The Last Man on Earth

This is about as faithful to Richard Matheson's classic story "I Am Legend" as has ever been put to film. Vincent Price gives a great performance as the sole survivor (Dr. Robert Morgan) of a deadly plague that has wiped out every human on Earth except him. The thing that stands out about this movie is that it is filmed in black and white and looks rather low budget. However that does nothing but help the ravaged rundown mood of the film. The city streets reflect a barren wasteland now the property of the vampire/zombie leftovers of humanity. There is an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness that permeates everything. The scenes with Morgan's wife and daughter and their decents into the death that the disease brings is desperately sad and the fire pit where the bodies are burned is equally depressing. The ending almost goes the distance in that it certainly offers no hope but it doesn't quite match the book's finale which is a real shocker. This should not be overlooked by Price or Matheson fans. In fact for classic Horror fanatics it's a must see.

Vincent Price is...The Last Man on Earth. When a plague wipes out humanity, turning them into the undead, only one man remains uninfected and dedicated to wiping out the disease. Unfortunately, the storytelling is rather poor and relies too much on voiceover. And, Vincent Price’s performance is a bit one-dimensional and overacted. Additionally, the nature of the creatures is confusing; they’re referred to as vampires, but really they’re more zombie-like. The Last Man on Earth is a little bland at times, but it presents some interesting ideas and is fairly entertaining.