''I Am Omega'', stylized as ''I Am Ωmega'', is a 2007 American

direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

produced by

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...

and starring

Mark Dacascos Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor, martial artist and television personality. He won numerous karate and kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. He is known for his roles as Wo Fat in ''Hawaii Five-0'' ...

. The film is an unofficial and uncredited adaptation of the 1954 novel '' I Am Legend'' by

Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science ficti ...

, the title being a reference to the 1971 film adaptation ''

The Omega Man ''The Omega Man'' (stylized as ''The Ωmega Man'') is a 1971 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Charlton Heston as a survivor of a pandemic. It was written by John William Corrington and Joyce Corrington, b ...

''. The movie was intentionally released as a "

mockbuster A mockbuster (also known as knockbuster or a drafting opportunity) is a film created to exploit the publicity of another major motion picture with a similar title or subject. Mockbusters are often made with a low budget and quick production to max ...

" to capitalize on the release of the theatrical film '' I Am Legend'' of the same year.

Plot

The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, which is overrun by

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

-like,

cannibalistic Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species In biology, a species is the basic ...

humans who have degenerated into a feral subspecies as the result of a genetic infection. The film does not make clear if the virus has infected the entire world, or just a small, isolated area, but it is suggested that it is global by the inability of the hero, Renchard (

), 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 A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...

by Brianna (Jennifer Lee Wiggins), another survivor who was stranded in L.A. 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. Two men (the film's screenwriter Geoff Meed and Ryan Lloyd) claiming to be from Antioch arrive at his home seeking his aid. Although initially unpersuaded by their argument that Brianna carries the cure to the virus in her blood, Renchard is forced to cooperate under gunpoint. With 24 hours before the bombs are set to detonate, he leads the men into the city. They must find and free Brianna before the mutants or the bombs can destroy them. After Renchard and Brianna flee the city and Mike (Ryan Lloyd) is killed in the sewers, Vincent (Geoff Meed) shoots Renchard and captures Brianna. He tells Renchard he did it because he liked the world the way it was and leaves him to die. After Renchard recovers his strength, he hotwires a car and chases after Vincent to save Brianna. After finding them, Renchard kills Vincent, who was attempting to rape and kill Brianna. The bombs explode, and they both head to Antioch to make a cure. However, it is revealed that a single zombie has survived the explosion.

Critical response

This low-budget,

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

film was hurried into production and released a month prior to the big budget

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

film '' I Am Legend'' in an attempt to cash in on the similar-sounding titles and plots. This has led to some confusion among film fans, which is no doubt the intention of film distributor

, which have used this marketing strategy in the past with such other confusingly-titled films as '' 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea'', ''

Transmorphers ''Transmorphers'' is a 2007 American science fiction alien invasion film released direct-to-DVD on June 26, 2007. It was written and directed by Leigh Scott and produced by David Michael Latt and The Asylum, "a studio whose work gets slightly mo ...

'', ''

The Da Vinci Treasure ''The Da Vinci Treasure'' is a 2006 direct-to-video mystery film produced by American studio The Asylum, and directed by Peter Mervis. The film is considered to be a mockbuster of the 2006 film ''The Da Vinci Code'', and both films were released ...

'' and ''

Snakes on a Train ''Snakes on a Train'' is a 2006 direct-to-video action thriller horror film released by The Asylum as a mockbuster on August 15, 2006. Aspects of the film are inspired by the film ''Snakes on a Plane'', which was scheduled for theatrical release ...

''. 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." ''

The San Diego Union Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' said satirically that the film is "The long-awaited prequel to ''

Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hu ...

'', in which Bluto's secret pact with that reviled rival frat is finally revealed?" ''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."

Cast

as Renchard * Geoff Meed as Vincent * Jennifer Lee Wiggins as Brianna * Ryan Lloyd as Mike *Gregory Paul Smith as Various Zombies

References

External links

''I Am Omega'' at The Asylum
* {{Richard Matheson 2007 direct-to-video films 2007 independent films 2007 films 2000s science fiction thriller films American independent films American science fiction thriller films The Asylum films Mockbuster films Films about viral outbreaks Films based on works by Richard Matheson Films set in Los Angeles American post-apocalyptic films American zombie films Unofficial film adaptations Direct-to-video science fiction films Films directed by Griff Furst Films based on American horror novels Films based on science fiction novels Films about cannibalism 2000s English-language films 2000s American films

Plot

Critical response

Cast

See also

References

External links