The official definition of an oasis is: a fertile spot in a desert where water is found. The oasis in this film, directed by A.M. Frank (who is really Jess Franco in American disguise), is actually a very beautiful-looking place. I wouldn't mind spending some time there myself if it weren't for all the damn Nazi zombies trying to kill me so they can keep their six million dollars worth of gold bars a secret.

Like many, if not all, exploitation films, this one has a very fractured history. This is apparently two films spliced into one, an Arabian action thriller and a zombie slaughterfest. There is also a director's cut which features Franco's favorite gal Lina Romay. I did not see that version, I saw a shitty, muddy print from one of those bargain DVD box sets they sell at Walmart provided by my partner in movie crime, Jorge. Of course, this isn't my first run-in with this film. I remember buying a shitty, muddy vhs at a grocery store when I was like fifteen (you know your movies are huge when you can find them in your local grocery store next to the Tampons). I hated it the first time I saw it because I was expecting something amazing. The title alone conjures images of sand zombies attacking camels and feasting on virgin flesh as the moon rises over the cooling sand dunes. The reality is far harsher, but what else could be expected form the mind of Jess (or Jesus) Franco. I didn't hate the second time around, but I didn't love it either.

One night a young college lad recounts the tale of how his parents met. His father was a soldier that was sent with his squad to ambush a group of Nazis that were traveling through the desert to do something or other. The ambush occurs at this oasis and everyone except his father is killed. He stumbles through the desert for days and is picked up by a sheik. The sheik's daughter nurses him back to health and he falls in love with her, against the better judgment of the sheik, and puts a baby in her. The father leaves to do something and returns to find his wife dead and his son born. His son later learns that the ambushed Nazis were carrying exactly six million dollars in gold. Having no idea where the oasis is, he and his friends decide to spend their vacation looking for the Nazi gold and becoming rich.

Meanwhile, another group of adventurers arrive at the oasis and bed down for the night. In the morning they plan to plunder the loot for themselves, but the zombies (finally!!!) arise and kill them. There is not much violence to the attacks and the zombies look decidedly z-grade, but there's a bit of gore as intestines are pulled hither and thither. Later, the college kids arrive in the desert and take in the local sights. They meet up with two guys and a girl who work for a professor who is studying the area and waste some time with them. The group later contacts the sheik, who is nice but remarkably cold toward his grandson, who asks him for the location of the oasis so he and his friends can go traipsing through it. He is hesitant at first, but then agrees to give them the location if that is all they want. The area is supposedly cursed, so he warns them to be careful. The kids drive 100 miles through the desert the next day and arrive at the oasis, only to find that the professor and his team have gotten there first and have also gotten eaten first. Later than sooner, the zombies rise up again and the college kids must fight off the protective Nazi bastard zombies to get to their car before the oasis becomes their tomb. A murky, badly-filmed battle ensues with fire and guns and in the end there is only one real loser, the audience.

This is about as crummy as zombie films get, and that's saying a lot. Despite a few cool zombies, most of them are crippled people with muddy faces. Another weird feature of this unimpressive film is that portions play like a silent film for long stretches at a time. So long and unimportant, in fact, that you may want to just fast forward until someone talks. So go ahead, I give you permission, because nothing does happen and you will feel so bad just sitting there watching a guy walk around the desert for ten minutes, or watching the kids shopping in an outdoor market in Marrakesh or wherever they were. But, on the other hand, the oasis location is strangely cozy and eerie at the same time, giving the film a nice atmosphere. The acting is at rock-stupid levels, the quality of the filmmaking is amateurish at best, the zombies are barely present, but the location saves this from getting a red death coffin. I love Franco. With him, we'll never be at a loss for shitty horror movies to review with tons of nudity and gore.

- Jose Prendes