Shameless Plug

My review of the I Am Legend DVD runs in the current issue of SF Site.

The DVD release offers a chance of redemption with an "alternate theatrical version with controversial ending," so screams the cover. While not necessarily controversial (an idea that is never addressed in any of the extras), the ending does result in a better film with a far more satisfying, albeit still too happy, finale. Without giving too much away, this version more fully examines and explains the motivations of the mutants.

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Be sure to check out my RevolutionSF review of the feature film version.

I Am Legend review

My I Am Legend review is available at RevolutionSF.

Arguably the most paranoid novel ever published, Richard Matheson's powerful tale of isolation, I Am Legend, informed the works of Stephen King, Dean R. Koontz, Joe R. Lansdale, and pretty much everyone else who has written horror since the story's 1954 publication. The book spawned two previous movie adaptations. The first, L' Ultimo Uomo Della Terra (The Last Man on Earth, 1964), starred Vincent Price in a dull yet faithful Italian production. Although Matheson penned the initial screenplay, re-writes by other writers angered him so much that he asked to be credited as "Logan Swanson." 1971's The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston, used only the bare bones of the original story. This diverting action rendition relied on brawn over brains, offering a mindless entertainment. Some 26 years later, director Francis Lawrence attempts Matheson's classic a third time with the latest film version, the first to sport the book title, I Am Legend.
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