Oasis of the Zombies (originally called L'Abîme des Morts-Vivants / The Abyss of the Living Dead) is a 1982 film directed by Jesús Franco for French producer Marius Lesoeur. Two different versions of the film were made, each featuring different lead 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 as Colonel Kurt Meitzell (in the French-language version)
Myriam Landson as Kurt's Wife (in the French-language version)
Eduardo Fajardo as Colonel Kurt Meitzell (in the Spanish-language version)
Lina Romay as Kurt's Wife (in the Spanish-language version)
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.[3] It was released as Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies on U.S. video.
Franco filmed a "Spanish version" simultaneously with the French version (under the title La Tumba de los Muertos Vivientes).[4] He replaced Henri Lambert and Myriam Landsom with his friends Lina Romay and Eduardo Fajardo for the lead roles in the Spanish language version. The Spanish version is a lost film.[2]
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."[3] 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]
