The Last Man on Earth: A Legendary Film Remade Time and Again

This 1964 black-and-white film, directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Vincent Price, was never released in Japanese theaters. It is based on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel "I Am Legend," and was later adapted into the films "The Omega Man" (1971, starring Charlton Heston) and "I Am Legend" (2007, starring Will Smith).

The story is set in a world where a pandemic has wiped out all of humanity except for the protagonist, Robert Morgan. After dying, those infected by this plague will revive after sunset and roam the earth to attack survivors unless they are finished off by having a stake driven through their hearts.

The story begins three years after Robert becomes the sole survivor, so it is not depicted why the revived infected attack survivors. I assume they drink blood, and that those who are bitten become infected themselves.

Incidentally, Robert was bitten by a vampire bat in the past, and it seems that is how he acquired immunity (Robert, a scientist himself, concludes that this is the only logical explanation).

Now all alone, Robert broadcasts messages over the radio every day in hopes of contacting other potential survivors, but there is no response.

The infected who roam at night are unable to move during the day and remain still indoors. During the day, Robert searches houses one by one, and when he finds an infected person, he drives a stake through their heart and burns the body. He is driven by a persistent desire to reclaim human society.

One day, Robert discovers a woman named Ruth walking outside during the day. Having found a survivor for the first time, Robert takes her home to protect her. However, he realizes that she is infected. When he asks, she says that she is able to suppress the symptoms by taking a vaccine. He also learns that there are a considerable number of survivors living like Ruth, and that they, the "new humanity," are trying to build a new society.

According to Ruth, although they, the surviving infected, can suppress their symptoms, they cannot go outside for long periods during the day like Robert. Because of this, many of them stay indoors, but she reveals that some of their companions have actually been killed by Robert driving stakes through their hearts. She also reveals that they are planning to kill Robert, who has become a threat to their "society."

Meanwhile, when Robert gives Ruth a blood transfusion, she is cured instantly. The two rejoice, believing they can cure all the infected, but at the same time, the "new humanity" is closing in to eliminate Morgan...

That is the story.

The revived infected are weak against sunlight, mirrors, and garlic, and even when they roam at night, they move in a slow, wandering manner. And, by having a stake driven through their hearts, they can no longer revive.

In a sense, they seem to be a hybrid of the images of zombies and vampires that we hold today. In fact, George A. Romero, director of "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), which is said to be the origin of the modern zombie, later stated that he used "The Last Man on Earth" as a reference for the movement of his zombies.

While this film is quite bleak, there is something noble, or even sublime, in the way the protagonist, Robert, strives every day to somehow restore the world.

I imagine he feels the pain and suffering of losing his wife and daughter to the pandemic. Added to that is the strength to keep living even when all his friends are gone. Watching this, I wonder if I could do the same. I think I might just want to get infected myself and join them.

Three years alone. Robert’s spirit may have become numb. Before meeting Ruth, he finds a puppy that has survived without being infected. Robert is overjoyed, but the puppy soon becomes infected, and Robert has to drive a stake through it. The way he did it was strangely detached, which felt a bit scary.

When the pandemic first broke out, the infected were a small fraction of society, and those who roamed after death were anomalies that had to be eliminated. However, as the non-infected became the minority, and eventually he was the only one left, "society" became the domain of the majority. In other words, he became the anomaly. Without realizing it, he had become the one who needed to be eliminated.

It made me think about what we should consider to have "legitimacy" in such a situation. What is a democracy ruled by the majority? It made me ponder such things.

As a film, there are parts where I think the pacing could have been handled with more ingenuity, but supported by a brilliant original concept, I believe it has become a monumental work that has had a profound influence on later films.