Director
A.M. Frank
Cast
Manuel Gélin - Robert Blabert
France Jordan - Erika
Jeff Montgomery - Ben
Eric Saint-Just - Ronald
Caroline Audret - Sylvie
Henry Lambert - Col. Kurt Meitzell
Myriam Landson - Kurt's wife
Directed by Spanish filmmaker, Jesús Franco, credited as A.M. Frank in this film, the movie's original title is "L'Abîme des Morts-Vivants" ("The Abyss of the Living Dead").
It's also known as "The Grave of the Living Dead" and "The Treasure of the Living Dead."
It was released in the U.S. under the title "Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies" which sounds more enticing to me.
There's also supposedly two versions of "Oasis of the Zombies."
According to the book "The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s" by Scott Aaron Stine, Franco filmed a Spanish version of the same movie under the title "La Tumba de los Muertos Vivientes" ("The Tomb of the Living Dead") while filming a French version. The difference between the two, other than the language, is that some of the roles are filled by different actors.
The version I watched is the French version dubbed in English. I have a copy of this movie in a collection of 50 horror movies, distributed by Mill Creek, called "Chilling Classics." The titles in this collection aren't too bad for not-so-popular horror movies. The only problem is the picture quality of the movies. While watching "Oasis of the Zombies" too often I couldn't tell what was going on as the image is too faded in certain parts. The version that can be found on YouTube is better quality than what I have on DVD.
Franco, by the way, directed several other low-budget horror movies including "Count Dracula" (1970) starring Christopher Lee, and "Jack the Ripper" (1976) starring Klaus Kinski.
And that's what "Oasis of the Zombies" is - a low-budget horror movie. The plot is a simple one.
The walking dead remains of German Nazi soldiers roam the desert area where $6 million worth of gold they were exporting during World War II is located.
During the war, a platoon of Nazi soldiers were attacked and killed inside a desert oasis located somewhere in Africa.
The commander falls in love with Aisha and the two have a child together.
Years later, the British commander reveals to a mercenary named Kurt that those same Nazis were transporting gold.
Kurt ends up killing him, and sets up an expedition to find this Nazi fortune.
Meanwhile, a college student named Robert Blabert (Manuel Gélin) is studying his father's notes which indicates were this treasure is hidden.
Blabert and his college buddies travel to Africa to find it all, only to be met with pain-in-the-ass Nazi zombies. They just ruin everything as Nazi zombies are apt to do!
I don't know where to begin with this film. So, I'll start with the opening scene.
Two attractive, vulnerable (of course) young woman are roaming the oasis when they're attacked by the zombies. A pair of arms lunges out of the sand and grabs one girl by the ankles. She doesn't attempt to free herself and get away. This girl just stands there and screams for the camera.
Another zombie chases the second girl down in a terrible POV shot. The camera runs after her until she falls in the sand, screaming. That continuity is quickly overlooked as the zombies slowly stride towards their victims during the rest of the film.
Regardless, it all plays out terribly. The beginning merely lets the audience know right away how bad the acting and dialogue are going to be for the rest of the picture.
"Oasis of the Zombies" takes its time unfolding the story. When the zombies show up, the audience is treated to several minutes of close-ups on their faces to show off their horrific appearances in all their inexpensive glory. This happens in the middle of the film, and in the last act. It's almost laughable. These scenes try to be scary and grotesque. And they do a good job showing just how low of a budget the movie had. To be fair, the zombie faces are grotesque enough to burn themselves into the collective subconscious of the audience. But they're probably not as horrific as the producers were likely hoping for.
George Romero's memorable zombie horror movie "Dawn of the Dead" came out in 1978. Upon its release, it received very positive reviews, and is still highly praised as a great horror film.
The poster for "Oasis of the Zombies" makes the presumptuous claim that if "Dawn of the Dead" scared you, then "Oasis of the Zombies" will "eat you alive."
Yeah...no. I don't find that to be the case.
There's too many transitioning shots that are way too long, showing nothing but lengthy desert shots. It really slows the movie down.
Some of the shot compositions pull off some haunting imagery. Namely, the silhouettes of the living dead in the sandy desert spread out like the mindless ghouls that they are, slowly approaching the camera.
Despite the praiseworthy effort to create such an original setting, the slow pace, irritating and constant haunted house style organ music soundtrack, and bad acting works against my interest. I couldn't get into "Oasis of the Zombies" nor care much at all about the characters.
Fans of the zombie genre might enjoy this movie like an antiquated museum exhibit. As for me, its just cheap ghouls, horror, and sleaze.
No comments:
Post a Comment