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[firecat]

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

I didn't expect much from the book that inspired George Romero to make Night of the Living Dead (I am not a fan of zombies), but I was pleasantly surprised. Published in 1954, I Am Legend had a huge influence on the modern vampire and zombie horror genres. The story focuses exclusively on the activities and inner dialogue of a man who believes he is the last survivor of a plague that infected all other humans with a zombie-ish form of vampirism. The book is well written and doesn't pull any punches. The survivalism/vampire trope is basically an excuse to explore human emotion in all its variety.

Trivia note: Richard Matheson also wrote the Star Trek:TOS first-season episode "The Enemy Within."

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Comments

[stefanie-bean.livejournal.com]

What a coincidence - the other night we watched the Vincent Price 1964 film, The Last Man on Earth. I liked it much better than the Will Smith film, as it had all the bleak elements I've come to associate with more "classic" sci-fi/horror: the grungy set; the protagonist falling to pieces; the despairing twist at the end. And of course the "throw the dummy off the cliff" wonderful production values.

Intriguing point, the film was shot in Rome, and some of the 1960s "modern art" buildings were fun to look at, including a quite modern church design (we associate modern churches with "post-Vatican II" but this was obviously built way before that.)

[stefanie-bean.livejournal.com]

Sorry, forgot to mention for general info that the LMOE film was based on I am Legend ... (no coffee yet! posting is dangerous!)

[firecat]

That sounds like it might be more worth watching than Night of the Living Dead.

[stefanie-bean.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's just as cheesy as NOTLD, but still fun.