All Alone, Except For The Undead

 The Last Man On Earth (1964) – A plague of unknown origin has turned humanity into vampires with the exception of one man.  He sits huddled inside his fortified home as the undead beat against the door each night, hoping to find a way to survive

Directed by Sidney Salkow

Starring Vincent Price (and a bunch of Italian actors you’ve never heard of)

Why I Liked It – A solid if unremarkable science fiction cult classic

If this story line seems familiar, it should.  Beyond the multiple titles with this same “last man standing”plot, there’s the usual batch of plot touch points.  A mysterious disease has done terrible things to the population of the planet.  Strange undead things walk the night.  Blah, blah, blah.  This movie is based on Richard Matheson’s novel “I Am Legend” as is 1971’s “Omega Man” with Charlton Heston, and 2007’s “I Am Legend” with Will Smith.  Matheson wrote an early version of the script in 1957 but wasn’t happy with the final version.  His writing credit is listed as “Logan Swanson”.  He also was not a fan of Price’s casting. There’s an interesting side note that Price felt his version was superior to Heston’s while Heston thought the earlier movie was poor.  George Romero cited Price’s version as a powerful influence on his iconic “Night of the Living Dead”.  

Audiences were not thrilled by the movie, and it was not successful at the box office.  The combination of Vincent Price, zombie-like vampires, and a classic ’50s science fiction look did provide all the elements needed for “The Last Man on Earth” to become a cult classic.  It even passed out of copyright, making it easier to copy, show and share.

So what’s so great about this movie?

Honestly?  Not much.  Price is OK, the script is OK, the zombie vampires are OK.  Filmed in Italy on a typical low budget, the rest of the cast is overdubbed for their dialogue.  There is nothing special about this movie.  It turns out, there doesn’t have to be. On the other side, there’s nothing terrible about it either.  It gets through the story in a workmanlike fashion.  Price brings enough screen presence to carry things, which is a good thing since he’s onscreen almost every single minute of the movie.  It is what it is, and that’s enough to carry me through the whole movie.  The ending is a bit of a mess, but there are at least two endings for the movie, neither of which blew me away.

So, sit back, grab some popcorn and hit play.  If you don’t overthink this one, you’ll have a good enough time.

Rating – *** Worth A Look