FanUnity B(uzz)log

The Omega Man is, essentially, a pretty awful movie that is salvaged by one thing, and only one thing: The hammy scene chewing of its lead actor, Charlton Heston.Based on the novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, Omega Man is set in a post-apocolyptic future in which a biological plague has killed off all but one man. The Earth is now dominated by menacing zombie-vampires, who are led by the evil Matthias (Anthony Zerbe). These nasty undead folks are out to get Chuck, constantly laying siege to his mansion, only to be filled with hot led from his machine gun for their efforts.

While the material is generally weak, it does give Chuck time to shine. He is captivating as the last man on Earth, playing solo chess matches and holding one-sided conversations with a statue-bust. If you liked Heston’s misanthropic rants as George Taylor in Planet of the Apes, then you’ll love his Omega Man musings.

Eventually Heston’s character learns that he is not alone on the planet, and encounters an attractive black woman with an amazingly large afro (dubbed the Afro Queen by my friends and I). Naturally, a little bit of jungle love ensues. Later in the film, Heston’s character triumphs over Matthias only to have a spear heaved through his chest in the unnecessary, anti-climactic final scene. My guess is that this illogical bit was tacked on to the end of the film because of Chuck’s general disdain for sequels.

2/5 Stars.