Oasis of the Zombies

Oasis of the Zombies (L'Abîme des Morts-Vivants) 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.

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.

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). 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.

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. 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." Ian Jane of DVD Talk rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "It's terrible, but somehow trance inducing in its own bizarre way." 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."