I Am Legend-From Vampires to Zombies

You think you’re the only one left. You spend your days scavenging for supplies, fixing your house after attacks, and hunting them. On cloudy days, you are confined to the street your house is on, so you don’t wander too far off and get caught outside by dark. It’s extremely lonely, and as often as not you spend your nights drowning your sorrows in alcohol; it fails to block out their words. You live like this because they- the people that once made your world normal- have been infected. Vampires, zombies, whatever. They hunt at night and they’re extremely aggressive…. And they want you.

This is the kind of world Richard Matheson throws the reader into, but instead of having you live through the story, you see it play out from over the shoulder of Robert Neville, the supposed only survivor of the infection that has spread over the world and transformed humans and animals alike into aggressive, blood-thirsty killers. Because Matheson throws Neville into such a situation right from the get go-He skips the intro and leaves you to piece together Neville’s history as the story goes on- it is almost impossible to stop at the end of a chapter, because they’re all exciting and many have Massive cliff-hangers that force you to read on. As you move throughout the story, Neville learns to tolerate his predicament, though every time he reaches a point of comfort, Matheson throws in a new story twist that causes everything to crash down on Neville, creating even more excitement. The story ends in a huge climactic semi cliff-hanger, which leaves you with enough information to end the story satisfactorily, keeping it from dragging on unnecessarily. Overall, I Am Legend is a great story, and, while it won’t take weeks to read, you will NEVER be bored with what is there.

Most people are probably aware of I Am Legend because of the 2007 movie released featuring Will Smith. I, too, was unaware of the fact that the book even existed until I saw it on my brother’s book shelf on a day home from school. When I picked up the book and began to read, I couldn’t help but notice some enormous differences between the book and the movie. The first difference is an obvious one: in the book, the infected are basically vampires, while the movie portrays them as more similar to your typical zombie. The causes of the infection in the movie and the book are also different, as in the movie it’s caused by a cancer cure gone wrong, and in the book it’s caused by something to do with bomb radiation. Unlike in the movie, the “book” Robert Neville, is not African American, but light-skinned with blonde hair. Another HUGE difference is the presence of Neville’s dog, Sam. In the movie, he is at Neville’s side from the start, and remains a faithful companion until he, too, is infected. In the book, Neville finds the dog part-way through the story, only to have it die a week after he brings the sick thing into his home. In the book, Neville is the last known pure-human, while in the movie, you find out that there is at least one colony of surviving humans. The woman Neville meets is really human in the movie, while in the book she is half vampire, and ends up betraying him. Rather than the story ending with Neville sacrificing his life to get a cure he discovered to the colony of remaining humans, like in the movie, the book ends with Neville getting executed by the half-vampires half-humans.

Despite the differences between the two, they’re both great entertainment. Though die-hard fans of the novel might feel too “pure” to go see the movie, those that do watch it will find that it is almost if not just as exciting as the book, and I’m not the only person who thinks this. Famous movie critic and major fan of Matheson’s breath catching novel Steven Barona says this about the movie: “All differences aside, this movie is amazing! It captures all the energy of the book, and at the same time puts and interesting twist on the whole plot that gives an old story a fresh feeling.” Famous critics who started at the other end of the spectrum have nothing but praise for the story as well. World-renowned critic Henry Carvajal had never even heard of the book until after seeing the movie, yet after reading it, this is what he had to say: “Wow. Getting to see where this great movie originated from was awesome! It was crazy seeing how the movie differed from the book. Once you get past the core idea of the story, they both branch off on their own paths, telling two different but related stories that are both good fun to experience.” So there you have it. Not only do you have my expert opinion, but you’re also backed by two of the most well-known critics of the century. So, what are you waiting for?! Go read the book; watch the movie!!! By the time you’re finished, you too will believe that it was well worth your time.

Gavin Schuerch,

Student reporter