Oasis of the Zombies (Jess Franco, 1982)

I've probably seen Nightmare City and Dawn of the Mummy more times than Oasis of the Zombies, but for each time I see Jess Franco's infamous mini-budget Nazi-Zombie film it actually turns better and better. Like many other Franco films it's hard to point out exactly why it's so damn good - I personally think it has to do with the rhythm in the editing - that's why even his weakest films keeps your concentration for (almost) their whole lenght. Oasis is hardly his best or most inspired work - it's quite far from personal, but still. It has "it", that special thing that makes it a movie that's been around since 1982 and never seem to disappear from the eurocult world.

Once upon a time some German soldiers was killed out in the desert, where they've been hiding a treasure. Now, many years later, an expedition goes to find the gold - but it won't be that easy! The only man who knew where the treasure was hidden is killed and his son travels there to find out why and how this could happen. The son also brings with him his best friends for the adventure... which probably - in retrospect - was a bad idea. On the other side, he found himself at least. So what the hell, a dead friend or two doesn't matter in the end anyway!

There's not much going on in Oasis of the Zombies. Not much at all. It have two bigger scenes of action, one of them is stock footage from some (probably) Italian war movie set in the desert, which works fine in the story even if the quality is a lot crappier. The other is the fine, very atmospheric finale. Except those two sequences people are mostly walking around, looking at each other or at nothing, talking endlessly in scenes which goes nowhere... all to the insomniac music of Jess Franco veteran Daniel White (he probably just fell asleep on the organ). But we who love and respect Franco also know that this is a style, this is Franco's way of filmmaking... sometimes. Maybe he's not that interested, maybe he's just doing for the money - but he's doing it the way wants to do it, even if he hates it. 

After  have seen the movie many times it actually ends up to be a pretty good movie. High on atmosphere, some decent acting - especially from Antonio Mayans - and some very creepy, weird, odd zombies who seems more ghostly than just ordinary living dead. Like the possessed corpses of very greedy men. Somehow the whole story, and the zombies, seems to have been lifted right out from a EC Comics story. I don't know of Franco had the same fascination for comics (like for example Mario Bava), but there's certainly something in this movie that feels like a graphic novel.

Rumour says Franco was suppose to do Zombie Lake, but skipped that and instead made Oasis of the Zombies - which is a lot better movie in every way possible. They share similar themes and the same kind of "nothing is happening"-storyline. They both even star Antonio Mayans and the scripts is said to have been written by Franco. They fit perfectly in a double bill, but Oasis is the film that goes winning from that duel.

Let me finish this review with a Vine of the best line of dialogue ever to be featured in a Nazi-Zombie film. 

Comments

[Megatron]

"Like many other Franco films it's hard to point out exactly why it's so damn good - I personally think it has to do with the rhythm in the editing - that's why even his weakest films keeps your concentration for (almost) their whole lenght."

I haven´t seen enough of him to judge his technical qualities........

"After have seen the movie many times it actually ends up to be a pretty good movie. High on atmosphere, some decent acting - especially from Antonio Mayans - and some very creepy, weird, odd zombies who seems more ghostly than just ordinary living dead. Like the possessed corpses of very greedy men. Somehow the whole story, and the zombies, seems to have been lifted right out from a EC Comics story."

To me it sounded like a Tales from the Crypt storyline.

"Rumour says Franco was suppose to do Zombie Lake, but skipped that and instead made Oasis of the Zombies - which is a lot better movie in every way possible. They share similar themes and the same kind of "nothing is happening"-storyline."

Hmmm.....maybe I should see these back to back...?

"Let me finish this review with a Vine of the best line of dialogue ever to be featured in a Nazi-Zombie film."

Not a line dialogue one would expect in an nazi zombie movie......good review and thanks.