I Am Legend -

But to reduce to a single blockbuster film is to miss the point entirely. Since its publication in 1954, Richard Matheson’s novella has served as the genetic code for virtually every modern zombie or vampire apocalypse we see today. From Night of the Living Dead to 28 Days Later , the DNA of "I Am Legend" is everywhere.

For those unfamiliar with the source material, the setup is simple. Robert Neville is seemingly the last surviving human in Los Angeles. A pandemic bacterial war—spread via dust storms and mosquito bites—has swept the globe. Unlike fast-acting plagues, this one transforms the infected into archetypal vampires: they are repelled by garlic, mirrors, and stakes, and they perish in sunlight. I Am Legend