The book has inspired at least two other films, the last man on earth starring vincent price and the omega man starring charlton heston. Richard mathesons 1954 novel i am legend has spawned a series of iconic horror and science fiction films. Will smith plays the role of the relationship starved army medical researcher well. Monstrosity in mathesons i am legend and lawrences film adaptation ba kinga gmiat term paper advanced seminar english language and literature studies comparative literature publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. I didnt think i liked horror until i realized that i continue reading. I am legend is a 2007 american postapocalyptic action thriller film based on the 1954 novel of the same name by richard matheson. In their eyes, hes an unstoppable monster from the old world slaughtering dozens of innocents during the days for seemingly no reason at all, and through his deeds, he becomes a monster of legends. Throughout the book, robert neville studies the science of vampirism. Matheson goes to great lengths to rationalize or naturalize the vampire myth, transplanting the monster from the. Nevilles blood is the key to bring back the human race. With will smith, alice braga, charlie tahan, salli richardsonwhitfield. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson that was influential in the modern development of zombie and vampire literature and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. However, i am legend is slightly atypical as a horros story in that the horror of the monster is pushed somewhat to the rear.
Unlike neville, they had no immunity to the virus and subsequently became creatures previously known only in. The novel i am legend 1954, written by american author richard matheson, was adapted for the movie by screenwriters akiva goldsman and mark protosevich. The movie i am legend directed by francis lawrence is dystopian movie. I am legend rejects any such ambiguity, raising the hero to the status of nearly divine savior. Monstrosity in mathesons i am legend and lawrences. May 31, 2019 we decided to answer this because its still a question people are asking. Are the creatures from the movie, i am legend, really vampires or. I am legend characters from litcharts the creators of. Adapted from acclaimed author richard mathesons influential novelette of the same name, constantine director francis lawrences i am legend. Another i am legend remake is coming, but will it be yet. Neville, who kidnapped her father in order to test strains of his serum in order to find the cure to the kv.
The krippin virus was genetically engineered from the measles virus by dr. The ending is quite bleak, and sans the last man on earth, the two other films fail at the ending. There are some strange twists in i am legends halfcentury of history after the jump. Dec 30, 2014 adapted from acclaimed author richard mathesons influential novelette of the same name, constantine director francis lawrences i am legend follows the last man on earth as he struggles to. Richard mathesons i am legend has been made into several movies, including the. Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in new york city struggles valiantly to find a cure in this postapocalyptic action thriller. I am legend written by richard matheson 1557 words cram. Theres a tonne of things i want to talk about with this book. This film is i am legend in name only, it bears very little relation to the book of the same name. I am legend and the omega man end with a survivor, or survivors, wanting to be fully human again. Need help on characters in richard mathesons i am legend.
The successes and failures in adapting i am legend film inquiry. He researches their symptoms as if they are vampires. In the process, he empowers himself and gives himself a new purpose in life. You can see there is more there but they arent given the credit they should. As richard mathesons third novel, it was first marketed as science fiction for although written in 1954, the story takes place in a future 1976. Even in the will smith movie, the creatures are vampiric and referred to as such, i think they hide from the. Many of his stories have been adapted into films, with variations of i am legend making it to the screen four times.
I happened to be reading skeleton crew at the same time as this book, which gave me a unique opportunity to compare. One of the most influential vampire novels of the 20th century, i am legend regularly appears on the 10 best lists of numerous critical studies of the horror genre. This includes an oblique reference to a particularly relevant and powerful. The alpha female darkseeker was the main antagonist of i am legend.
On page 17 of i am legend, neville is reading dracula, a popular fictitious book about vampires. Romero both cite the book as a significant influence on their own work, and it was named the vampire novel of the century in 2012. Aug 10, 2019 in the book i am legend, the main character uses his days to kill these vampirelike zombies while they sleep, then goes back home at night to stay safe in his fortress. Although the creatures depicted in the outbreak are technically vampires, mathesons original work is considered by many science fiction and horror fans to be the impetus for the. Another important theme of i am legend is the powerboth benevolent and maliciousof science. The compelling narrative of the last man on earth, struggling to survive a pandemic that has transformed the rest of humanity into monsters, has become an american myth. Richard mathesons i am legend is a masterpiece of horror that has spawned three film adaptations, none of which have quite captured the essence of what makes this. A human in a world of monsters would be as scary as a monster in a world of humans. He has become the legend, the monster that puts fear in those he thought were monsters. This aside, it is a fairly good movie with post apocalyptic themes and a storyline that will keep you interested for the 96 minutes duration.
After finishing, i am legend, by richard matheson, ive come to the conclusion i have a complete misunderstand of the horror genre. Stephen king said i am legend was one of the books that inspired him, and you can see that when you read this book. Had the i am legend movie portrayed the darkseekers more like the vampires of the book, this would have been a much easier idea for audiences to go along with. I am legend, richard matheson 9780575094161 boeken. Putting all of that in a movie might not be possible or might not make a good movie, but the alternate ending for this one goes just about as far as it could in one scene. There are some strange twists in i am legend s halfcentury of history after the jump. Are the i am legend monsters really vampires youtube. I am legend themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes.
The vampires of richard mathesons story i am legend are very similar to vampires of myth and folklore, but whereas classic vampires are believed to be related to demons and have magical qualities about them, the origins of mathesons vampires are based in the realm of science. I picked it up mostly because i read about the alternate ending of the will smith movie, which some criticized for not following the spirit of the book. Of particular salience in i am legend are the motifs of being isolated, sexually frustrated, and preyed upon. Whether is it has something to do with aliens or the world ending. Reaching this blatant christfiguration, i am legend sways radically from the theme of mathesons novel. This motivates the vengeful and ruthless alpha, and the darkseekers to attack neville. It is not made clear on the front of the book, or anywhere that this is a collection of short stories, not a novel.
Are the creatures from the movie, i am legend, really vampires or zombies. Click download or read online button to get i am legend book now. I am legend gives off such a horrific impression, because matheson gives the reader a perfect balance of science fiction and realistic horror. It all started with the book by richard matheson i am legend 1954. I am legend is based on the book i am legend by richard matheson. In the book they are basically vampires, he uses mirrors, crosses, garlic, stakes and the like to ward them off. Sep 06, 2012 last night i finished reading i am legend. It was influential in the development of the zombievampire genre and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. May 03, 2018 if, like this writer, you already own a wellthumbed paperback of i am legend, this deluxe edition is a worthy upgrade. I am legend by richard matheson goodreads share book. In the original i am legend ending, robert neville discovers that he had captured the significant other of one of the vampires leaders.
I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson that. In the book, humanity is all but wiped out when the population becomes infected by a form of bacteria, transforming. In the book, they are much more explicitly vampires. None of these movies used the ending of the original novel. The successes and failures in adapting i am legend film. The similarities between the monsters in the novel and in the film is that they both only come out at night to hunt and they both feed on blood.
The krippin virus, also known as kv for short, is a fictional disease in the 2007 film adaption, i am legend and the spinoff graphic novel, i am legend. While i have tried to avoid any obvious spoilers, the below delves to some extent into parts of the i am legend plot and is therefore inherently spoilery. Richard mathesons 1954 novel i am legend has spawned a series of iconic horror and science fiction films, including the last man on earth 1964, the omega man 1971 and i am legend 2007. And not just bloodsucking monsters incapable of thought or speech like the zombiethings were given in the moviemany of the vampires in the book are able to speak and even think. Need help with chapter 1 in richard mathesons i am legend. In richard mathesons novel i am legend, the monsters are vampires which started off as a deadly virus released into the world by scientists. Richard matheson, an american writer, wrote the book with this book being influential in the development of zombieinspired genre of fiction.
We decided to answer this because its still a question people are asking. The way it sets up a whole genre and subverts it at the same time, the difference between horror fiction and science fiction and how zombie fiction in general, and i am legend especially, nestle in the crack between the two, why there are some books you really ought to. I am legend characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. This article is about the 2007 movie i am legend based on the book by the same name, written by richard matheson. The novel i am legend written by in 1954 is a classic book that merges horror with science fiction.
The story is set in new york city after a virus, which was originally created to cure cancer, has wiped out most of. Its a 1950s era book when the zombies as we know them today didnt even exist. But if you have only seen that will smith movie that went 180 degrees on the book s message, the soulcrushing impact of these words will be lost on you. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis.
Richard mathesons i am legend has been made into several movies, including the recent will smith movie, and the. We depend on other people not just for re production and survival, but for psychological and emotional growth. Off the back of the huge success of i am legend back in 2007, warner bros was keen to develop either a prequel or a sequel to the film. Vampires have inherited the earth in richard mathesons i am legend. We will compare the book with the film adaptation, especially when it comes to social, political and. The story is very much darker and deeper than the will smith film of the same name. But if you have only seen that will smith movie that went 180 degrees on the books message, the soulcrushing impact of. Matheson plays with issues of good and evil, and otherness in general, as his antihero becomes vilified by what he took to be monsters. Directed by francis lawrence, the film stars will smith as us army virologist robert neville. That label is used explicitly and their condition comes with a lot of the usual vampire traits, including bloodsucking, a hatred of garlic, and the requirement of a.
The 1954 scifivampire novel i am legend by richard matheson has now been filmed three times. I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson. Were the creatures in i am legend zombies or vampires. I am fascinated by monsters,and all my fictional stories include demons, ghosts, giants, and other supernatural creatures. I am legend is based on a 1954 richard matheson scifi novel of the same name. The two earlier films are the last man on earth 1964 and the omega man 1971. On those cloudy days, robert neville was never sure when sunset came, and sometimes they were in the streets before he could get back.
I am legends biggest change from the book broke the movie. Monstrosity in mathesons i am legend and lawrences film. Will smith putting on a great performance, and a utterly heartbreaking scene that almost made me cry i think you know which scene i mean woof woof if anything the real downside to this movie comes from the monsters. Although the creatures depicted in the outbreak are technically vampires, mathesons original work is considered by many science fiction and horror fans to be the impetus for the modern zombie horror genre entire, introducing many of its core themes well before night of the living dead. Warner bros has spent the better part of a decade working on getting another i am legend off the ground. The 2007 film was partially based on the 1971 film as well as the original source. This version of i am legend is the third movie adaptation of mathesons novel.
At one time, the vampires were normal people who were infected by a bacteria later dubbed vampiris, by matheson. I am legend originally had an ending closer to the books, but that was changed after negative reactions from test audiences. While i have tried to avoid any obvious spoilers, the below delves to some extent into parts of the i am legend plot and is therefore inherently. Despite the books popularity in hollywood, neither those first two adaptations nor this most recent one have been completely faithful to mathesons novel. Set after an outbreak of a viral plague that turns both living and dead. She was the daughter of the leader of the darkseekers and the archenemy of dr. Hes pretty much their monster of legend, thus the title. The thing is, i am legend isnt supposed to refer to him being a legend for the remaining humans, as the final cut shows, but rather to him being a legend to the darkseeker, being the monster that haunts their nightmares. Are the zombies from i am legend conscious creatures that. The books characters realization of their perspective is the whole point of the book. The book is full of good ideas, every other one of which is immediately dropped and kicked out of sight. In the end of the book, neville realizes that the vampires are not the ones to be feared anymore, because they are the odd ones out.
He then realizes that his attempts to cure the monsters looked less like medical. In the book version of i am legend the monsters are more straightforward than in the movie. Made with the folio societys usual quality binding and eye for detail, it. In richard mathesons i am legend, robert neville is the last living man on earth, having somehow managed to survive an incurable virus that has mutated every last man, woman, and child in the world into bloodthirsty and vampirelike creatures who prowl and ravage the abandoned ruins of civilization at night. The vampires prowl relentlessly in the periphery, craving nevilles blood, but the reader is not treated to lengthy descriptions of the bloodsuckers. That label is used explicitly and their condition comes with a lot of the usual vampire traits, including bloodsucking, a hatred of garlic, and the requirement of a wooden stake through the heart to kill them.