The Omega Man (1971)

Last night, I was trying to decide what to watch after Army of Darkness and I was struggling. Sometimes, I cannot get into the right mindset for anything in particular and struggle deciding on what genre I want to venture into. That is when I stumbled onto the classic Sci-Fi flick The Omega Man from 1971, a movie I have not seen in years.

Plot/ Robert Neville, a doctor, due to an experimental vaccine, is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. The plague caused by the war has killed everyone else except for a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people calling themselves The Family.

Richard Matheson is one of the greatest Sci-Fi writers ever and one of his all-time best works is the classic I Am Legend. While there have been many adaptations of this classic on the big screen spanning multiple decades and generations, the storyline stands tall. In this adaptation, film icon Charlton Heston takes the lead and runs with it with a great performance. While I will admit, I am more a fan of Vincent Price and Last Man on Earth, this interpretation holds its own. While there are some flaws in this flick, which appears dated and full of the signature camp of the 1970s, it is engaging. Overall, the performances are solid, the soundtrack works and the post apocalyptic atmosphere is realistic. Of course, the change in the vampiric nature of the creatures is still a bit hard to accept, one of the reasons I think I am drawn to the Price version, but it is still entertaining. In the end, this adaptation is a classic piece of 1970s Sci-Fi and must be seen. Sure, it has some flaws, but it remains one of Heston’s better performances and a trip into a dark time.