Oh, Hell, NO! No one mentioned the treatment included a prostate exam!
I Am Legend (2007) follows the travails of Dr. Robert Neville, medical researcher and lone untouched survivor of a plague.
But there are other survivors. Shorn of their humanity as well as their tolerance for sunlight, they roam the streets at night, ravaging animals, each other, and any all night diners they can find.
Neville’s mission is to cure them. And to survive his own slowly decaying sanity. Towards this end, he continues the research he began when the plague first appeared, capturing subjects on which to test serums. But when his beloved dog, Sam, falls victim to the survivors while defending Neville, he loses control, avenging himself on the tainted.
And, of course, this doesn’t go so well. But out of nowhere, two survivors from South America, Anna and her son, Ethan, appear. They’re traveling towards a refuge in Vermont, but heard Neville’s broadcasts, and arrived just in time to save him from certain death.
Neville is an atheist, while Anna is certain God sent her to save him. But it turns out Anna is Neville’s doom, not his salvation, as the tainted managed to trace her route back to his laboratory and home. But as Neville, Anna, and Ethan retreat into a last refuge, there’s something unexpected going on.
Something’s in that refuge with them.
Tautly told, with information being dispensed properly in dribs and drabs, well acted, but with some CGI that’s not quite perfect, this story induces anxiety, despair, and hope with an authentic touch. I won’t recommend it, but if you’ve seen and liked The Omega Man (1971), which is based on the same novel as the eponymous I Am Legend, then you should enjoy this modern take on the plague that is not just taking out humanity, but turning it inside out into its own worst nightmare.
And the lengths to which one member of humanity is willing to go to save it.
Oh, hell. Recommended, if you like apocalyptic movies.
