The Last Man On Earth

I've heard a lot of talk lately about making books into movies and what the film maker owes to the author. Should the movie be exactly like the book? Does the film maker have the right to alter the story dramatically to fit the movie? Well, as long as the movie is good, I honestly don't care a whole hell of a lot! A good movie is a good movie is a good movie, but a bad movie is what I'm all about!! I've heard for years that a 'real' version of the Richard Matheson book, I Am Legend, is going to be made. Well, two versions are already out there, one, the Charlton Heston classis, The Omega Man, is one of my favorites and a 70s classic. The other, I hadn't seen until recently, so let's take a look at Vincent Price in The Last Man On Earth.



If you've seen The Omega Man, then this doesn't hold a ton of surprises, but since it was first, I'll have to assume that people who saw this first said the same thing. Here's the story: Vincent Price is a scientist who's working on a cure to a virus that's sweeping the planet turning people into vampires. Well, they call them vampires, but I saw no blood sucking and no fangs, but I wasn't there, so what do I know. After the planet is overrun by these creatures, the only person left alive is Vincent Price. Now, Vince is on a mission to destroy the vampires that have polutes his planet and he goes out every day with wooden stakes and kills as many as he can. This movie has a pretty slow pace, but it was made in the 50s so give it a break!! The themes of racial divisivenss and the religious overtones are less heavy handed than they were in the Heston version, but they're still there and, honestly, Vincent Price as the potential savior of mankind is a little on the laughable side, you have to admit!

I'm giving The Last Man On Earth two out of four cigars, because, as slow as it moves, it's still a pretty good movie. You've got death, destruction, vampires and a giant hole with hundreds of burning corpses...not unlike the Simpsons Springfield Tire Fire! It's worth checking out if you've never seen it before. So, until next time when I'll out myself as a creature of the night, not because I shun the light, but because I have a really crappy shift, remember that the best movies are bad movies.