The Hidden Story of I Am Legend's Ending(s)

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After covering all kinds of different zombies, monsters, ghosts, and creatures of the night, I recently did some self-reflection and asked myself, how did I get here? I’ve always had a love for the sci-fi and fantasy genres, But the more dramatic and horror-themed movies and shows that I love can really be traced back to one place: I Am Legend.

0:00 - 1:47 - #1 Fan
1:48 - 10:30 - Movie Recap
10:31 - 11:34 - Complicated History
11:35 - 13:45 - Zombie vs. Vampire?
13:46 - 16:44 - The Highs, Whys, and the CGI
16:45 - 18:53 - Two Endings
18:54 - 20:47 - The Truth About Robert Neville
20:48 - 22:48 - Butterfly

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Outro:
Late Night Driving - Broke In Summer

[kai_plays_khomus]

In the original book the protagonist walks around killing sleeping vampires/people infected with a vampirism virus on a daily basis so they come up with a plot taking advantage of his emotional isolation to overcome him - and eventually he realizes that _he is legend_ now for the vampires, a creature of nightmares killing you while you're asleep.
The status quo had shifted and a new society had emerged, of people as afraid of him as humans had been of them.
He became legend.

[Bluis]

You simply don’t understand. You don’t hunt when you’re out of food, you hunt so you don’t run out of food.

[danieldevito]

Robert comfortably survived for YEARS on his own, but after meeting a woman, his ENTIRE world crumbled and was killed in less than 24 hours.

[flipnog]

I remember reading the book in middle school. The vampires were super intelligent and I remember at some point there was one vampire that openly taunted neville as he slept in his house. So he sound proofed his house

[redscorner]

The comic-book style shorts that were on my dvd really creeped me out as a kid. They follow other people during the beginning of the outbreak, including some people who become infected and it's wild to see how they begin to think differently and they talk about just how HUNGRY they are, hungry enough to attack their uninfected families

[STroB]

Vincent Price's version is WAY better and actually justifies the tittle of "I am Legend"
The infected just kept their almost normal lives during the night and the main character became like a legend they told among themselves and many didn't even believe he existed.
In the end, the main character realizes he has been the villain in THEIR story.

[MrEthanQuinn]

He exposed himself to sunlight because he had feelings for the zombie that was being captured by Neville, so it was groundbreaking for him because the monster did show signs of human emotions like caring for one another, not cos they were low on food

[Wodenseyes]

The scene he had to kill Sam in 100% made me cry as an 11 year old. My dad and I went to see it in theaters and we were so excited for it. I remember loving the movie to that point, and even my war hardened, never cries only shows anger when sad dad even got upset by that scene. We both finished watching the movie but we were visibly upset when we both got home. My sister and grandma were waiting for us and we both just went to bed.

[SolidMikeP]

Had a back surgery, I went downstairs to this small theater room we’re had. I took pain medication, put in this dvd, turned down the lights all the way….. and I was hooked. The mixture of the ambiance, pain killers, darkness, and the movie was a once in a lifetime viewing experience. That opening scene in surround sound was something else…something I haven’t expected since.

[shaygranger]

That " keep my wife's name.." clip 😅was impeccably timed...and now I'm an instant subscriber

[imonit]

In the theatrical version, I thought Nevill had already gone entirely insane before Sam was killed. I thought that he set the whole Fred/trap thing himself and walked into it because he was completely out of his mind.

[craigsmith]

If they’re doing a sequel based on the alternate cut, I hope they open with the alternate ending to establish the context, so people in the theater that remember the “grenade ending” won’t be confused on how Will Smith’s Robert Neville lived through a grenade explosion 😂
Not everyone got the DVD after seeing it in theaters and I believe when it was on streaming it still went with the theatrical ending.

[TheAlabamboo]

In the book Robert Neville’s legend was in becoming the thing that goes bump in the night, the monster that would snatch children and kill people in their sleep, a la Count Dracula. It was a way to shift the perspective and understanding of horror stories of the past. The vampires would evolve and create their own society, systems of justice, etc. and eventually set out to hold Neville accountable for the horrors he inflicted upon the innocent vampires just trying to live their lives. I was always disappointed that the movie moved away from this idea.

[Gabriel]

I think the scene that stuck to me the most yet it's really trivial is when Robert goes on a supply run and enters this random apartment, all laid out really selling that this was someone's home. He sees Christmas decorations and newspaper clips on the fridge's door about the infected being afraid of sunlight. Eventually Robert ends up stumbling on this door with a paper note saying something like "don't open before Christmas" and it's a baby's bedroom. You can really feel the emotional gut punch he gets at this moment.

[lonniemuehlenbeck]

Thank you for showing me that this had an alternate cut cause i was confused as hell when they anounced i am legend 2

[JosiahL]

You are not alone! iRobot and Iam Legend have been some of my most watched movies throughout my life. Will Smith does a fantastic job in these movies.

[Whcc]

I still love this movie to this day. The themes of isolation, loneliness, grey morality, nature taking over... It's just very interesting and thought provoking to watch. I never knew about the alternate ending (which sounds much better and more in-line with the themes), so thanks for letting me know about that.

Funny story: This movie is also how my sister's dog got his name. I was watching him for a weekend and this movie came on TV. I let him outside to the bathroom before the infamous "Fred!" scene. He wouldn't come back inside, so I started imitating Robert and shouting "Fred! What are you doing, Fred? Get over here right now!" He immediately ran into the house, happy as could be. "Fred" was the only name he listened to after that day.

[HP_line_cook]

I remember when I first saw this movie. I was in foster care and on my birthday I was allowed to spend the whole day with my mom without supervision of the social worker. I got sick the day before so I unfortunately spent most of my birthday sick but happy I was with my mom.

My mom made me a chicken soup and asked if I wanted to see a movie. She had bought I Am Legend the day before so we would both see it for the first time. I was always a scaredy-cat for horror movies, but for some reason this movie made me fall in love with it. It’s been nearly 16 years since my mom beat the foster system and got me back, but every time I see this movie I get transported back to when I spent that day with my mom, how happy I was for that one day only for it to end at 6pm (just before the sun set like in the movie) and return to my foster home only to see my mom again whenever a court date came up (sometimes once every 3 months or 6 months).

It’s a bittersweet feeling, that’s for sure.

[winchesterlyon]

He wasn't the last man on Earth. He remained in the quarantined part of NY to find patient zero to find an antidote.

[DocRigel]

This has always been one of my favorite movies too. It has just the right amount of gray in the story that feels so real for both him, humanity, and the darkseekers. It also did a really good job making the viewer think about what they were seeing. Was the mannequin alive, was he loosing it? Was there hope? Point in the cure? It presented questions, both real and philosophical. I look forward to continuing this story.