The Last Man On Earth (1964)

 

Date Of Release: 8th March 1964

Director: Ubaldo Ragona, Sidney Salkow

Producer: Robert L Lippet, Samuel Z Arkoff, Harold E Knox

Starring: Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Daniell, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart

Running Time: 86 minutes

Distributor: American International Pictures (USA), 20th Century Fox (International)



Review

This film was based on Richard Mathesons 1954 novel "I Am Legend". Matheson actually part wrote the script but he was so unsatisfied with the result, he credited himself as Logan Swanson. Considering that the film is supposed to be set in suburban America, it was actually shot in Rome, Italy, with a huge part of its extras and crew being Italian. This was essentially done so that they could save money. On its release, it was not considered a success, however, today it is considered as a classic within the genre. Many reviews stated that it was very low budget with an amateurish feel and poor dubbing. Even Matheson himself felt that Vincent Price was miscast.

As with most people, I have read the book first and I absolutely loved it. It was something that was before my time and yet felt like it had just been created. When I heard about the film and the fact that Vincent Price was in it, I just had too see it. Unfortunately, I have to agree with most of the critics bad reviews. There is nothing worse than a poorly dubbed film, I just cannot stand it. The story, as much as it pretty much follows the book, feels slightly detached. The vampires from the book are very smart, able to climb walls and can run very fast. The vampires in the film however, are almost zombie like, giving the film a much slower place.



The one scene that really sticks with me is the part were they do the mass burials. By all means, it is in no way a scene that is that big of a deal, but watching it at a young age, it just really stuck with me. In some way, it just seemed quite close to a lot of dictatorships that are around even now. The part where Morgans house is infiltrated is quite interesting to. He feels that he is helping by killing the vampires yet he is actually killing ones that are being treated, causing them to hunt him down. Quite a nice little twist I think.

Despite the bad critique that the film had received, I still love this film and I myself, still consider it to be a classic. It may not be quite what I hoped for, bearing in mind that I had read the novel, but it is a lot better than the remakes that followed it. The production value could have been better and I think that the crew could have taken a bit more care to make it even more like the novel, giving it the respect that it very much deserves. On the whole, if you love some horror tinged with a slight bit of drama then this is for you.

Rating: 6/10 - Don't be the last man on earth to see this!



　

Blood: The Last Vampire (Anime)

                                                                                                                    

Date Of Release: 29th July 2000 (Worldwide), 18th November 2000 (Japan)

Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo

Producer: Ryuji Mitsumoto, Yukio Nagasaki

Starring: Youki Kudo, Joe Romersa

Running Time: 50 minutes

Distributor: Production I.G

Review

There are very few films that I would actually place in my top 10; this is quite possibly one of my favourite movies of all time. I have been a big fan of anime for years and have watched every type of movie and series going (yes, even the cheesy ones!). This film is from the creators of Ghost in the Shell, which itself, is an excellent series. When I heard that they were doing a vampire film, I didn't take it too seriously. It was either going to be extremely funny or very over the top serious. Imagine my joy when it was actually something completely in its own league.

The film has a very dark setting, from start to finish. This really helps set of that dark, horror scene. The script is also very simple but effective. The only criticism that the film ever had was its lack of character building, but you can easily over look that (there was a series after called Blood + which was loosely based on it, that may give you the character background that you crave). Another criticism would be that the movie is relatively short compared to most. Although it feels like one big episode, you forget that halfway through as it is able to suck you into the story. You will be also glad to know that there are no cheesy vampires in this movie. No, these are proper monsters of a type that you won't have seen before. They are referred to as "chiropterans", basically a bat like creature.

My favourite scene would have to be the Halloween school dance scene. It is very simple, the creature has a sack over them and they manage to grab the teacher in a busy dance hall with no one noticing> May not sound like a big deal but that really stuck with me somehow, it is borderline creepy. The end scene is quite a poignant one, I won't give it away but it pulls the film together I think. For all you gore freaks, there is a fair bit of blood flying around (literally) in this movie which I think would satisfy your needs.

It is a bit of a cult classic and sometimes it has to grow on a person a bit for them to like it but I took to it straight away. It was everything that I loved about an anime and everything I wanted to be different in it also. If you are a big fan of the genre and have not seen it yet then where have you been??? If you are not however, you should still see it anyway....because I told you too!!

Rating: 10/10 - A bloody good film that even the last of you vampires should see!