11 November 2024
The Omega Man (1971)
98 min.
Directed by Boris Segal.
With Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash, Paul Koslo, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Eric Laneuville.
A memorable science fiction thriller.

Robert Neville (Heston) is the last man on earth who has to fend for himself while staving off the only other creatures on earth: a horde of pale, zombie-like night wanderers.

Led by apocalyptic warlord Mathias (Zerbe), these deformed, light-sensitive ghouls - known as "The Family" - want to take down Neville before he has a chance to somehow resurrect the tenets of the Old World order.

How long can Neville survive in this gruesome waking nightmare?

Lovely Lisa (Cash) seems capable of giving Neville some peace of mind. But will her gift to him be love, that rarest of commodities? Or will it be death at the end of a wooden stake?

You'll either choose to go along for this ride or you won't.

If you do, you'll find the atmosphere at times claustrophobic, the tension pretty good, and Charlton Heston fun to watch (as always) as the lone survivor in a lonely world.

Additionally, Rosalind Cash is good as the feisty black girl who becomes Heston's only friend, until....Well, the metaphorical climax alone is worth watching this one.

Based on Richard Matheson's classic 1954 science fiction-fantasy novel I Am Legend, this is essentially a remake of the 1964 Italian-made original Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price.

Remade again in 2007 as simply I Am Legend.

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