ΩMega Bomb

Movie • THE OMEGA MAN • 1971
I have to admit, I’ve only seen this for the first time. These old cult classics should have been seen many times. I also have to admit, I will likely not be seeing The Omega Man many times. Maybe I’ll watch a scene here and there, but jeepers, it seemed like Omega Man should be watched at nap-time. Charleton Heston looked bored playing his role, and the plague surviving zombie/vampire people were more like jive-talking albino druids that mated with the Morlocks from The Time Machine.
I knew I was in for a really boring treat when Robert Neville goes into a theater to watch a Woodstock film… and we are subjected to several minutes of it as if we’d be given insight to the vibe. I get that what we see in this theater with Neville is a symbolic foreshadowing to the new night-dweller society. After a worldwide biological war, there are a few survivors who are a homogenized, socialist twisted version of the hippie peace ideology. These are the vampire/zombie people that were originally conceived by Richard Matheson in his book, I Am Legend.
I see now where the new I Am Legend movie drew most of its inspiration from. The urban setting, the basic plot line with Robert Neville saving the world with his blood just before dying a martyr’s death, the halfway love interest with a child, etc.
The Omega Man and the recent I Am Legend simply weren’t successful in telling the story of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend the way Last Man On Earth starring Vincent Price did.
Stay away from Charlton Heston in this one. About the only thing I found entertaining was the inappropriately happy music that played as the soundtrack.
If you insist on watching, look for these three things:

• Listen to what Lisa says to Robert when they first meet. It’s a hint to his end.
• Look for the Alanis Morissette look-alike in the surviving human clan.
• The Ω in The ΩMega Man looks like headphones

But I recommend curling up with a cup of tea and some cookies, and reading Richard Matheson’s book instead.

Thrilling cheese of terror too!

Movie • TRILOGY OF TERROR II • 1996
A woman appears in three different horror tales that play more like Twilight Zone or Creepshow episodes. Maybe even Tales From the Crypt

1 The Graveyard Rats
In the first, the cheesy Lifetime style character interaction can make you want to turn it off, but it's worth seeing through to the end. You’d think the “monster” is the crotchety old man since he is a real meanie, but instead it's large, creepy rats with cute red eyes. I won’t tell you how it comes to that point, but you'll love to see the demise of the last character alive in this one. Death scenes can be really yummy sometimes.

2 Bobby
The music struck me in this one. Very 70s television terror sounding. I knew when the mommy was demanding “Return my son who drowned by accident!” in a personally prepared, but professional looking ritual that he was not going to be Howie Mandel’s Bobby. What contrived writing. I love it! The acting in this episode is even more over the top than the first one, but somehow Bobby manages to seem creeptacular and scary. The ending isn’t so twisted, because you suspect something’s up all along; but you won't expect what flavor of cheese it is.

3 He Who Kills
Based on the Zuni Doll from the short story “Prey” by Richard Matheson (possibly best known for “I am Legend” which was adapted to Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price).
What begins like an episode of Miami Vice finishes like a retelling of Puppet Master. The Zuni doll houses the spirit of a warrior from an extinct tribe of African cannibals. His spirit might be full of vinegar, but this doll is the most handsome creature I've seen in a long time. He may have sounded like Animal from the Muppets, but he had the murderous energy of a Tiki with a blender for a heart.

I shrink, therefore I am

Book • THE (Incredible) SHRINKING MAN • 1956
The original Richard Matheson book was printed in 1956, and titled The Shrinking Man. It was then adapted for film in 1957. Most reprints were subsequently called The Incredible Shrinking Man. The copy I read was from TOR books, and had some extra short stories in the back. Do yourself a favor. If you read any Richard Matheson books, get one with some short stories in the back. You won’t be disappointed, and you’ll see that he’s written a lot of the stories you know already.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen this picture, so I thought I should adore the book. Richard Matheson is one of my favorite authors, so it’s a wonder I never read it before. I devoured each page like a spring fruit torte, and I didn’t share a single slice.
Matheson’s talent for story telling keeps you in the moment through the entire book. The main character, Scott describes his predicament with such detail you believe Matheson has experienced shrinking himself. And not just physical details. The book is so engrossing because he pulls you in so well by showing you how shrinking affects Scott emotionally and egotistically. The behavior of the people around him changes due to his changing stature. It’s only normal that your daughter would treat you like a doll if you were that size. It makes sense that a couple’s love-life would suffer, that bullies would treat you like a freak.
This book will remain on the front of my shelf so I will remember to read it again. I can’t remember how the movie ends, but I was completely satisfied with the book’s ending. I wouldn’t want to spoil it, but suffice it to say you choose whether it was a happy ending or not.
Go ahead and shrink into your favorite cozy space. You won’t get up until you’ve finished the whole thing.