Laserblast: Last Man still standing
Not much in the way of new and exciting genre titles on home video this week. There is SKINWALKERS, the low-budget werewolf flick that briefly loped through theatres earlier this year; other than that, it is pretty much a handful of oldies and direct-to-video titles, like MEET JOE BLACK, OUTLAND, and RETURN TO NEVERLAND. Among the oldies is THE OMEGA MAN, starring Charlton Heston, which arrives on HD DVD and Blu-ray disc. This second film adaptation of Richard Matheson’s sci-fi vampire novel I Am Legend (the previous version was THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, with Vincent Price) is obviously hoping to cash in on the upcoming release of the new, big-budget I AM LEGEND starring Will Smith. The Heston version abandons the vampire element in favor chemical warfare, pitting the last man standing against hordes of mutants. It is not a very good film, but turning the material into an action movie was not a bad idea, and Heston is a better fit for the lead role than Vincent Price was. Along with OMEGA MAN comes Heston’s other big science-fiction effort, SOYLENT GREEN. Check out this week’s DVD releases below the fold.
