OASIS
OF THE ZOMBIES (1983)Director: A.M. Frank (Jess Franco)
Image Entertainment
OASIS
OF THE ZOMBIES (1983)Both released by Eurociné, Jean Rollin's ZOMBIE LAKE and Jess Franco's OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES run neck and neck for the title of worst zombie film ever made. In Franco's defense, Eurociné's French cut differs from Franco's original and reportedly better Spanish cut, TREASURE OF THE LIVING DEAD. But that doesn't excuse the director from the persistent use of the zoom lens, sluggish pacing, stiff performances, and an irritating piano score by Daniel White that resembles a shoddy accompaniment to a silent movie.
A lost Nazi convoy somewhere in the African desert is ambushed by British soldiers during World War II. The British defeat the Germans, but an enormous treasure of gold that the Nazis were transporting is left behind. The combat scenes are obviously lifted from an entirely different movie, and are unconvincingly intercut with the new footage. After the battle, a surviving British soldier is rescued by a sheik riding on camel. The soldier falls in love with the sheik's obedient sister, and she dies while giving birth to their son.
Years later, the soldier tries to mount a quest to find the gold with the help of an ex-Nazi. The Nazi double crosses him, kills him with a lethal injection, steals the map and heads for the desert. When he arrives, the search is ceased as he and his female companion are devoured by an army of rotting Nazi zombies that guard the gold. Meanwhile back in England, the soldier's half-Arab son (born during WWII, but now a curly-haired 80s teenager!) learns of his father's death and the hidden treasure, and plans to find the gold with the help of some college chums.
OASISOF THE ZOMBIES is a lame, uninspired attempt at the zombie genre. Although the make-up is fairly decent, the long-haired, flesh-eating ghouls are never the least bit frightening and they only turn up for two separate attacks, one of which is shot day for night in a very hazy style. Not enough gore to satisfy the average horror fan, and not enough of anything to satisfy the average moviegoer, OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES helps clarify how good the zombie epics of Amando de Ossorio and Lucio Fulci really are. This one's bound to have you out like a light within minutes, and it will probably take three or so sittings to get through it!
Image has released OASIS OF THE ZOMBIES on DVD as part of their "EuroShock Collection," letterboxed at 1.66:1 and 16x9 enhanced. The image appears sharp with good contrast. The colors often look very nice, but at times they're dull and undefined (like during the climax). The source material suffers from lines, scratches and white gashes that appear across the screen once in a while. The mono sound is available in English and French languages. There are no extras: The back of the packaging lists an alternate English credit sequence as the only special feature, but there is nothing of the sort to be found, and the credit sequence in the film is in English anyway. (George R. Reis)