Long before The Walking Dead and The Lost Boys, there was The Omega Man. The movie tells the story of Robert Neville (Charlton Heston) who believes he is the last man on Earth. Three years prior a nuclear explosion occurred, wiping out a large portion of humanity. Those who did survive gradually changed, faces and hair becoming gray, irises becoming white and empty, and no longer could these people be in light. Driving throughout Los Angeles during the day, Neville is seeking out the group of affected known as “The Family.” Their leader, Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), has taunted Neville every day since realizing Neville was the sole person around who, in his opinion, was dead.

As it turns out, Neville was a scientist working on a cure for those affected by the nuclear blast, and is the only person to have taken the antidote. He isn’t the only person not affected though, as he finds out three years into losing his mind and hunting Matthias’ group.

Based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I am Legend, this story has been adapted many times over the years, starting in 1964 with Vincent Price as the main character, up to 2007 with Will Smith, and apparently I am Omega, a direct-to-DVD remake the same year. This story is so famous that many might recognize the nature of the vampires/zombies in this film from George Romero’s original Night of the Living Dead.

While I have not seen the other remakes or original (it’s Vincent Price so it’s on my list), these ideas have been used so often that it is not shocking that this film has stayed around for so long. Despite not understanding exactly what the creatures in the film are—it was a nuclear virus in the air so it’s zombies, but the creatures communicate and cannot handle sunlight so they must be vampires—I understood as a kid that it was a tale of good vs. evil. Recently thinking on this film, I realized the only part of the film I still recalled was the fact that Neville spends his day in the movie theater watching Woodstock, as it was the movie being shown at the end of the world. Perhaps this may be since I had recently seen Woodstock for the first time as a kid before seeing this, or because both films are classics, but now that I have rewatched this movie, I have the urge to watch more classic films from this era.

Next week I will continue my journey into classics from my childhood. I will leave the topic a surprise for now though.