I Am Legend
I Am Legend is a 1954 science fiction novel by Richard Matheson about a world-wide pandemic of a bacterium that causes vampirism. The hero is the last surviving unaffected human, living in a house fortified against nocturnal attacks by the infected, and sallying forth by daylight to kill the vampires besieging him.
It has twice been filmed, though the films are generally regarded by critics as having been very poor adaptations:
- 1964: The Last Man on Earth (Italian film, original 1963 title L'Ultimo Uomo Della Terra) Matheson wrote the screenplay for this adaptation, but it was so changed in later rewrites that he did not want his name in the credits, and is listed there under the pseudonym "Logan Swanson". The film starred Vincent Price.
- 1971: The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston and 2002: 28 Days Later, by Trainspotting director Danny Boyle. Arguably an adaptation of the book, that replaced vampires with murderous zombies.
I Am Legend also indirectly inspired The Homega Man, a segment on a Halloween episode of The Simpsons, in which Homer Simpson survived a French neutron bomb attack to apparently become the last man on Earth.
In addition to 28 Days Later, just about all movies that feature vampiric-like creatures attacking individuals can be said to have been inspired by I Am Legend. Most notable amongst them being George Romero's Living Dead movies.
