Day 22: The Cinematic Legend of I AM LEGEND

Since Richard Matheson's I Am Legend was published in 1954, there have been three attempts at adapting the novel: The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price in 1964, The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston in 1971, and I Am Legend starring Will Smith in 2007. The most interesting thing about these films is how The Last Man on Earth and I Am Legend serve as bookends to the zombie genre. I'll mostly be ignoring The Omega Man, as it is the most divergent from the novel, and doesn't serve any real purpose in this essay.

Matheson's novel is a deconstruction of the vampire. The vampires that come about as a result of a global virus have symptoms associated with vampirism, yet Robert Neville surmises that many of these are psychological. The way they act is based on how they think a vampire should act. Belief has to do with their weaknesses as well, as in the case of Neville's former colleague, Ben Cortman, a cross has no effect on him, but the Jewish Torah does. These vampires are also slow moving and slow-witted, not the cunning, sexy vampires of Stoker or portrayed by Lugosi. 

While the deconstructed vampire isn't carried over into The Last Man on Earth, the de-evolved one is. They are slow, stupid, and single minded in pursuit of Neville. They are drawn to him not only because he is food, but because he represents a tie to the world that used to be. This film takes the vampire away from the role of the other and reminds us that he is us. There's no allure here for living past death. It is something the mind can't handle and it brings humanity down to its very worst. This film is cited as an inspiration for the modern zombie, for the "Romero" zombie, which I'll touch on a bit more tomorrow. For now, its important to note that rather than revolutionize the vampire genre, the zombie genre was birthed instead.

Cut to 40 years later, and another adaptation of I Am Legend which has more influences in recent zombie films than it does in the book or in vampire lore. The "dark seekers" in the film, are an amalgamation of running zombies and Bat Boy from the Weekly World News. They're sensitive to sunlight, burning but not incinerating, and can be killed with bullets or whatever else is lying around. They are strong, they are fast, and they are all exactly the same. There is very little definition to these creature in design and in behavior. The seekers are supposed to have a leader creature, but its hard to tell when they all have the same features and the same tattered clothing. And for the most part, there is no effort to show that these creatures are us. 

As I said, there is almost no effort to show any humanity in the "dark seekers." However, there are little touches here and there, and there is an alternate cut. The leader shows affection for the female seeker that Neville captures in both cuts of the film. The leader also sets a trap for Neville, copying the same trap that Neville caught his mate with. These elements are in both cuts of the film, yet in the theatrical cut they are ignored by Neville, without any indication that this is willful ignorance. It just seems to be glossed over. They've been stripped of their humanity so that Smith's Neville can retain his, so that in spite of any evidence to the contrary, he remains the hero.

Here's where I briefly bring in Mr. Heston's film. Both the Omega Man and I Am Legend succeed when their leading man is left alone. But once the monsters and other survivors are introduced, the filmmakers chose to put everything into stark black and white. The grey areas of the first film and the novel are ignored. They don't allow any humanity in their monsters nor do they allow any monster in their heroes. Each sacrifices themselves for "the greater good" of the remnants of humanity rather than accept the reality of Price's film and Matheson's book, that humanity is dead, and Robert Neville, the last man,  is nothing more than a legend.