Wonderful character development!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Blistering performances.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Morgan (Vincent Price) believes he is the last man on earth after a virus creates zombies who act like vampires, hating crosses, garlic, and mirrors. Go figure on the crosses. A group of zombies come after him every night, at the same location, which for some reason never changes. He also owns a Hanukah generator that can run 8 days on a cup of gas. He kills zombies by day with a stake through the heart while he "shops" This film has been redone and modernized several times. I did like "The Omega Man." There are also scenes that have been copied such as the ending of "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" and this is a must see for sci-fi appreciation. It has been redone and colorized and is also available, not restored, on multi-packs.

Based on the same novel as 'The Omega Man' and 'I Am Legend' but less of an action thriller, this Vincent Price version offers an acute portrayal of loneliness while spinning the same story of a contagion sole survivor who has to ward off his infected neighbours who only ever emerge at night. While the infected individuals are not particularly menacing, they are a curious mix of traditional zombie and vampire tropes, moving in a somnambulist fashion a la 'Night of the Living Dead', but prone to all vampire weaknesses such as sunlight and garlic. This is also an intriguing film from the get-go, opening with eerily deserted metropolis and suburbia shots before the title in jolting fashion appears on screen. The most interesting part of the film though is its flashback section, which not only fills in all the details about how the infection spread, but also features some harrowing scenes that really humanise Price as his daughter becomes infected and he tries to avoid the military burning her body as per protocol. There is also a great bit in which Price briefly befriends a dog. The film loses some of its edginess as Franca Bettoia enters the film late in the piece, resulting in several talky and static scenes. Her presence does, however, lead to a couple of unexpected, thought-provoking twists and the film ends on a haunting if a tad melodramatic note.

There is an old story told by Guillermo Del Toro in a horror documentary about how The Last Man on Earth is formulated. "The Last Man on Earth sat alone in his room, all of a sudden, a knock on the door". Movies about the end of the world are still very popular today and it's hard not notice features in those movies that were originated in The Last Man on Earth. It stars and is narrated by none other than Vincent Price, who jumps back and forth between present time and the past recalling the events that happened to the world. The story does drag in the middle part of the movie as the plot isn't exactly fluid. Otherwise in the present tense the movie is very realistic and nerving. What the film really comes down to is that Vincent Price did a great job portraying his character just like he does in every other. Certainly a Classic.

The hardest was to rate this movie. I thought 6 was too low and 7 seemed too high but given all the good points it has I think it is justified even if I don't think I will watch this movie anytime soon. So it is an apocalyptic movie with Vincent Price as protagonist, a scientist in a world full of infected people. When the infected people die they eventually come back as living dead. They are called vampires but resemble zombies more (because they are slow, weak and pretty dumb) and it looks Romero might have gotten his inspiration from this movie to make his Night of the Living Dead. But a lot of the vampire features are there: the vampires can't stand daylight, are allergic to garlic, have no reflection and can be killed by driving a stake through their heart. The whole story is told in a narrative way since Price's character has no one to talk to most of the movie. By means of flashbacks we get to know how he and the whole planet (well that's my guess) has gotten into this situation. I'm aware that I am Legend is some kind of remake or more recent adaptation from this story but where I thought I am Legend was rather stupid this "original" was much more effective to me. Tragic ending which might have been fitting after all.