Also since the most recent screen adaptation I've viewed is Will Smith's I Am Legend which I've now realised is completely different to the book.
Robert Neville is apparently the last man on earth after a bacteria plague sweeps across the US (we assume). Everyone else is infected with this bacteria which displays symptoms of vampirism. There are the true vampires (which are actually dead but the bacteria keeps them up and moving, searching for blood) and then the other vampires which are just infected but didn't actually die and rise from the dead.
There are lots of key differences between this character and the one Will Smith portrays. In the book he is a white, alcoholic non-scientist and lives day to day just trying to survive, eventually trying to find a cure but is unsuccessful.
The title also has a darker meaning than in the film and he does not find any other 'normal' survivors.
I found this book okay. It is not horror, more a study of one man's loneliness and his continual need for survival. I realise this sounds really underwhelming, I did enjoy the book but not as much as I thought I would.
I have also seen The Omega Man with Charlton Heston which was the second film adaptation, but not the first which was The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price. Maybe this version is the most faithful to the book because Omega Man also deviated from the source material. Although it apparently had the first interracial kiss/relationship on film. Score one point for Mr Heston for taking part in something progressive.
6 comments:
Even though Omega Man deviated from the storyline, it is still one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies.
I don't know if I could read this book. Even if it isn't horror. I saw the movie in theaters and started crying during a preview. That set the whole tone for the movie.
LadyJ, I still enjoyed it but I think reading the book after seeing 2 of the adaptations just ruined it for me!
Alison, I got so teary watching it as well! Hell embarrassing in public.
I actually really prefer the book. It's much more thoughtful instead of just an end of the world scenario. Richard Matheson's one of the all time great horror writers--his short stories, novels, and his Twilight Zone eps (yep, them too) have a great place in the pantheon of horror.
I really liked this book. Have you read any of Matheson's other books?
I haven't read any of his other books, may have to look into that. I did still enjoy it don't get me wrong, I just shouldn't have been comparing it to the movie adaptations.
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