Horror-A-Day: Oasis of the Zombies

A mere two days into my October horror fest and I have already found a movie I don't really want to write about. If I had my wits about me, rather than giving it a chance, I should have just stopped it and moved onto something else, but oh no. I had to soldier through it like a dutiful little horror fan. For a movie tat has been called Euro-trash, I expected something a bit more trashier. This one was just dull from start to finish. I understand it has its fans, but wow, this was just not good in my eyes.



The movie is Oasis of the Zombies. It was the movie made by Jess Franco when he left the helm of Zombie Lake, a film that would ultimately be directed by Jean Rollin and be decidedly more entertaining than this pile. I know that Franco was an incredibly prolific director whose work was not always first rate, if it ever was, but even by his standards this is a terribly amateurish effort.

The story is a disjointed mess, pieced together with stock footage and duct tape, the performances are laughable (and they are not helped by the completely inept dubbing), the music is an atonal mess, the blood is virtually non-existent, and the zombies... well, some things are best left unsaid.

It starts off promising enough with a couple of young woman stopping at the oasis and doing a little exploring while the camera, uh, follows them close from behind. Upon not finding a lake to strip by and perhaps a little creeped out by that fact, they go to return to their care when they are attacked by zombies (flash on screen and all else offscreen). From here we cut to the credits and the two ladies are never heard from, nor spoken of again.

The story, such as it is, tells of a Nazi caravan transporting millions of dollars worth of gold across the African desert. They are attacked by a British battalion and everyone except for a single British soldier is killed. He narrowly gets away and s nursed back to health by a Shiek's daughter. He repays here by taking her virtue and returning to war. Upon his return after the war, the daughter is dead and soldier finds he is a father.

Some years later he reveals the story to a treasure hunter who, upon hearing what he wants to hear, kills him. The man's son learns of his death and reads a journal telling of the gold, so he and his buddies set off for Africa to find the oasis. They are warned off the track and soon enough they are attacked by Nazi zombies. Some live, some die, but you won't really care.

There really is nothing to like, although it does have some of the worst day for night bits this side of Ed Wood. Many movies of this ilk have a certain entertaining trashiness, some ridiculous blood or gratuitous nudity to get you through, but Oasis of the Zombies has none of that and if you make it to the end, you will wonder why you bothered.

Next.

Not Recommended.