Five years ago, Richard Matheson passed away. In my opinion, he changed everything. Although George Romero would introduce the zombie apocalypse to filmgoers in 1968, Matheson invented the genre 14 years earlier with I AM LEGEND. To be specific, it’s the first modern vampire novel, with the author finally replacing supernatural, gothic tropes with scientific scrutiny. It’s a practice that has infected speculative fiction since, revolutionizing how writers think, how the audience reacts. It is no longer acceptable to automatically suspend belief, we demand to have reality cemented in our fantasy.
I cannot express how influential Richard Matheson was to me. There is a technical mastery to his art that is so seamless and effortless, you feel equal parts joy and envy reading it. And what a list: THE SHRINKING MAN, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, STIR OF ECHOES, BID TIME RETURN, HELL HOUSE (a novel and film that had a striking influence on me).
His film and television work was staggering. The man wrote 16 Twilight Zone episodes (including the paranoid-cum-gremlin shocker “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”) and the Star Trek episode “The Enemy Within,” a particular favorite of mine that deals with man’s dual nature.
He gave us the words to Spielberg’s first thriller in DUEL; he taught Karen Black (and us) to fear little Zulu dolls in TRILOGY OF TERROR; supplied the idea for REAL STEEL.
My personal favorite will always be THE NIGHT STALKER, and although he did not create Carl Kolchak, you heard Matheson’s voice all over the teleplay. It was a voice that lent his character’s humanity, humor, and vulnerability.
Goddamn, it was a good voice.
Thanks for all the words, Mr. Matheson. They meant a lot.
