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Oasis of the Zombies

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Oasis of the Zombies
French theatrical release poster
FrenchL'Abîme des Morts-Vivants
Directed byJesús Franco
Written byJesús Franco
Produced byMarius Lesoeur
Starring
  • Manuel Gélin
  • France Lomay
CinematographyMax Monteillet[1]
Edited byClaude Gros[1]
Jesús Franco
Music byDaniel White[1]
Jesús Franco
Production
company
Eurociné
Distributed byEurociné (France)
Marte Films (Spain)
Release dates
  • 21 April 1982 (1982-04-21) (France)
  • 1 March 1983 (1983-03-01) (Spain)
Running time
82 minutes
CountriesFrance[1]
Spain
Languages
  • French
  • Spanish

Oasis of the Zombies (French: L'Abîme des Morts-Vivants, lit. 'The Oasis of the Living Dead') is a 1982 horror film written, scored, edited and directed by Jesús Franco (under the pseudonym 'A. M. Frank'). A co-production of France and Spain, two different versions of the film were made, each featuring different actors.[2]

Plot

The plot involves treasure hunters who track down a lost fortune in Nazi gold in the desert, only to discover that the treasure is still guarded by the Afrika Korps soldiers transporting it, who have become zombies.

Cast

  • Manuel Gélin as Robert Blabert
  • France Lomay as Erika
  • Jeff Montgomery as Ben
  • Eric Saint-Just as Ronald
  • Caroline Audret as Sylvie
  • Henri Lambert (French version) / Eduardo Fajardo (Spanish version) as Kurt Meitzell
  • Myriam Landson (French version) / Lina Romay (Spanish version) as Kurt's Wife
  • Antonio Mayans as Sheik Mohamed Al-Kafir
  • Javier Maiza as Captain Blabert
  • Albino Graziani as Professor Deniken
  • Miguel Ángel Aristu as Ahmed
  • Doris Regina as Aisha
  • Jesús Franco as a zombie (uncredited)

Production

Background

Jesús Franco was supposed to write and direct a film for Eurocine Productions in 1980 called Lake of the Living Dead (a horror film about revived Nazi zombies) but after submitting the basic plot summary, he fell out with the producers, Marius and Daniel Lesoeur, over the ridiculously low budget he was allotted, and the producers immediately hired French horror film director Jean Rollin to direct it (later re-titling it Zombie Lake). Franco and the Lesoeurs later reconciled, and allowed Franco to shoot his own version of the same story.

Filming

Principal photography took place on the Canary Islands. The film makes extensive use of stock footage from the 1971 Italian Euro War film I giardini del diavolo (lit. The Garden of the Devil, also known as Heroes Without Glory) for its battle scenes.

Franco filmed a "Spanish version" simultaneously with the French version (under the title La Tumba de los Muertos Vivientes).[3] He replaced actors Henri Lambert and Myriam Landsom with his friends Lina Romay and Eduardo Fajardo, and composed an alternate film score. The Spanish version is a lost film.[2]

Release

The film has also been referred to over the years as El desierto de los zombies, The Grave of the Living Dead, and The Treasure of the Living Dead.[4] It was released as Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies on U.S. video.

Reception

Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle stated the film has had a negative reception, but it "presents a simple, unhurried, and unpretending appreciation of zombies and their habitat, a fresh and provocative desert landscape."[4] Ian Jane of DVD Talk rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "It's terrible, but somehow trance inducing in its own bizarre way."[5] Gordon Sullivan of DVD Verdict wrote, "It's really a mess of tepid Eurosleaze masquerading as a zombie flick, and it doesn't even do that well."[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "L' ABIME DES MORTS VIVANTS (1981)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  2. ^ a b Stephen Thrower, Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco (2015)
  3. ^ Stine, Scott Aaron (2015). The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s. McFarland & Company. pp. 17–18. ISBN 9781476611327.
  4. ^ a b Dendle, Peter (2001). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. McFarland & Company. pp. 128–129. ISBN 978-0-7864-9288-6.
  5. ^ Jane, Ian (2013-02-09). "Oasis of the Zombies: Remastered Edition (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Gordon (2013-03-08). "Oasis of the Zombies (Blu-ray)". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
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