11 October 2024
The Last Man on Earth (1964)
86 min.
Directed by Sidney Salkow.
With Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Umberto Rau, Christi Cortland.
After a bacterial plague decimates mankind, Robert Morgan (Price) is left the last man on earth.

The only remaining 'life' is a horde of nocturnal bloodthirsty zombies whom Morgan must singlehandedly kill (and burn) by day...and fight off by night.

It's a repetitive process Morgan must repeat every day in order to survive.

But what's the point of surviving when you're the last man on earth? Is there any meaning in such an existence?

When Morgan meets another seemingly "normal" woman, can life begin itself anew?

Thoughtful flashback sequences extend the narrative to detail the death of Morgan's family by plague.

Based on a classic script by Richard Matheson, this pre-George Romero, Italian-made vampire/zombie flick is genuinely chilling; the film's overall apocalyptic concept is promising, and Morgan's doomed isolation is well executed.

Boasts a memorable church finale.

Italian title: L'Ultimo uomo della Terra.

Remade as The Omega Man in 1971 with Charlton Heston, and then again as I Am Legend in 2007.

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