| I Am Legend | |
|---|---|
| |
| Riffed by | RiffTrax |
| Riffers | Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett |
| Series | None |
| Date Released | April 29, 2008 |
I Am Legend is a 2007 British-American post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. It is the third feature film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name, following 1964's The Last Man on Earth and 1971's The Omega Man. Smith plays virologist Robert Neville, who is immune to a man-made virus originally created to cure cancer. He works to create a remedy while defending himself against mutants created by the virus. RiffTrax released their riff in April 2008.
Synopsis and Preview[]
Mike Nelson's RiffTrax - I Am Legend Sample
[Spoilers Begin]
Opening in 2012, a series of flashbacks and recorded news programs reveal that in 2009 a genetically re-engineered measles virus, originally created as a cure for cancer, mutated into a lethal strain which rapidly infected humans and some species of animals. By the end of the year, over 90% of the planet's human population died. Over 9% were infected, but did not die. These survivors degenerated into a primal state of aggression and began to react painfully to UV radiation, forcing them to hide in buildings and other dark places during the day. Less than 1% remained completely immune to the virus, but were hunted and killed by the infected or committed suicide due to their isolation until, three years after the outbreak, US Army virologist Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville (Will Smith) is left in New York City as what he believes to be the last healthy human in the world.
Neville's daily routine includes experimentation on infected rats to find a cure for the virus and trips through a Manhattan devoid of humanity to hunt for food and supplies. He also waits each day for a response to his continuous recorded radio broadcasts, which instruct any uninfected survivors to meet him at midday at the South Street Seaport. Flashbacks reveal that his wife and daughter appear to have died in a helicopter accident during the chaotic evacuation of Manhattan, prior to the military-enforced quarantine of the island in 2009. Neville's isolation is broken only by the companionship of his dog Samantha ("Sam"), interaction with mannequins he has set up as patrons of a video store, and recordings of old news and entertainment broadcasts.
Neville seems to find a promising treatment derived from his own blood, so he sets a snare trap and captures an infected woman while an infected male watches from the shadows. Back in his laboratory, located in the basement of his heavily-fortified Washington Square Park home, Neville treats the infected woman without success. Shortly thereafter, he is ensnared in a trap similar to the one he used to capture the woman. By the time Neville escapes it is dark and he is attacked by infected dogs, one of which bites Sam (although dogs are unaffected by the airborne strain of the virus, they are still affected by the contact strain). Initially Neville brings Sam home and injects her with a strand of his serum, but when she shows signs of infection and tries to attack him, Neville is forced to strangle her. The next night he goes out and recklessly attacks a group of infected. He is nearly killed, but is rescued by a pair of immune survivors, Anna (Alice Braga) and a young boy named Ethan (Charlie Tahan), who have traveled from Maryland after hearing one of his broadcasts. They take the injured Neville back to his home where Anna explains that they survived the outbreak aboard a Red Cross evacuation ship from São Paulo and are making their way to a putative survivors' camp in Bethel, Vermont.
Neville once again attempts to administer a potential cure to the infected woman in his laboratory, but the next night a group of infected, who had followed Anna and Neville back the night before, attack the house and overrun its defenses. Neville, Anna, and Ethan retreat into the basement laboratory, sealing themselves in with the woman Neville has been treating. Discovering that the last treatment has been successful, Neville draws a vial of the woman's blood and gives it to Anna, before shutting her and Ethan inside a coal chute in the back of the lab. As one of the infected breaks into the laboratory, Robert detonates a grenade, killing the mutants and himself. Anna and Ethan emerge the next morning and make their way to the survivor colony. Once there, Anna hands over the blood containing the cure.
[Spoilers End]
Cast and Crew[]
- Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville
- Alice Braga as Anna Montez
- Charlie Tahan as Ethan
- Dash Mihok as the Infected Alpha Male
- Emma Thompson as Dr. Alice Krippin
- Salli Richardson as Zoe Neville
- Willow Smith as Marley Neville
- Lauren Haley as Infected Alpha Female
- Darrell Foster as Mike
- Pat Fraley as Voice of the President of the United States
- Mike Patton as Voices of the Darkseekers