Movies

Based on the Novel By: ‘I am Legend’ by Richard Matheson

Published

3 years ago

May 10, 2021

Welcome back readers to “Based on the Novel By,” a new series devoted to the many horror films and series based on previously published novels and short stories excluding the works of Stephen King. (I love the King, but he’s been adapted so much. It’s just nice to talk about someone else for a change.) This week, we’re diving into I am Legend by the incomparable Richard Matheson.

Read on for more about I am Legend, and tell us your favorite adaptation down in the comments below!

Who is Richard Matheson?

Oh, I’m so glad you asked! Author and screenwriter Richard Matheson was one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century, producing a vast array of short stories, novels/novellas, and scripts. The Twilight Zone series featured 16 tales by the author including “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” “Little Girl Lost,” and “The Invaders.”

You might not know his name, but you most certainly know his work. He’s an author who will most definitely turn up in the series again.

I Am Legend, the Novella

Published in 1954, Matheson’s novel is a bit of a hybrid, blending survivalist horror with ideas that would become standard tropes in both the zombie and vampire genres.

The story centers on Robert Neville who, so far as he knows, is the last remaining human being alive. The rest of the world’s population has been decimated by a pandemic. Those who did not die have become vampires of sorts that seem, for all intents and purposes, to follow the known “rules:” living entirely in the dark, feeding on human blood, repelled by garlic and crucifixes.

Neville spends his days in solitude, gathering supplies, surviving, and killing as many of the creatures as he can in hopes of surviving. At night, he barricades himself inside his house as the creatures surround his home, entreating and taunting him to leave the safety of his home.

Then, late one afternoon, he spies a young woman who seems “normal.” He brings her home and asks her permission to look at her blood, to see if she is immune to the ravages of the contagion that has transformed the rest of the world.

I won’t tell you the rest. I’ll only say that the finale of the book is one of the most chilling I’ve ever read, and though the novella has problems in pacing, and in following through on some of its brilliant ideas, it remains one of my favorites.

From Page to Screen

Many filmmakers have credited I am Legend for inspiring their own work. George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was undeniably influenced by the story. The novella has been directly adapted three times to varying degrees.

The Last Man on Earth

The first of these adaptations was The Last Man on Earth, released in 1964 and starring Vincent Price as Dr. Robert Morgan–the only time in three adaptations that the character’s name was changed. Of the three, this is by far the most faithful to Matheson’s original novel, though after a series of changes he asked that his name be changed in the credits to Logan Swanson.

Price takes to the role beautifully. He is entirely believable in his solitude, and the loneliness and depression that is a daily reminder of his predicament. What I love most, however, is that this adaptation seems to capture the feel and atmosphere of the story more than the others, especially where the ending is concerned.

It is an imperfect film adapted from an imperfect book, but it still carries an emotional impact that would be lacking in the next adaptation.

The Omega Man

Ugh, not my favorite adaptation ever, mostly because the director and writers seemed more worried about letting Charlton Heston be a badass than they were about…well, anything else. They removed most of the vampiric qualities from the “vampires,” renaming them The Family and having them act almost like a religious cult.

Gone is the subtlety of Matheson’s treatise on humanity and the other. Instead we have Heston posturing, shirtless whenever possible, firing a gun so often it’s almost comical, and playing the alpha male instead of the “omega man” of the title. They did manage to shake things up a bit by casting the incomparable Rosalind Cash as Heston’s love interest in the film. It was a risky move in the 70s for an interracial couple to appear onscreen.

Don’t worry, though. Heston manages to even flub that with one of the most one-sided love scenes I’ve ever seen on film.

The film is worth seeing if you want to see all the various adaptations of Matheson’s work, but for me, it’s a rent-it-only title.

I am Legend

This is, most likely, the one you’re most familiar with. Released in 2007 and starring Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville, the film seems to draw upon both the original novel and the Omega Man film.

Again, there were quite a number of changes from the source material. The virus that wiped out humanity was born from experiments intended to eradicate cancer. Instead of intelligent vampire-like beings, the antagonists are feral, monstrous beings that attack en masse.

Still, this version does manage more of the emotional beats of the source material than The Omega Man. It tugs at the heartstrings even as it packs on the pulse-pounding action. One of the more marked differences comes in this film’s ending, however, though I won’t discuss that to avoid spoilers. It is still an emotional moment, but it changes the center of that emotion.

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Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

Published

13 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

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Movie Reviews

Panic Fest 2024 Review: ‘Haunted Ulster Live’

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2024

Jacob Davison

Everything old is new again.

On Halloween 1998, the local news of Northern Ireland decide to do a special live report from an allegedly haunted house in Belfast. Hosted by local personality Gerry Burns (Mark Claney) and popular children’s presenter Michelle Kelly (Aimee Richardson) they intend to look at the supernatural forces disturbing the current family living there. With legends and folklore abound, is there an actual spirit curse in the building or something far more insidious at work?

Presented as a series of found footage from a long forgotten broadcast, Haunted Ulster Live follows similar formats and premises as Ghostwatch and The WNUF Halloween Special with a news crew investigating the supernatural for big ratings only to get in over their heads. And while the plot has certainly been done before, director Dominic O’Neill’s 90’s set tale of local access horror manages to stand out on its own ghastly feet. The dynamic between Gerry and Michelle is most prominent, with him being an experienced broadcaster who thinks this production is beneath him and Michelle being fresh blood who is considerably annoyed at being presented as costumed eye candy. This builds as the events within and around the domicile becomes too much to ignore as anything less than the real deal.

The cast of characters is rounded out by the McKillen family who have been dealing with the haunting for some time and how it’s had an effect on them. Experts are brought in to help explain the situation including the paranormal investigator Robert (Dave Fleming) and the psychic Sarah (Antoinette Morelli) who bring their own perspectives and angles to the haunting. A long and colorful history is established about the house, with Robert discussing how it used to be the site of an ancient ceremonial stone, the center of leylines, and how it was possibly possessed by the ghost of a former owner named Mr. Newell. And local legends abound about a nefarious spirit named Blackfoot Jack that would leave trails of dark footprints in his wake. It’s a fun twist having multiple potential explanations for the site’s strange occurrences instead of one end-all be-all source. Especially as the events unfold and the investigators try to discover the truth.

At its 79 minute timelength, and the encompassing broadcast, it’s a bit of a slow burn as the characters and lore is established. Between some news interruptions and behind the scenes footage, the action is mostly focused on Gerry and Michelle and the build up to their actual encounters with forces beyond their comprehension. I will give kudos that it went places I didn’t expect, leading to a surprisingly poignant and spiritually horrifying third act.

So, while Haunted Ulster Live isn’t exactly trendsetting, it definitely follows in the footsteps of similar found footage and broadcast horror films to walk its own path. Making for an entertaining and compact piece of mockumentary. If you’re a fan of the sub-genres, Haunted Ulster Live is well worth a watch.

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Movie Reviews

Panic Fest 2024 Review: ‘Never Hike Alone 2’

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2024

Jacob Davison

There are fewer icons more recognizable than the slasher. Freddy Krueger. Michael Myers. Victor Crowley. Notorious killers who always seem to come back for more no matter how many times they are slain or their franchises seemingly put to a final chapter or nightmare. And so it seems that even some legal disputes cannot stop one of the most memorable movie murderers of all: Jason Voorhees!

Following the events of the first Never Hike Alone, outdoorsman and YouTuber Kyle McLeod (Drew Leighty) has been hospitalized after his encounter with the long thought dead Jason Voorhees, saved by perhaps the hockey masked killer’s greatest adversary Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) who now currently works as an EMT around Crystal Lake. Still haunted by Jason, Tommy Jarvis struggles to find a sense of stability and this latest encounter is pushing him to end the reign of Voorhees once and for all…

Never Hike Alone made a splash online as a well shot and thoughtful fan film continuation of the classic slasher franchise that was built up with the snowbound follow up Never Hike In The Snow and now climaxing with this direct sequel. It’s not only an incredible Friday The 13th love letter, but a well thought out and entertaining epilogue of sorts to the infamous ‘Tommy Jarvis Trilogy’ from within the franchise that encapsulated Friday The 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter, Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning, and Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Even getting some of the original cast back as their characters to continue the tale! Thom Mathews being the most prominent as Tommy Jarvis, but with other series casting like Vincent Guastaferro returning as now Sheriff Rick Cologne and still having a bone to pick with Jarvis and the mess around Jason Voorhees. Even featuring some Friday The 13th alumni like Part III‘s Larry Zerner as the mayor of Crystal Lake!

On top of that, the movie delivers on kills and action. Taking turns that some of the previous fils never got the chance to deliver on. Most prominently, Jason Voorhees going on a rampage through Crystal Lake proper when he slices his way through a hospital! Creating a nice throughline of the mythology of Friday The 13th, Tommy Jarvis and the cast’s trauma, and Jason doing what he does best in the most cinematically gory ways possible.

The Never Hike Alone films from Womp Stomp Films and Vincente DiSanti are a testament to the fanbase of Friday The 13th and the still enduring popularity of those films and of Jason Voorhees. And while officially, no new movie in the franchise is on the horizon for the foreseeable future, at the very least there is some comfort knowing fans are willing to go to these lengths to fill the void.