User Reviews

Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, so the "Omega" Man is a round-a-bout way of saying The "Last" Man. Indeed, this violent science fiction actioner is a remake of a 1964 movie called The Last Man On Earth; in this version Charlton Heston assumes the role played by Vincent Price in the earlier film. It is a depressing - and in many ways thought-provoking - story set in a future where the human population has been wiped out.

Robert Neville (Heston) is the only remaining survivor of a worldwide plague, other than a race of vampiric mutants who come out at night. When the plague was first reaching epidemic proportions, numerous scientists were given serums to try - Neville was the one who got the correct serum, but he never managed to get back to HQ in time to report the good news. Most of the world's people went on to be killed by the plague, but those who survived have evolved into light-sensitive mutants. Every day, Neville drives around the empty streets of LA scavenging for food, fuel and useful objects; every night he returns to his ultra high-security house from which he fends off the creepy minions who come out to taunt him and, perhaps, one day kill him. The mutants are led by Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), formerly a TV newsreader, now an anti-technology crusader who encourages his followers to destroy the scientific and technological items they find, as he blames meddling scientists for ultimately decimating the world's population.

What's so chilling about The Omega Man is that Neville is gradually shown to be the real "mutant". He is the only man left from the world as it WAS; Zerbe and his mutant hordes are the evolutionary creatures of the world as it IS. Distressing as it is, The Omega Man is saying that in the event of a worldwide catastrophe human life would find a way to prevail, but the remnants of previous human life might need eradicating first. From the sensational opening - in which Heston screeches his car to a halt on an empty street and starts shooting at an unseen being in a skyscraper - to the climax (which is simultaneously happy AND sad), The Omega Man constantly raises questions and manipulates our fears. It has weaknesses - sometimes the metaphors and morals are too heavy-handed; parts of the film are slow-going, with an excess of talk which merely goes over plot details already mentioned; there are dated elements (music, decor, costumes, vehicles, slang speech) which deny the film its topicality over 30 years on. But, in spite of all that, The Omega Man remains a worthwhile sci-fi actioner and another cult flick in the Charlton Heston "shock sci-fi" canon (see also Planet of the Apes '68 and Soylent Green '73).

This review contains minor spoilers.

I was very impressed with The Omega Man, it's an excellent combination of sci-fi, action and horror. Of the three elements surprisingly it is the sci-fi that is the least effective. The plague in the movie isn't very well defined. Sometimes it kills quickly or turns a person into a mutant and slowly kills them but it doesn't explain why this happens. Perhaps it's different levels of immunity within the human race, who knows. Regardless the plague itself could be very scary but it isn't fleshed out as completely as it could have been. This is a small flaw in an otherwise entertaining movie.

While not a true horror movie, The Omega Man, contains it's share of creepy locals and suspense. Just the fact that Heston is alone in the city makes otherwise normal locations scary. The placement of dead bodies throughout the movie also adds to the creepiness.

The action sequences in the movie are the ones that really impressed me. Some good stunt work and bullets that actually leave a mark on the body help to make the movie ring true.

I enjoy post-apocalyptic movies so the sci-fi element works for me. The suspense and creepy locals are enough to keep you on the edge of your seat and the action sequences help to carry the movie along. There is a level of cheese to The Omega Man and it could do with an updating as the attitude of the 70's hasn't aged well but it is still an enjoyable romp. The Omega Man rates a 7 out of 10.

The Omega Man has become a cult classic. A dreary and dark, violent vision of a future where a plague has wiped out mankind and anyone who hasn't been wiped out has been transformed to a creature of the night...blinded by light, albino, with fits of rage and hallucinations. The Omega Man works because it makes you feel like you are truly there with the last man on the planet. It draws you into the main characters world and makes you fear the dark and gives you that feeling of isolation of having no one or nothing left you knew or cared about. If the film were made nowadays the budget would have been astronomical, hundreds of millions of dollars and it would have been serialized with at least one sequel. I'm almost disappointed that more weren't made to tell the story of this world that we once knew.

Charlton Heston takes the lead role as The Omega Man. Although figuratively speaking he isn't the "last man on Earth," he is the last man with no side effects or hint of the plague having injected himself with a serum moments before the plague broke. I admit that despite Heston's legendary status, and macho persona I have never been a fan. It's not his films but instead his ego. The man drips with egotism. In one line in The Omega Man he comments "I'm a Narcissist" and truer words have never been spoken. If you are a Heston fan or can move past his sanctimonious performance than he does well playing a role he become quite comfortable with. Science Fiction, leading man, Saviour of biblical proportions. The script is really well done so that we spend nearly the first half of the film becoming intimately familiar with Heston's existence with nothing or no one before we really get introduced to the meat of the film. Heston definitely has presence and is no stranger to being the lead man so this is his kind of film. Anthony Zerbe plays the dark and mysterious Matthias, leader of "The Family," a group of humans poisoned and changed by the plague. I would have really liked Zerbe and his character to have an even bigger role. I think he was capable of being a terrific bad guy, one of the best but his role was slightly minimized. He also never gets his just end which would normally hint towards sequel. In fact it's almost like he wins the battle against Heston's character Neville. Rosalind Cash plays Heston's love interest Lisa. Lisa shows up out of nowhere one day and eventually their mutual exclusion from anyone else brings the couple together. Cash definitely targeted and played upon the huge popularity of the Black Rights Movement in the early seventies. Being a leading lady, and being romantically involved with a white man where it wasn't even suggested at being an issue was really something. The two of them have decent chemistry and she has great personality. She's a fiery leading lady. Paul Koslo plays a small role which I wish had been bigger as well, as Dutch. If the film had been serialized Koslo could have been the focus of the next film. He was a med student, scientist of sorts, a fighter very much like Heston's character. He could have been utilized more but he does play an important role and does it well.

Mostly a TV Director Boris Sagal (father of Married With Children's Katey) does a great job of properly utilized the 1 1/2 hour time frame. A Sc-Fi film like this could have went on far longer and covered more ground and I definitely think that wouldn't have been so bad but with the small time frame, and probably very small budget Sagal did a great job. He still manages to make you feel the severity of the situation, feel the emptiness of the world, also give you that fantasy element of what would you do if you were the only man alive on earth? Heston gets what he wants, when he wants it, sees a film, has everything he could possibly need from art to food to weapons but all is not perfect by any means. The only problem with the short story is that some of the characters who desperately could have been explored far more get left behind either in the sake of the story or Heston's character. I would love to see a WELL DONE remake of this for nowadays. Still for Sci-fi fans, Heston fans, or seventies fans this is something else to check out. Great special effects, violent, dark, a little campy at certain moments which could come from it simply being a seventies film who knows?? I will make comments that certainly Heston's opinions about gun rights and advocacy shine through. He is almost never without his trusty WWII machine gun or a host of other weapons and it's made quite clear they are his survival. On top that of that the last scene in the film could be considered a near act of sacrilege as Heston dies crucifixion like passing his blood off to save the world. More Ego perhaps?? At one moment in the film a little girl asks Heston if he is God to which he doesn't respond. Some very, very interesting shots and film images to watch out for. I think there is absolutely some important messages buried beneath this film, plenty to critique and talk about and that makes it an intelligent film that is even...if not more so...relevant today. 7/10

The greatest movie of all time?? Well, probably not, but certainly the most influential on my life back in the mid 70s when I first caught it on British television. Charlton Heston is awesome in his role of Robert Neville, and the musical score is outstanding. The story itself may seem a little dated these days, but its religious analogies stand up well even in today's more effects laden times.

SPOILERS: The final sequence, as Neville is brutally killed by the leader of the vampire community Matthias (Anthony Zerbe) came as a genuine shock to me, but its underlying hopefulness for the future at least compensates some way for this. I cried and cried when Neville died. Even now when I watch the film, the bleak feeling which runs as an undercurrent throughout, never ceases to move me with the tragedy of the ending.

This was Heston's best, in my opinion even surpassing Planet of the Apes, and many times more entertaining than the dreadful Soylent Green (sorry but I really didn't like that one). I really believe that the films you see when you are between 12 and 16 remain with you forever, because its the most impressionable time of your life. At least it was for me. I love this film, always did, always will. Quite honestly 10 out of 10. Though I may well be the only person who thinks this....lol

Anyone who saw this growing up has a soft spot in their hearts for it. I've encountered enough people over the course of my 41 yrs who perk up at the mention of it to be aware of its place in a lot of our memories. This has been satirized on the Simpsons, which proves it has embedded itself in the national pop culture consciousness. Anyone who has read the book its based on, the incredible "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson, knows that this film has very little in common with it beyond its initial premise--and even that is not followed too closely. All of the criticisms of THE OMEGA MAN are valid: it is very dated and not at all scary or intense and some of the stunts and special effects are laughably, ludicrously cheesy. The villains--who should have been more terrifying than even Romero's zombies--are just crazed albino hippie Luddites and the last half of the film, once Chuck hooks up with Rosalind Cash and the kiddies, is really a let down. But the scenes that open the film of Heston hefting a cool-looking submachine gun while decked out in Austin Powers-style finery staring in angst at an old calendar or losing his mind for a moment hallucinating the sound of telephones ringing in the deserted city still pack a punch. This was the second movie, after 1959's THE WORLD,THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL, to successfully pull off the eerie effect of being the last living human being in a huge empty city. Both films established the visual motif of streets filled with blowing waves of newspapers and swirling trash.After years of seeing this on TV -- a guaranteed late September or early October event every year for a few years on the local TV station during my Pacific Northwest childhood in the old Dark Age before cable TV and the videocassette revolution, its nice to see this movie on DVD with a beautiful widescreen transfer. It looks and sounds great. As a child I always liked the music, particularly the "surprise party" theme that plays when the villains make their first appearance. It rocks here in all its xylophone and funky electric organ and horns glory!