Villian(s)  Mutant humans

Actor(s):  Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash, Paul Koslo

Brief Description  The Omega Man (1971) is a classic post-apocalyptic science fiction action film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Charlton Heston. It is the second big-screen adaptation of Richard Matheson’s seminal 1954 novel I Am Legend, sandwiched between 1964's The Last Man on Earth and 2007's I Am Legend. The film is widely recognized for its eerie depiction of a deserted Los Angeles, its heavy 1970s cultural themes, and its cult-classic status.

Plot:
The story opens in 1977, two years after a Sino-Soviet biological conflict unleashed a global plague that wiped out nearly all of humanity. Dr. Robert Neville, a former U.S. Army colonel and scientist, is the lone unaffected human survivor in Los Angeles. He survived by injecting himself with an experimental vaccine just as his helicopter crashed during the initial outbreak. Neville lives a bizarre, split existence. By day, he cruises the empty, sunlit streets of Los Angeles in luxury cars, scavenges for supplies, talks to a bust of Caesar, and watches the movie Woodstock repeatedly in an empty theater. By night, he barricades himself inside his heavily fortified townhouse.

Neville is not completely alone. The plague mutated a few hundred survivors into a nocturnal, homicidal cult known as "The Family". Led by a fanatical former television anchor named Matthias, the cult members have chalk-white skin, unpigmented eyes, and are completely intolerant to light. The Family views science and technology as the tools of human self-destruction. They wear black robes, use primitive weapons like bows and catapults, and view Neville as the ultimate symbol of the old world that must be purged. Every night, they lay siege to Neville’s home, trying to burn him out, while Neville uses submachine guns and floodlights to defend his territory.

During a daytime scavenging run, Neville is shocked to encounter Lisa, a young woman who is seemingly uninfected. Before he can establish safe contact, she flees. Shortly after, Neville is captured by The Family and put on a mock trial by Matthias, who sentences him to death. Just before he can be executed in a dark stadium, Neville is rescued by Lisa and Dutch, a former medical student. They lead a small group of children and teenagers who have a natural, temporary resistance to the plague. However, the youth are slowly succumbing to the disease as they age. Neville realizes that his own blood contains the antibodies needed to create a permanent cure.

He returns to his lab with Lisa and successfully synthesizes a serum, which they use to cure Lisa’s infected younger brother, Richie. Tragedy strikes when Richie attempts to sneak away to offer the cure to Matthias, believing The Family can be saved. Instead, Matthias rejects the medicine and kills Richie. Simultaneously, Lisa succumbs to the virus and switches sides, helping The Family infiltrate Neville’s fortified home. In the final confrontation, Neville fights off the cult and escapes to his courtyard, but Matthias fatally impales him with a spear. The following morning, Dutch and the remaining children arrive to find Neville dying in a fountain. Before passing away, Neville hands Dutch a vial of his cured blood—passing the torch of humanity's survival to the new generation.