‘The Omega Man’
Warner Bros., 1971

starring: Charlton Heston, Rosalind Cash, Anthony Zerbe and Paul Koslo
directed by: Boris Sagal

the plot: Dr. Robert Neville (Heston) believes he is the lone survivor of a catastrophic plague that wiped out civilization. Living alone in a deserted metropolis, Neville spends his days searching for supplies, fortifying his penthouse apartment and going slightly mad. At night, he must defend himself from “The Family,” a gang of mutants ravaged by the effects of biological warfare who are convinced that Neville, and all traces of the pre-plague society, must be eradicated. When Matthias (Zerbe), leader of The Family, captures Neville, it looks like the doctor’s end is nigh—that is until Lisa (Cash), the leader of a group of survivors living outside the city, swoops in and rescues Neville. No longer alone, Neville, formerly a military scientist, resumes work on a vaccine for the plague. But it may be too late for that—Matthias has rallied his forces and devised a way to trap Neville once and for all.

why it’s good: What’s not to love about an apocalyptic Charlton Heston thriller? “The Omega Man” features Heston at his scenery-chewing best as he rambles disjointedly to a statue, wears ridiculous outfits and shoots at anything that moves. A very loose adaptation of Richard Matheson’s excellent vampire novel “I Am Legend,” “The Omega Man” replaces Matheson’s hungry bloodsuckers with The Family, crazy albino Luddite hippies who call each other “brother” all the time. Heston’s growling craziness aside, The Family is easily the most entertaining part of “The Omega Man.” Dressed like monks and frequently wielding torches, members of The Family speak as though they’re auditioning for a high school Shakespeare production. There’s also a pretty fun motorcycle chase and some amusingly awkward flirtation between Heston and Cash, including a random conversation about birth control in an abandoned drug store. Trivia note: much later in her career, Cash would play the very Heston-esque Dr. Cushing in 1995’s “Tales From The Hood.”

why you should own it: If your DVD collection is missing a Heston apocalypse film, then “The Omega Man” will fill that hole nicely. This Warner re-release from 2003 features an introduction by screenwriter Joyce Carrington and two of the film’s actors, as well as a pair of featurettes.