I Am Legend vampires or zombies

Darkseekers are zombie vampires in the 2007 film adaption, I Am Legend. They are the humans susceptible to the Krippin Virus who were infected but did not die from it.

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While those infected with KV who survive it develop primal behavior upon succumbing to the virus and becoming a Darkseeker, they do retain enough of their higher intelligence to build and copy complex traps they have previously seen. Darkseekers' adrenal glands give them increased mobility. The increased metabolism also speeds up Darkseekers' heart rate, breathing speed and body temperature, and makes them constantly hyperventilate.

Other symptoms of KV include dilated pupils, inflamed gums, hair loss, albinism, and a primal state of madness. Another major symptom is a severe intolerance of UV radiation, causing sunlight and other sources of ultraviolet to burn Darkseekers. Because of this intolerance of UV, Darkseekers are forced into a nocturnal life cycle; lurking in dark, derelict buildings during the day, and only leaving at night. The intolerance of UV is also so extreme, exposure to sunlight for more than a matter of seconds can be fatal to a Darkseeker they also still have some sort of emotions shown in the film when Neville takes a female infected and the "leader" is trying to get her back from Neville.

Abilities[]

I Am Legend vampires or zombies

Darkseekers scaling the walls of Neville's apartment

As their adrenal glands are constantly open, Darkseekers possess adrenaline-enhanced speed and endurance. Darkseekers apparently also gain a heightened sense of smell, as Neville had to bleach the scent on his home's doorstep before sunset, and the female specimen was easily drawn by a sample of Neville's blood.

Darkseekers also retain enough of their higher levels of intelligence to set up elaborate traps they have previously seen, such as snare traps.

Darkseekers also possess adrenaline-superhuman strength as they can destroy the glass of Neville's SUV and smash its car doors.

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  • Why I Am Legend Is NOT A Zombie Movie

Will Smith starring I Am Legend (2007) is often discussed as a zombie movie. However, it's not a zombie film at all for a number of reasons.

Will Smith I Am Legend Darkseekers

2007's I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, is often discussed as a zombie movie, but that's not actually the case. The Francis Lawrence-helmed film was an adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 post-apocalyptic novel of the same name. The book was one of the early apocalypse stories, and one of the novels responsible for normalizing the concept of global pandemics and infection-type stories in pop culture. The plot sees the sole survivor of a post-apocalyptic disease set out to find a cure.

The film version faithfully adapts parts of the book, but I Am Legend's ending is quite different to the novel, as are its Darkseekers, the creatures who are at the center of the story alongside Smith's Robert Neville. The film enjoyed a successful commercial run and even gave viewers a superb, realistic performance from Will Smith, and its survival plot and horrifying monsters mean that the movie is often lumped into the zombie genre. That, however, is incorrect.

While I Am Legend is, at times, reminiscent of the likes of The Walking Dead or 28 Days Later because of how the Darkseekers appear physically, they're not to be mistaken for zombies. In Matheson's original novel, the monsters inhabiting the post-infection landscape are supposed to be vampires. They were intelligent creatures not too dissimilar from humans. In Francis Lawrence's adaptation, he names the monsters as Darkseekers, but never divulges what type of creature they are. They do have similarities to the vampires in the book, however; for this reason, they're more reminiscent of Matheson's creatures than undead zombies.

Will
Smith in I Am Legend deleted scene

As well as this, the main reason that I Am Legend is not a zombie movie is that zombies are, conventionally, creatures that are reanimated once a person has died. They're undead, coming back to life. In Lawrence's retelling of the story, his creatures don't do this. They're not actually dead at all. Instead, the Darkseekers are just victims of the outbreak in I Am Legend; they're ill but, more importantly, they can be cured.

Vampires were the route that Ridley Scott wanted for his unmade I Am Legend; Francis Lawrence also revealed that he wished his I Am Legend stuck closer to the novel in that regard. A large part of the novel's ending is reliant on the fact that the creatures are vampires - something the film changes entirely, sadly making for a worse finale. There were talks of an I Am Legend sequel before that got shut down; a reboot has also been discussed since. If that is the case, perhaps that version of I Am Legend will be more clear in establishing the fact that its creatures are vampires. While Francis Lawrence's adaption doesn't do that, the monsters in his I Am Legend certainly aren't zombies.

Next: I Am Legend's Alternate Ending Explained: What Happens & Why It Was Cut

Were there vampires in I Am Legend?

The mutant vampires in I Am Legend became mutant vampires because they were exposed to a genetically re-engineered strain of the measles virus in order to cure cancer (courtesy of Emma Thompson's ambitious doctor). No vaccines were involved whatsoever. But still, the damage had been done.

What kind of creatures are in I Am Legend?

In the book version of I Am Legend the monsters are more straightforward than in the movie: they're vampires. That label is used explicitly and their condition comes with a lot of the usual vampire traits, including blood-sucking, a hatred of garlic, and the requirement of a wooden stake through the heart to kill them.

What are the vampires called in I Am Legend?

Darkseekers are zombie vampires in the 2007 film adaption, I Am Legend. They are the humans susceptible to the Krippin Virus who were infected but did not die from it.

Are the vampires in I Am Legend intelligent?

They are mostly mindless creatures, searching for blood to drink and even resorting to cannibalism when other prey is scarce. These vampires exhibit zombie-like behaviour, and are not very strong or intelligent.