There seem to be a lot of movies lately that feature a select few survivors of a catastrophic apocalypse who have to battle mutated humans in their search for other survivors (see 28 Days Later, The Happening, I Am Legend, and Shaun of the Dead). This, however, is not a new concept.
An early pioneer of the post-apocalyptic vampire-mutant survivalist story was the novelist responsible for the 1954 science fiction book, I Am Legend. Richard Matheson's story about the last man alive in a future Los Angeles has now been reproduced as a movie three times.
The original was 1964's The Last Man on Earth, starring the legendary Vincent Price, and the most recent was 2007's I Am Legend, featuring Oscar nominee Will Smith. Not to be outdone in star power, 1971's The Omega Man enlisted one of the greatest actors of the time, Charlton Heston, to play the protagonist, Dr. Robert Neville.
The Omega Man deviates from Matheson's book and the other movies by turning the vampire creatures into a cult called "The Family," an obvious reference to the Manson Family and their murderous plot a few years prior. Neville must avoid being caught by the nocturnal Family at night by barricading himself in an apartment with powerful searchlights outside to keep the albino light-sensitive creatures at bay.
Continuing with its social commentary, The Omega Man pits the power of science against the power of God. The Family believes that they have survived the apocalypse, which was put into place by the power of scientific knowledge, wielded by super-powers China and Russia during a final World War. They want to rid the earth of the last remaining purveyor of science — Neville.
With limited special effects capabilities and deviation from the vampire concept, the producers of The Omega Man chose to prey on people's existing fears, rather than an unknown future. The question becomes, what is more scary — cannibalistic vampire-mutants, or a violent, delusional, puritanical cult?
Go see The Omega Man at the Northeast '08 Music and Movies on Tuesday, June 17, at The Basin, 22nd Ave. NE and Quincy St. NE. Death to Our Enemies will provide the music portion of the evening.