A plague has turned the population of Earth into vampire-like creatures of the night. Except for one man who is immune to the disease. He fights a daily battle for survival against these creatures, always with the hope of future companionship.
The Last Man on Earth is the first cinematic adaption of Richard Matheson's novel 'I Am Legend'. It has subsequently been remade a couple of times since. The book was an interesting one in the way it combined a sci-fi premise with a traditional horror one, while also focusing strongly on themes of isolation and loneliness. It is a very early example of the sub-genre known as post-apocalypse or pandemic to be precise in this case. As a result it feels quite modern for its time and most probably served as something of an influence for the later genre-defining classic Night of the Living Dead (1968). It stars Vincent Price in the lead role. Despite this being a horror film, he is not necessarily the most obvious actor for this film as his over-the-top style seems at odds with the somewhat melancholic aspects this story demands of its lead character. Yet, despite these initial reservations, Price puts in one of the strongest performances of his career here and shows what a versatile actor he could be.
It's not a perfect film though, as it never really generates much tension despite a set-up that has lots of potential for suspense. It's similar in this way to the later adaption The Omega Man (1971), in that the vampires make for somewhat surprisingly feeble monsters on the whole and never threaten as much as they really should. Unlike in that Charlton Heston film though, at least here they are not philosophical beings and do at least have one sole objective to kill our protagonist; it's just a pity that they usually attempt to do so in such clunky and easily-avoidable ways. That said this film is the only adaption that is brave enough to have a dark ending which serves this version very well and works better for the story as a whole. But despite the horror material, much of the focus here is on more easily relatable themes such as loneliness and isolation. Part of the success of the film is that the audience can put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist and imagine what they would do and how they would cope.
Shot in crisp black and white, it looks great. There are many shots of deserted cityscapes which give off a very effective ambiance. There is an oddness to these, in that despite the film being set in America it was actually shot in Rome, meaning that we often see distinctive Italian architecture which always seems a bit off. It works quite well though, in that it merely adds a layer of almost dreamlike strangeness to proceedings. On the whole, this is a good, albeit flawed, movie which is quite original in approach.
The Last Man on Earth is the first cinematic adaption of Richard Matheson's novel 'I Am Legend'. It has subsequently been remade a couple of times since. The book was an interesting one in the way it combined a sci-fi premise with a traditional horror one, while also focusing strongly on themes of isolation and loneliness. It is a very early example of the sub-genre known as post-apocalypse or pandemic to be precise in this case. As a result it feels quite modern for its time and most probably served as something of an influence for the later genre-defining classic Night of the Living Dead (1968). It stars Vincent Price in the lead role. Despite this being a horror film, he is not necessarily the most obvious actor for this film as his over-the-top style seems at odds with the somewhat melancholic aspects this story demands of its lead character. Yet, despite these initial reservations, Price puts in one of the strongest performances of his career here and shows what a versatile actor he could be.
It's not a perfect film though, as it never really generates much tension despite a set-up that has lots of potential for suspense. It's similar in this way to the later adaption The Omega Man (1971), in that the vampires make for somewhat surprisingly feeble monsters on the whole and never threaten as much as they really should. Unlike in that Charlton Heston film though, at least here they are not philosophical beings and do at least have one sole objective to kill our protagonist; it's just a pity that they usually attempt to do so in such clunky and easily-avoidable ways. That said this film is the only adaption that is brave enough to have a dark ending which serves this version very well and works better for the story as a whole. But despite the horror material, much of the focus here is on more easily relatable themes such as loneliness and isolation. Part of the success of the film is that the audience can put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist and imagine what they would do and how they would cope.
Shot in crisp black and white, it looks great. There are many shots of deserted cityscapes which give off a very effective ambiance. There is an oddness to these, in that despite the film being set in America it was actually shot in Rome, meaning that we often see distinctive Italian architecture which always seems a bit off. It works quite well though, in that it merely adds a layer of almost dreamlike strangeness to proceedings. On the whole, this is a good, albeit flawed, movie which is quite original in approach.