The Omega Man (1971) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

The Omega Man is part of a famous sub-genre in S/F films: Charlton Heston post-apocalyptic movies made between 1968 and 1973. Those movies were Chuck's specialty during that period:

• (7.79) - Planet of the Apes (1968)
• (6.69) - Soylent Green (1973)
• (6.30) - The Omega Man (1971)
• (5.71) - Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) (small part)

This was the second major film based on Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend". The first, The Last Man on Earth (1964), starred Vincent Price. The recent British film, 28 Days Later... (2002), does not give a credit to Matheson, but is essentially the same story as The Omega Man. Of course, if Matheson ever saw The Omega Man, he'd have to wonder why he was credited in that one. Neither 28 Days Later nor The Omega Man is really a faithful screen adaptation of Matheson's novel about vampirism, so it seems to me that the most interesting question to ask oneself is why 28 Days Later works as an atmospheric and chilling movie, while The Omega Man now appears incurably hokey to our modern eyes and ears, except for the spooky scene where Charlton hears an imaginary phone.

Some key reasons why Omega Man is not as effective as 28 Days Later:

1. Special effects. London really looks empty in 28 Days Later, but when Heston is driving through LA, we see people and vehicles moving in the background, we see working traffic lights, etc. Charlton Heston's body double is in several minutes of motorcycle chase footage, and looks nothing like Heston. It's a big wide-bodied guy with silver hair. Might have been Tip O'Neill.

2. Chatty zombies. The Omega Man script turned Matheson's vampires into albino plague victims, which was OK, but it also turned them into a religious cult with anti-technology beliefs. The conflict ends up with Charlton Heston battling against the Albino Amish. And these are the most garrulous zombies ever. The Nouveau Amish Blanc leader spends most of his screen time making long-winded Luddite speeches, as if he really wanted to get Heston's support in the next Zombie Party election.

3. Sound track. Over the years, movie makers have really learned a lot about how to co-ordinate the sound track with the mood they seek to elicit. The musical score for The Omega Man, although haunting in spots, basically sounds like a TV theme song or the overture to a Broadway play. I kept waiting for the curtain to open on Gordon MacRae riding his horse, or Yul Brynner pacing about in his bare feet.

... or maybe for Bill Murray to come out and start singing the words:

Oh He's not the Beta Guy

Or Catherine Zeta's Guy

He's the Omega Guy

....... and he's all alone

 

Oh, he don't wear L'Oreal

just seekin' an Omega Pal

and someday an Omega Gal

....... to call his own

 

maybe someday when the world is new

there'll be an Omega Baby, too.

so it can finally be true

....... when he hears that phone

 

Most of the scenes in Omega Man would be better underscored with silence, or with natural noises ala Bergman or Tarkovsky,  or with modern horror techniques - like low, slow repetitious drumbeats (ala The Hole or Angel Heart), or even with classic horror techniques like the sudden shrieking sounds in Psycho. As it stands, the film has no tension.

4. Story consistency.

• Heston has been living alone in the world for two years. Everyone else on earth is a zombie, as far as he knows. Yet he has fresh grapes on his table. Zombies running their own vineyards when they can't work by day? (Even though they are not vampires, they can only function at night.)

• Heston spends every day trying to find where the zombies sleep in L.A. Even assuming they stay in one place permanently because they are too stupid to move, L.A. is a mighty big place for one guy to cover. He has to inspect every floor of every building without even using elevators. Meanwhile, the zombies all come to Chuck's house every night, and he has an entire armory in his den. Yup, every night he knows exactly where they are, but instead of shooting them, he sits in his house, cooks himself dinner, and plays chess with an imaginary opponent represented by a bust of Caesar. During this time, he only shoots them if directly provoked. Here's a suggestion, Chuck. Tomorrow, during the day, get some grenades instead of looking for zombies. Tomorrow night, when the zombies come to your house, blast them to kingdom come. Oh, what the hell. Get a frigging tank.

• The zombies don't use any type of motorized vehicle. None at all. Remember, that is against their beliefs. But they appear at Chuck's house every night promptly after dusk, and they don't go out during the day. Therefore, their hideout must be within a block or two of his house, right? So why is he searching miles and miles across town?

• The power grid in L.A. seems to go on uninterrupted. At one point, the arc lights actually go on in the Coliseum, frightening away the photosensitive zombies. Chuck asks his rescuer how she did that, and she answers, "oh, Dutch takes care of stuff like that". Chuck doesn't elect to ask Dutch. 'Tis a mystery.

And so forth.

It's really a shame that The Omega Man ended up such a cheesefest with preachy zombies and a bunch of additional humans to provide a hokey love interest. I really liked the early part of the movie, which limned Chuck's loneliness, inchoate madness, and isolation. The first fifteen minutes are like a great episode of The Twilight Zone, with Chuck wandering through the empty streets, muttering to himself, trying to keep a grip on his sanity, watching movies he's seen many times before, hearing a phone ring when there is no phone ringing, frightened when he sees that the sun is almost down and he's far from home.