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I Am Legend is a 1954 science fiction novel by Richard Matheson about the last man alive in a future Los Angeles, California. It is notable as influential on the developing modern vampire genre as well as the zombie genre, in popularizing the fictional concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease, and in exploring the notion of vampirism as a disease. The novel was a success and was adapted to film as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, as The Omega Man in 1971, and again in 2007 as I Am Legend.
Plot
Taking place between January 1976 and January 1979 in Los Angeles, I Am Legend opens with the monotony and horror of daily life for the protagonist, Robert Neville. Neville is apparently the only survivor of an apocalypse caused by a pandemic of bacteria, the symptoms of which are similar to vampirism. Initially, we find Neville preparing for a night under siege from a horde of vampires. He spends each day repairing his house, boarding up windows, hanging garlic, disposing of vampire corpses, and gathering supplies.
Much of the story is devoted to Neville's attempt to understand, and possibly cure the disease that wiped out humanity. The novel details Neville's research into the nature of vampirism, and the possible causes thereof. Through flashbacks, some of Neville's past is revealed. Struggling to cope with the loss of his family, Neville goes about his daily routine.
Influence
I Am Legend influenced the zombie genre and popularized the fictional concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to a disease. Although classified as a vampire story and referred to as "the first modern vampire novel", I Am Legend made an impression on the zombie genre by way of film director George A. Romero. Romero has acknowledged the influence of the novel and its 1964 adaptation on his 1968 film Night of the Living Dead.Critics have also picked up on similarities between Night of the Living Dead and Last Man on Earth.
Stephen King said, "without Richard Matheson I wouldnt be around." Some film critics have noted that the 2002 British film 28 Days Later and its sequel 28 Weeks Later, which feature a rabies-like plague that ravages Great Britain, are similar to the scenario in I Am Legend. The recasting of undead creatures as disease victims is also comparable to recent zombie media such as the Resident Evil series, the Blade trilogy, the 1984 B movie Night of the Comet and, to the extent that addiction is a disease, the 1995 Abel Ferrara film The Addiction.
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