The Omega Man
“The Omega Man,” as you are probably aware, is an adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic novel, I Am Legend, and that becomes very clear from the opening shots of Charlton Heston, driving around a desolate city, in the daylight, exploring the remains of a world now gone. Matheson’s novel is a huge inspiration on the zombie genre that George Romero helped invent with “The Night of the Living Dead,” and you can see that more clearly in the 2007 adaptation of the book, starring Will Smith. “The Omega Man” has a weird slant on the material, one that does make sense for the early 1970s, but also one that is out of step with other adaptations. The changes make it compelling.
Heston is Dr. Robert Neville, one of the scientists who was working on a cure for the pathogen that led to the end of the world. In Matheson’s book, the creatures are described in a way that points toward vampirism; one of the ways the screenplay by John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington (“Battle for the Planet of the Apes”) deviates from the source material is that the creatures in “The Omega Man” have a voice. Led by Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), formerly a news anchor, The Family- as they are known- is a cult of plague victims who blame technology for the apocalypse that came. Neville drives around during the day, avoiding being out at night, as the victims are unable to stand the daylight. It is basically Neville vs. Matthias’s Family until Neville sees someone who is still living on his checkpoints. The woman is Lisa (Rosalind Cash), who is part of a group of survivors looking for a cure, and doing what they can to keep living. Maybe Neville, who is immune, is the key.
From that general description, you can see the blueprint that Matheson had laid out in I Am Legend, and which was used in the Will Smith version. The fact that Matthias’s Family can speak, rather than simply being inhuman monsters, adds a dynamic to the film that does feel right out of the ’70s. In a weird way, they represent the counterculture that is against war, government intervention, and the status quo of humanity that led to their demise. Meanwhile, Neville and the other survivors hope for something of a return to the way life was, and they are our rooting interest in the film. When you think about Heston’s personal politics, that makes sense, but it’s a unique inversion of how we would normally view a film like this politically. Director Boris Sagal does not really have anything else particularly noteworthy on his filmography- at least, nothing more known than this- and he does a serviceable job with the film, getting good performances out of the cast (I like that this isn’t just about Heston’s character), and directing the set pieces in the film- the moments with Heston on his own at the beginning are terrific in how they set up the atmosphere of the film. I like that “The Omega Man” doesn’t try to be too far into the future- the film takes place in 1977- so the distinctly ’70s aesthetic of the city and clothing isn’t too far removed from reality. For a somewhat kitchy ’70s science fiction film, there’s a lot to ponder, and appreciate, in this film, even if it doesn’t match the profundity of Heston’s more iconic “Planet of the Apes” a few years before. If you’re a fan of the source material (or the Will Smith film), it’s worth a watch to do some compare and contrast.
