3 Movies, 1 Book: I Am Legend

In the annals of horror, Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend has become precisely what its title proclaims. Authors who are the genre's giants such as Stephen King and Dean Koontz mark it as one of the books that inspired them to pick up a pen. The cinematic world has been an advocate as well. It has been officially adapted three times for the big screen, a few times unofficially, and ripped off numerous other times. It practically gave birth to the idea of a zombie apocalypse without calling it such.

For today's exercise, we're focusing on the three official film adaptations of the iconic book. The first was 1964's The Last Man on Earth, starring horror legend Vincent Price in the lead role. That was followed by 1971's The Omega Man with Charlton Heston taking over last man duties. The last was 2007's I Am Legend with Will Smith as our hero. If nothing else, it's a part played by three highly accomplished actors.

Our purpose is two-fold. First, we want to find out which of the three movies is the most faithful to its source material. Despite the fact they are all adapted from the same novel, they are hardly the same. Neither of the latter two movies could be called a remake of the one(s) before it. Second, which one is the best movie? After all, a film is not necessarily better or worse because it is more or less faithful to its source.

With this in mind, we will use a grading system different from my usual. We're going to break this thing down into seven different categories and give them two grades for each on a scale of four undead. One grade will be called "Faithfulness." I think that one is self-explanatory. The other is for "Effectiveness." Is whatever the movie does in a given category effective for the movie that it's in? Does it work? At the end, I'll bring back my normal scale to give you an idea of my thoughts on how good the movies are.

SPOILER ALERT!

NORMALLY, I try not to spoil the movies I review. Since this is a comparative breakdown, there are spoilers aplenty. So if you haven't seen any of these movies, or read the book and you plan to do just that, continue at your own risk. Most importantly, don't come whining to me that I ruined them for you.

Now, let's get to the bottom of this...

Our Hero

The Novel: A vicious plague has swept the Earth, transforming people into vampires. As best he can tell, Robert Neville has been the last uninfected man on the planet for almost a year. He's still figuring out the ins and outs of survival. Most days are spent travelling around driving stakes into the hearts of as many vampires as he can find. He drops them into a smoldering pit left by the military as the best way to dispose of infected bodies. Most nights are spent drinking himself into a stupor and blaring classical music while the vampires hang around his house trying to get in. Being alone for so long, he also has to fight off his own sexual urges as the females among those vampires expose themselves and do other things in hopes of drawing him out. Though he was just a regular guy before all this, he eventually starts trying to figure out what makes the vampires the way they are.

The Last Man on Earth (LM): Inexplicably named Robert Morgan (Price), we meet our hero three years after he's "inherited the earth." He's a weary vet with his system of survival down pat, the way he is very late in the novel. When he's not killing vampires, he's taking the dead ones that lay at his doorstep each morning to "the pit." Before the plague decimated the population, he was a scientist working on figuring it out and finding a cure. Vincent Price is perfectly worn out which serves the movie well.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

The Omega Man (OM): Robert Neville (Heston) lives in a swanky second floor apartment stocked with food and tools around town in a sweet convertible. Though he does spend his days killing the creatures of the night, his weapon of choice is an assault rifle. He's also been alone for several years, and occasionally loses track of time watching a movie at the local theater or browsing the racks at a clothing store. Before things went completely south, he was a military doctor who became immune by injecting himself with an experimental vaccine. Now, after long days of gunning down the infected, he relaxes at night with a drink and some classical music. In this role, Charlton Heston is all 70s swagger, baby.

Faithfulness:  
Effectiveness: 

I Am Legend (IL): It's been three years since the plague has wiped out or transformed the rest of the population. Robert Neville pays close attention to the time while out and about with his dog and his rifle. He avoids the infected as much as possible, preferring to spend his time trying to solve the riddle of the plague and now continues to work hard on a cure. By night, he retreats to the bathroom of his heavily barricaded apartment and curls up in the bathtub with his pet and his weapon. Forgoing his trademark boisterousness, Will Smith plays our hero as a very cautious and justifiably terrified man.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

Side Note: The one thing none of the three movies does is develop our hero as a character. He simply is what he is when we first meet him and merely has to make a few decisions along the way. In the book, we see him grow, both in how he reacts to his circumstances and in trying to understand the disease that has taken over the world. This makes him a much more intriguing protagonist than any of the films make him.

Our Hero's Family

Novel: Through the use of flashbacks, we find out that Neville once had a wife and daughter, Virginia and Kathy, respectively. His daughter is infected early on. When this becomes known, the government literally snatches her out of Neville's arm and takes her to the pit where all of the sick are burned. Virginia is also infected and seems to die in their home. Not wanting her to suffer the same indignity as Kathy, Robert drives here body out to the boonies and buries it. A few days later she shows up back at home. Robert has no choice but to stake her like any other vampire.

LM: Much of what takes place in this part of the story is lifted directly from the book. In Virginia's (Emma Danieli) case, this is fine except it's never quite clear how he manages to get rid of her the second time around. As far as Kathy (Christi Courtland) is concerned, the only difference is that she is taken from Virginia's arms instead of Robert's and he goes down to the pit in an unsuccessful effort to save her. The problem is in execution. The acting job done by Courtland is all sorts of atrocious. Granted, she's only a little girl at the time but her performance is laughably bad. She's supposed to have gone blind as a result of her sickness, but it is very clear that she isn't. This is a case where being faithful to the book doesn't quite work out the way it is intended.

Faithfulness:  
Effectiveness: 

OM: What family? Seriously, having once been a devoted husband and a doting father is not this guy's style. There was once too much tail out there to be chased.

Faithfulness: ZERO
Effectiveness: 

IL: This time, the flashbacks tell us that Robert's wife Zoe (Salli Richardson) and daughter Marley (the star's real life daughter Willow) were not infected. Thanks to our hero's standing in the world, they were lucky enough to be part of a group that is being evacuated from the city by helicopter. Unfortunately, a mishap on another helicopter causes it to crash into theirs, presumably killing everyone aboard either one.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

The Plague

Novel: The vampire germ is an airborne strain which turns out to be an unintended consequence of atomic warfare. It spreads quickly throughout the world on the winds of the frequent dust storms that have also resulted from the war.

LM: An unidentified European disease has become airborne and blown around the world, transforming everyone into vampires.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

OM: As a result of biological warfare between China and Russia, most of the world's population is killed. The survivors are all mutated and rendered a little loose in the noggin.

Faithfulness:    
Effectiveness: 

IL: The vaccine that cures cancer is hailed as an unmitigated success. Unfortunately, it soon mutates and transforms the host. Eventually, it becomes airborne and yada, yada, yada.

Faithfulness:  
Effectiveness: 

Creatures of the Night

Novel: They are vampires in that they dine on blood, cannot come out during the day and can't be killed by gunfire, but will succumb to a wooden stake through the heart. They also exhibit what we now think of as zombie characteristics. They move slowly, mumble incoherently and groan a lot. They're also obviously mentally inferior to our hero. In fact, they're downright imbecilic. Each night, a number of them mill around Neville's house, calling his name and trying to draw him out. When they get hungry, they feed on the weaker one of their own kind. Any humans they kill rise up to join their ranks.

LM: Our vampires are almost exactly as they are in the novel. The only slight difference is they are also a lot physically weaker than normal human beings. Unfortunately, this doesn't come off so well on the screen. They seem to be very little threat to our hero.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

OM: Are they vampires? No. Zombies? No. For lack of a better description they're demented albinos. Their hair and skin are gray and they're homicidal. Other than that, they don't seem to be any physiologically different than they might have been before. They have certainly maintained their mental capacity and are quite organized. All of the ones we meet belong to a highly organized cult called The Family. It's more goofy than anything else.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

IL: These guys are closer to zombies in appearance, but like vampires they can't come out during the day. As zombies go, they're a modernized sort that move with great speed and strength. As vampires go, they're more primitive. They do show some thought organization, even if it is only in service of their relentless aggression. They're simply out to kill or infect any humans left. Unlike in the novel and both of the other movies, they initially have no idea where Robert lives. Occasionally, the CGI that brings them to life is too easily noticeable. Faithful? Not really. Effective? Yes really.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

Who's That Girl?

Novel: Ruth is a young woman Neville comes across while out and about one day. Since at first she's scared of him, our hero has to chase her down and gives her a place to stay after finding out she's been wandering around for a while. Turns out, she's part of a group of vampires who have discovered something that keeps the disease at bay. It allows them to appear human, move around in the daylight and maintain their faculties. Of course, they have to repeatedly take this drug to stay this way. These vampires vow to start a new society of which Ruth is a ranking officer. Their first order of business is killing Robert Neville.

LM: Ruth's (Franca Bettoia) story plays out nearly identical to the way it does in the book. Some of the conversations between she and Robert are ripped verbatim from its pages. One difference is that this is all very platonic. There is no sex between them in the book, but once he sees a human girl for the first time in forever, he can't help but have some dirty thoughts. There is no hint of that in this movie. The other difference comes at the end. Ruth is merely a pawn in the plans of the leaders of this new society and tries to come to our hero's defense. Unlike it's depiction of the vampires that hang around the house this is not only faithful, it works very well.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

OM: Ruth is now named Lisa (Rosalind Cash). Robert's discovery of her happens in a department store but starts off in the same manner as the book. From there, things change. She actually lives in the hill with a group of people forming a rather passive resistance to The Family. Most, if not all of them, are themselves infected. They just haven't turned gray and crazy, yet. Except for Lisa's teenage brother Richie (Eric Laneuville), that is. He is in the process of changing and grows increasingly ill as the movie progresses. This is the only entry, book included, to show Robert act on his sexual urges. Extra kudos for this action starts with one of the earliest known interracial kisses in American cinema.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

IL: This time Ruth is named Anna (Alice Braga) and is travelling with a little boy named Ethan (Charlie Tahan). They meet our hero by saving his life one night, by the way this is a sizable plot-hole (more on that later). She and Ethan are uninfected and trying to get to the rumored colony of survivors, of which Robert doesn't believe. Anna is completely set up as the movie's beacon of hope, not only because of her insistence on the colony's existence, but also that of God despite Robert's vehement arguments for the contrary. Like TLM, this one eschews any notion of sexual attraction.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

Who's That Dog?

Novel: One morning, Neville happily discovers a small dog in front of his hous that quickly scurries away in fear. Over the course of a few weeks, he and the dog form a bond at which point he finally gets the canine into the house with a major struggle. He soon discovers the dog is infected and dies within a week though its never made explicitly clear how.

(Couldn't actually find a pic of the dog, but this should sum it up)

LM: The relationship between Robert and the dog plays out much like Robert Matheson created it, albeit in a much truncated form. The rather small difference is that when our hero discovers the dog is infected, he stakes it like the rest of the vampires and buries it.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

OM: What dog? Trying to care for some stray might have forced our hero to show his less manly side. Charlton Heston doesn't have a less manly side.

Faithfulness: ZERO                
Effectiveness: 

IL: This time around, Neville gets the dog, named Sam, as a pup from his daughter while the girl and her mom are being evacuated. The youngster tells dad to take care of it. Three years later, the pup is full grown and functions as both the only companion to our hero and the last link to his family. Unfortunately, a nasty battle with a pair of infected dogs causes Sam to contract the virus, herself. Neville tries to save Sam, but ends up having to put him down by snapping the poor mutt's neck.

Faithfulness:              
Effectiveness: 

The Big Finish

Novel: Ruth takes off but leaves a letter behind explaining about the pill she takes that enables her to remain somewhat normal. Robert then figures out a major detail about why people have become infected in the manner they have. We fast-forward a few years and Ruth's people come after our hero, bring him back to their headquarters and kill him. It's clearly set up as a massive turn of the tables. Now that he is the only "man" and spends so much time killing vampires, he has become the monster. As the book says, "normalcy is a majority concept." The vampires are afraid of him and must get rid of him before their new society can thrive. The hero has become the villain.

LM: Robert has an idea that his blood can cure the "disease." He finds out he's right when he cures Ruth. However, since her people are coming for our hero tonight there's no time to stop them and inform them of the good news. Instead, they show up gung-ho, ready to kill. Robert manages to get away from home but is chased to a nearby church where he is killed. The prevailing idea of the transferable quality of normalcy remains with the added religious weight of Robert's pleading with them to let him "save" them while being executed in a house of worship.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

OM: Our hero comes up with a cure utilizing his own blood, cooks up a batch and uses it to rescue Lisa's brother. The boy is so thankful, he takes it upon himself to go tell The Family about the wonderful thing Robert did for him. He's killed for his trouble. Before the kid dies, Robert learns where he went to tries to save him, again. Unfortunately, Robert also gets himself killed. Meanwhile, Lisa's infection finally takes over. She changes and joins up with the bad guys. Before taking his last breath, Robert hands over some of his magic potion to the folks from the hills who take off with Lisa in tow. It's only a little bit, but the clear indication is that they will be able to cure themselves and live happy lives far away from The Family.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

IL: Thanks to Anna being followed the night she saved Robert, they're all over his hous and eventually get in, trapping Robert, Anna, and Ethan in his lab. During the mayhem, Robert discovers that his vaccine is actually working on the sedated vampire/zombie he has strapped to a hospital bed. He puts some in a vial, gives it to Anna and puts her and the boy in a secured vent to hide until morning when they can escape. As the angry mob of vampires finally breaks down the glass wall between them and our hero, he blows up the whole building with himself in it. The next morning, Anna and Ethan drive to the survivor's colony and hands over the cure to the military. The implication here is that they will replicate it and bring an end to the madness. Like the other two movies, it plays up the idea of Robert becoming a martyr, but like OM, misses the main theme of the book.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

Final Movie Grades

Note: The "faithfulness" and "effectiveness" scores reflect each movie's average score for all the previous categories, but is not exact. "On My Usual Scale" is what I grade the movie using my normal method.

LM: Of the three movies, this is clearly the most faithful to the book. Of course, that should be expected since Richard Matheson himself churned out the original screenplay. It was revamped enough that he decided to remove his name, but his fingerprints are still all over it. LM takes a number of passages and applies them to the screen almost exactly as they are on the page. Its conclusion maintains the ideas the book conveys. It is also the only movie to show us Robert's relationship with Ben Cortman, a co-worker before the outbreak who is now the first vampire outside his door every night. Cortman remains simultaneously symbolic of what once was and what currently is. Perhaps due to the era in which it was made, LM almost completely removes sex from the equation while Matheson's novel often reminds us that Neville has gone without for quite a while and feels the urge strongly. Still, this movie's overall commitment to its source largely pays off. The only real drawback is that the vampires come off as rather lame. Unfortunately, this is a sizable detriment to a movie that otherwise works rather nicely as thought-provoking horror. The tone is slightly off from what we expect from the genre and it doesn't have any of what we think of as "scary" moments, but its a solid movie.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

On My Usual Scale: 7.5/10

OM: Here, we have a movie that tries to do too much of its own thing in an effort to update what was then twenty year old material. The irony of this is that the novel is actually set during the mid 1970s. OM is particularly mindful of the fact that it was made during an era when revolution was in the air. After all, the turbulent sixties was barely in America's rear view mirror and The Black Panther Party was still a prominent organization. In fact, they were a heavy influence on how the character Lisa is portrayed. More importantly, they were a big reason the vampires were changed into a revolutionary type sect, instead of mindless wandering creatures. Without question this is the most politically charged (and right wing?) of the three films. By itself, that doesn't make it any less of a movie. More of an issue is how goofy many of the changes come off. They may have worked back when OM first came out, but they haven't aged well. The whole thing is steeped in 70s silliness, not all of it in a good way. It also loses points by omitting some elements completely and coming across more as an action flick than horror.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

On My Usual Scale: 5.5/10

IL: Like OM, IL does plenty of its own thing in the name of updating the material. In the case, the majority of it works. Most important is the tone of the movie and the creatures themselves. It is effectively dreadful and worrisome. Our hero is a legitimately scared guy who has a set schedule for everything to ensure he is back home by dark. What he is hiding from is truly dangerous, something lost in the Vincent Price movie. They're stronger and faster than our hero and made purely of aggression. This time, however, the presence of the woman and the little boy is as much a negative as it is a positive. She's more transparently a plot point while the boy is pretty much a prop. They also create at least one plot hole: if the creatures are able to follow her home as she sped away in Neville's vehicle, how is this not so big lady able to drag this six foot plus, two hundred something pound man up a flight of outdoor steps, unlock and push open the heavy door and get her, him and the child to safety? Of course, once inside she apparently carries him up a much longer flight of stairs and puts him to bed. And how did she know how to get there anyway? Presumably, she's not familiar with the area since she's from Brazil, and somehow made her way to New York via Philadelphia. Honestly, this doesn't ruin the movie for me, but definitely earns it a demerit. Lastly, our big finish also chooses to go the OM route and showcase our hero's benevolence by having him sacrifice himself. However, it's sacrifice born more Robert's sense of civic duty than of any romantic inclinations since, like LM it removes sex from the proceedings all together. In the end, we have a movie that's more faithful to the spirit of the main character than to the novel itself, but is the best functioning as a horror pic and most exciting of the three.

Faithfulness: 
Effectiveness: 

On My Usual Scale: 7.5/10