Robert Neville (Chuck Heston) was a military scientist. After a mysterious biological attack on the US he is put on the case to find a cure. When fleeing one day he begins to succumb to the disease and injects himself with his experimental antidote. Lucky for him it worked. Unlucky for us he found out to late. This turn events made Neville the last man on Earth. He’s not entirely alone however. Haunting his day to day solitary existence is a group known as ‘The Family’. Being forced to a nocturnal lifestyle as well as a psychopathic bent, the family isn’t truly human anymore and strives to burn the old ways of life and create a new one, as they become further deformed due to the results of germ warfare.
Combining the manliness of Charlton Heston with a post apocalyptic world with nothing but him and a handful of ghouls is an exciting prospect for fans of science fiction. Seeing how well he handled the genre in Planet of the Apes it’s easy for one to have high expectations for his return to the genre. Machine guns, pillaging and looting, and generally whatever the hell he feels like is the game of the day. Made in 1971, the world was always in a varying state of panic over one doomsday theory or another. Nuclear war, germ warfare, all were a vague possibility in that era making The Omega Man chill straight to the core. In 1971 at any rate.
Not an original tale by any sorts, The Omega Man is based on the Richard Matheson novel I am Legend. Portrayed once before by Vincent Price in The Last Man on Earth and soon once again by Will Smith in I am Legend, Omega Man manages to separate itself from the pack a bit by giving voice to ‘The Family’ as well as adding a touch of blaxploitation to spice things up. Where the original and new films were pitted against vampire hold-overs from the human race, Robert Neville this time around faces off against a group of madman that are slowly dying off themselves.
Article comments
1 - Kaonashi
Shame you didn't mention the genius Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode "Homega Man" which parodied this movie. Best opening sequence of any Simpsons episode ever.