I Am Omega: Wikis

Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles.

Encyclopedia

Updated live from Wikipedia, last check: June 02, 2012 05:42 UTC (44 seconds ago)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I Am Ωmega

Directed by	Griff Furst
Produced by	David Michael Latt David Rimawi Paul Bales
Written by	Richard Matheson (Novel, uncredited) Geoff Meed (Screenplay)
Starring	Mark Dacascos Geoff Meed Jennifer Lee Wiggins Ryan Lloyd
Cinematography	Alexander Yellen
Distributed by	The Asylum
Release date(s)	November 18, 2007
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

I Am Ωmega is a 2007 direct-to-DVD American doomsday film produced by The Asylum and starring Mark Dacascos of Iron Chef America.

The film is an unofficial adaptation of the novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, the title being a portmanteau of The Omega Man and 2007's I Am Legend with Will Smith, two other film adaptations of the same novel. The movie was specifically released to capitalize on Smith's big-budget film.^[1]

1 Plot
2 Controversy and critical response
3 Differences from the novel
4 Cast
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Plot

The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic New York City, which is overrun by savage, cannibalistic humans who have degenerated into a feral subspecies as the result of a genetic virus. The film does not make clear if the virus has infected the entire world, or a small, localized area, but it is suggested that it is global by the inability of the hero, Renchard (Mark Dacascos), to locate radio signals or contact anyone via the Internet.

Renchard has been forced to live in a daily struggle for survival against the mutants. One day, Renchard is contacted via webcam by Brianna (Jennifer Lee Wiggins), another survivor who was stranded in New York City while trying to find Antioch, a community of survivors. She asks Renchard to help her, but Renchard, who has placed time bombs at strategic points around the city, refuses.

When two men (Geoff Meed and Ryan Lloyd) claiming to be from Antioch arrive at his home to also ask his aid, he finds he has no choice. Although unpersuaded by their argument that Brianna carries the cure to the virus in her blood, Renchard can't refuse their guns. With 24 hours before the bombs are set to go off, he leads the men into the city, where they must find and free Brianna before the mutants or the bombs can destroy them.

Controversy and critical response

This low budget, direct-to-video film was hurried into production and released a month prior to the big budget Will Smith film I Am Legend in an attempt to cash in on the similar sounding titles and plots.^[2]^[3]

This has led to some confusion among film fans, which is no doubt the intention of film distributor The Asylum, who have used this marketing strategy in the past with such other confusingly-titled films as 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Transmorphers, The Da Vinci Treasure and Snakes on a Train.^[4]

Critics had few good things to say about the film. Matt Bradshaw said, "The film starts off with a modest amount of promise, but when the story veers away from the film it's aping things quickly go down hill."^[5] The San Diego Union Tribune said that the film "is ... what? The long-awaited prequel to Animal House, in which Bluto's secret pact with that reviled rival frat is finally revealed?"^[6]

Film Critics United said that "As far as flicks from The Asylum go, I am Omega is their best one yet, at least of the ones I’ve seen. Admittedly this includes fare such as Snakes on a Train, Transmorphers and Super Croc, all surely among the worst films ever made, but for a little while at least I am Omega was more than just a 'good flick for Asylum standards' but just a plain old decent flick. For a little while at least."^[7]

Differences from the novel

While based on the novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, the film takes several liberties with the overall story:

The character of Robert Neville is named Renchard in the film.
The disease that wipes out humanity is not a vampiric disease as the novel portrays, but is instead a genetic virus that mutates humans into a race of feral cannibals.
In the novel, the vampires attack only at night. In I Am Omega, however, the mutants attack around the clock.
Renchard is convinced that he is not immune to the disease.

Cast

Mark Dacascos as Renchard
Geoff Meed as Vincent
Jennifer Lee Wiggins as Brianna
Ryan Lloyd as Mike

References

^ I Am Legend by Todd McCarthy, Variety, Dec. 7, 2007.
^ Movie 'Mockbusters' Put Snakes on Trains, National Public Radio, December 8, 2007.
^ And if You Can't Catch 'Cloverfield'... by GRADY HENDRIX, The NY Sun, January 18, 2008.
^ The New B Movie. The New York Times, 2007-OCT-7.
^ Killer B's on DVD: I Am Omega by Matt Bradshaw, Cinematical, Dec. 17, 2007.
^ A VIRAL IDEA: Legions of Legends by James Hebert, The San Diego Union Tribune, December 14, 2007, accessed Jan. 16, 2009.
^ http://filmcriticsunited.com/iamomega.html I Am Omega by Christopher Armsted, Film Critics United, accessed Jan. 16, 2009.

External links

The Asylum

Action films	Snakes on a Train (2006) · Street Racer (2008) · 100 Million BC (2008) · Death Racers (2008)

Adventure films	King of the Lost World (2005) · Pirates of Treasure Island (2006) · 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea (2007) · Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls (2008) · Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) · The 7 Adventures of Sinbad (2010)

Comedy films	Fourplay (2001) · Jane White Is Sick & Twisted (2002)

Disaster films	The Apocalypse (2007) · I Am Omega (2007) · 2012 Doomsday (2008) · Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus (2009) · Airline Disaster (2010)

Drama films	Bellyfruit (1999) · King of the Ants (2003) · The 9/11 Commission Report (2006)

Fantasy films	Merlin and the War of the Dragons (2008) · Dragonquest (2009)

Horror films	Speed Demon (2003) · Vampires Vs. Zombies (2004) · Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill (2004) · Evil Eyes (2004) · Legion of the Dead (2005) · Dead Men Walking (2005) · Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers (2006) · When a Killer Calls (2006) · Hillside Cannibals (2006) · Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse (2006) · Halloween Night (2006) · Freakshow (2007) · The Hitchhiker (2007) · Monster (2008) · Haunting of Winchester House (2009) · Paranormal Entity (2009) · Mega Piranha (2010)

Musical films	Sunday School Musical (2008)

Mystery films	The Da Vinci Treasure (2006) · Sherlock Holmes (2010)

Science fiction films	Alien Abduction (2005) · H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds (2005) · Transmorphers (2007) · Invasion of the Pod People (2007) · AVH: Alien vs Hunter (2007) · War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave (2008) · The Day the Earth Stopped (2008) · The Terminators (2009) · Transmorphers: Fall of Man (2009) · The Land That Time Forgot (2009) · Princess of Mars (2009)

Richard Matheson's I Am Legend

Novel	I Am Legend (novel) (1954)

Films	The Last Man on Earth (1964) · The Omega Man (1971) · I Am Legend (2007) · I Am Omega (2007)

The Full Wiki

Search:

More info on I Am Omega

Related topics