In the novel "I Am Legend".......?

Question

.....does neville still keep mannequins as "friends"?

and does he still see Fred move his head?

Answer 1

No, the book is totally different from the movie!

Answer 2

Nope... No mannequins in Richard Matheson's novel. Actually, I can't recall any passage from the book where Neville is feeling lonely. But, I remember him to become unaccustomed to the presence of other humans:

"As he stood behind her looking’ out the peephole, he smelled the odor of her hair and skin. It made him draw back a little. Isn’t that remarkable? he thought. I don’t like the smell. Like Gulliver returning from the logical horses, I find the human smell offensive."

If you want a movie more close to the book, I suggest The Last Man on Earth (1964), starring Vincent Price (Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay, by the way), although the book is much better than any silver screen version made so far, including The Omega Man (1971), starring Charlton Heston.

Answer 3

Yup! I think the novel was different from the movie. Haven't read it yet so I couldn't be certain how much was changed, although I know that it was more of a remake of the 70's sci-fi "The Omega Man" with Charlton Heston. In that version Dr. Neville plays chess with a bust statue of Julius Ceasar because he doesn't have a dog like the one in "I Am Legend".