A bleak but enjoyable post-apocalyptic horror

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2015)

As the film opens Dr Alice Krippin is being interviewed on television; she explains that she has developed a way of curing cancer using a modified version of the measles virus three years later New York is almost empty of humanity; the miracle cure has turned out to be anything but it has mutated killing most of humanity and the vast majority who haven't been killed have turned into mindless rabid killers, so-called Darkseekers the few who are immune are soon eaten! We see a lone man driving through the empty streets with his dog Sam. He is Col. Robert Neville, a military doctor, and he is trying to survive while trying to find a cure. With no other people the loneliness is clearly getting to him but he hasn't entirely given up on finding other people; each day he broadcasts a message and waits forlornly for somebody to come.
This got off to a fun start; I didn't expect Emma Thompson to be the one responsible for the end of human civilisation but as soon as he heard that her character was called Dr Krippin, clearly named after the infamous Dr Crippen, we knew what she was doing would end badly! The way we are introduced to protagonist Robert Neville is effective; the empty streets of New York look great. I liked how we only slowly learn about the Darkseekers; for quite some time we just knew that Neville was alone he carries a rifle but the reason isn't obvious; we do know there are wild animals roaming the streets but presumably they escaped from the zoo. Once we do see the Darkseekers they are pretty scary but not excessively so. Will Smith does a good job; effectively carrying the film alone for most of its run time. He makes us believe in his character even when he is talking to manikins that he has presumably placed in a video store. Things are bleaker than expected with flashbacks gradually revealing his attempts to get his family out of the city only to reveal that they didn't make it. As the story reaches its conclusion tensions rise dramatically and lead to a surprising ending. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of Will Smith or of the zombie genre (even though the Darkseekers aren't technically zombies) I can't say how it compared to other film versions of the story as I've not seen them.