and mirrors on the doors to ward off the vampires. A room “belongs to his stomach”, filled with canned goods and the like. During the day he hunts the creatures while loading up on gas and supplies. He harvests garlic in his greenhouse and creates an overpowering and disgusting stench. At night, Robert eats and drinks heavily and plays his records to drown out the mocking cries of the undead.

He reads Dracula and ponders philosophically about vampires (in the early days there were accounts of vampires that many, including Robert, scoffed at believing) and continues to valiantly seek a cure. And he talks inexorably about the passing of time and watches the minutes slowly pass.

It’s surprisingly sad to watch.

“A man could get used to anything if he had to,” says Robert, but who is he kidding? Not us.

Of course he’s hoping to find other survivors, but like most post-apocalyptic thrillers with a Last Person/People on Earth theme, it doesn’t do well if he finds them.

The movies

That’s the basic plot of the story that’s at least loosely followed in the movies: Something is wiping out most of humanity, leaving the few survivors as vampires/killers/mutants, except for one man who has immunity and is fighting for his survival and a cure fights. If that’s what interests you, I highly recommend the films, even though I know Matheson wasn’t particularly happy with them, because to be honest I really like them.

You don’t have to watch them in any order; Pick your favorite actor of the three if you like and start watching.

Every film takes place in the time it was shot (The Omega Man is a 70’s movie in style and music) and has a different explanation of what caused the virus (bacterial plague, biological warfare, etc.).

The three versions of Robert are similar in that they are intelligent men with backgrounds in research, science, and the military, which give them unique abilities to survive. Otherwise, the actors give him a different personality: Price gives his character (renamed Robert Morgan) a weariness and wretchedness; Heston has a sexy confidence and swagger (it’s amusing how often his shirt is off); Smith is steadfast and loyal.

Outside of Robert, the casting is minimal.

Only The Omega Man is notable with Anthony Zerbe as the creepy mutant leader; Rosalind Cash as a badass survivor whose performance brings an interracial romance to the film that I only note because it was so rare at the time; and a young Eric Laneuville as her little brother.

The infected are portrayed in different ways, gaining strength, speed, and aggression with each film.

Director George A. Romero was reportedly inspired by the zombie-like undead in The last man on earthfor his influential zombie film Night of the Living Dead.

In The Omega Man, they appear to be human, but the virus has given them albino features of white hair and skin – marked by red sun burns – which contrast with their dark clothing and hooded cloaks. They also possess a violent mob-like mentality and are a cult – a “family” – destroying culture (books, art) from the evil “before time” they attribute to the current state of the earth. Unless you are family like Robert, you will be hunted down and killed.

From I am Legend, they are very much a monster. Lightning fast and extremely violent, they have a devilish appearance – a fake devil, that is.

These computer-generated images look like they were created by a computer, and that’s never a good thing. They’re only creepy because of the high-pitched demonic screams generated by Mike Patton, former lead singer of metal band Faith No More.

In interviews about the film, Patton said he “spent four straight hours screaming my head off” while improvising in front of a movie screen. Developed; the CGI doesn’t. What makes it worse is that early in filming, the filmmakers switched to CGI for the creatures because they felt the actors wouldn’t work.

Seeing these three film versions of Robert’s battle with demons – an undead woman at the door, a mob building a two-story campfire to lure him to his death, or the hellhounds waiting to pounce when the sun goes down goes down – are just a few examples of the horror in his world.

But there is another kind of horror Matheson writes about that is deeply human. Robert Neville is a man alone, consumed by a terrible loneliness that is his own horror. This loneliness leads to a person’s loss of humanity and a need for contact, even with a dog (an important character in books and films) or an inanimate object such as a statue or mannequin. They’re all used to big drama And emotional impact as substitute companions or possible enemies. (Is that a mannequin or a person?).

Watch as Price responds to a stray dog, Heston dresses for Sunday lunch and converses with a bust of Caesar, and Smith engages in one-sided conversations with mannequins, begging one to just “say hello to me.” Don’t be surprised if you get caught – it should. Ultimately, I am Legend in all its forms is about humanity.

A “Legend” sequel

What if your alternate ending to a movie is near perfect but you don’t use it?

They’re building a sequel on it nearly 20 years later.

I am Legend Writer-producer Akiva Goldsman recently announced that a sequel to his 2007 film is in development, with Will Smith reprising his role and Michael B. Jordan joining the cast.

Although the film grossed nearly $600 million worldwide, it was criticized for deviating from Richard Matheson’s 1954 novella, particularly with its cheesy, epic Hollywood ending that gets big and dumb. (OK, those are my words.)

Without spoilers, the Smith character has been experimenting on Darkseekers to find a cure. When his lab is attacked, a kid could figure out the connection between the alpha female Smith captured and the angry alpha male. What happens next is ridiculous, but it sounds like that’s about to change with the new film.

Goldsman told Deadline that the sequel will work off that alternate ending and be set about 20 years later. (Think of the structure of HBOs The last of uswhich Goldsman says he is “obsessed with”.)

“We go back to the original Matheson book and the alternate ending as opposed to the published ending in the original film,” Goldsman said in the interview. “What Matheson was talking about was that man’s time as the dominant species on the planet had come to an end. That’s a really interesting thing that we’re going to explore. There will be a little more fidelity to the original text.”

If the film is as Goldsman describes it, this is a sequel I look forward to.

– Toni Ruberto for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Toni’s Monsters and Matinees articles here.

Toni Ruberto, born and raised in Buffalo, NY, is an editor and writer at The Buffalo News. She shares her love of classic movies on her blog, Watching Forever, and is a member of the Classic Movie Blog Association. Toni was the President of the former Buffalo chapter of TCM Backlot and now runs the Buffalo Classic Movie Buffs spin-off group. She’s proud to have spotlighted Buffalo and its glorious old movie palaces as the inaugural winner of the TCM in Your Hometown competition. You can find Toni on Twitter at @toniruberto.