The Ωmega Man (1971)

 ☆ ☆ ½

The Ωmega Man (1971) – B. Sagal

If I wasn’t already familiar with the Vincent Price version of Richard Matheson’s novella “I am Legend” (entitled The Last Man on Earth, 1964), then perhaps I would have enjoyed this Charlton Heston version a bit more. There are some differences in the plotlines with Heston battling a religious cult of albino survivors of a virus spread by biological warfare and Price dealing with more traditional zombies (also created by a virus). Perhaps, yes, the middle of a pandemic is not the right time to watch this – or perhaps it is an especially right time?  Whereas Price had to contend with family members and former friends turning into zombies, Heston is more of a lone gun (foreshadowing his NRA affiliation?), a military scientist now on a vendetta to destroy the mutant cult.  Both are safe during the day (roaming the burnt-out city and “stealing” supplies) but in danger at night (when their foes wake up and attack). The very Seventies atmosphere here, including relevant cultural talking points such as an inter-racial love affair, made me think of TV shows like the Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, or similar – the special effects and costumes are, uh, that good. But at the end of the day, for all its weirdness, the Ωmega Man just isn’t as good as the similarly low budget (though B&W) earlier film.