Plot
In March 1975, biological warfare between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union kills most of the world's population. U.S. Army Col. Robert Neville, M.D. (Charlton Heston), a scientist based in Los Angeles, California, begins to succumb to the ensuing plague but manages to inject himself with an experimental vaccine just in time, rendering himself immune. Meanwhile, the plague's surviving victims in Los Angeles, join together as "The Family," a cult of crazed nocturnal albino mutants who seek to destroy all technology and Neville.
Two years later in August 1977, Neville believes he is the plague's only survivor. Struggling to maintain his sanity, he spends his days patrolling the deserted city, hunting and destroying members of the Family. At night, living atop a fortified apartment building equipped with an arsenal of weaponry, he is a prisoner in his own home. The Family wants to destroy him, believing him to be a last remnant of the old culture.
As Neville takes his time "shopping' for a new leisure suit, he spots a "living Playtex Doll" mannequin which he chases into the overgrown park. Neville decides he is seeing things and dismisses the human sighting.
One day, the Family captures Neville in a wine cellar. After a summary trial he is found guilty of heresy by Jonathan Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), a former news anchor who is now leader of the Family. Neville is sentenced to death and nearly burned at the stake in the center of Dodger Stadium. He is rescued by Lisa (Rosalind Cash), the woman he had earlier seen while on patrol, and Dutch (Paul Koslo), a former medical student familiar with Neville's work.
Lisa and Dutch are part of a group of survivors, some of whom are young children. Although infected, their youth has given them some resistance to the disease and its symptoms are slow to manifest. Nevertheless, given enough time, they will succumb to mutation. Neville realizes that even if it is possible to duplicate the original vaccine, it would take years to salvage humanity. However, he believes it may be possible to extend his immunity to others by creating a serum from his own blood.
Neville, Lisa, and Lisa's teenage brother Ritchie (Eric Laneuville) return to the bunker, where the older two begin treating Ritchie. Robert and Lisa become romantic just as the generator runs out of fuel and the lights go off. The Family decides to attack, sending Brother Zachary to climb up the outside of Neville's bunker. Neville leaves Lisa upstairs as he goes to the basement garage to restart the generator. Neville returns to the living quarters to find Lisa pointing a sub-machine gun at him as he leaves the elevator. Neville scares Lisa by firing at Brother Zachary who falls out the balcony window to his death.
If the serum works, Neville and Lisa plan to leave the ravaged city with the rest of the survivors and start a new life in the wilderness, leaving the Family behind to die.
Neville is successful in creating the serum and administers it to Richie, who is on the verge of the advanced mutant stage of the plague. Once cured, Richie (insisting that members of the Family are also human) goes to the Family to try to convince them to take the serum. Matthias refuses to believe that Neville would try to help them, accuses Richie of being sent by Neville to harm them and has Richie executed. Neville discovers Richie’s body strung up and left as bait to draw Neville outside after dark. Enraged, Neville fights off the Family after they force his car off the road.
Meanwhile, Lisa unexpectedly changes into a nocturnal albino mutant and betrays Neville by giving the Family access to his bunker. Returning home, Neville is confronted by Matthias, who forces him to watch as the Family sets his home on fire. Neville breaks free and, once outside with Lisa, he turns and raises his sub-machine gun to shoot Matthias, who is looking down from the balcony. The gun jams, giving Matthias enough time to hurl a spear at Neville, mortally wounding him. The final scene shows the human survivors, led by Dutch, departing in a Land Rover. They discover a dying Neville lying in a fountain, who hands Dutch a flask of blood serum, presumably with which to restore humanity, shortly after which Neville dies. Dutch takes Lisa and the survivors away as they leave the city for good.
Read more about this topic: The Omega Man
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