The Oasis (1984)

A plane crash in the Mexican desert leaves a small group of survivors who are desperate for food and water. Fearing that they may never be found where they are, they head for where it is ... See full summary »

Director:

Sparky Greene

Writers:

Sparky Greene (story), Tom Klassen (screenplay),

Stars:

Chris Makepeace, Scott Hylands, Richard Cox

Cast

Cast overview:
Chris Makepeace	...	Matt
Scott Hylands	...	Jake
Richard Cox	...	Paul
Dori Brenner	...	Jill
Ben Slack	...	Louis
Rick Podell	...	Alex
Mark Metcalf	...	Eric
Anne Lockhart	...	Anna
Suzanne Snyder	...	Jennifer
Roger Behrstock
Roger Ammann	...	(as Roger J. Ammann)

Storyline

A plane crash in the Mexican desert leaves a small group of survivors who are desperate for food and water. Fearing that they may never be found where they are, they head for where it is hoped there will be civilization and rescue. When their hopes prove unfounded, they must face the horrible possibility of choosing between giving up and dying, or doing the unthinkable to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

desert | well | blood | starvation | mexico | 

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Taglines:

Trapped! No Food...No Water...and all they had was each other

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

A Savage Hunger

Filming Locations:

Death Valley National Park, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Oasis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

User Reviews

It's 'Alive'.. but in the desert!!

A plane crash in the middle of the Mexican desert jettisons a group of survivors in the middle of nowhere. Putting aside their personal differences, they must work together as a team to find their way back to civilisation with what little food and water they have. Under the heat of the desert sun though, sanity hangs on a very thin thread and it isn't long until some of them start to crack..

First of all, LOVE the cinematography. There are some really great views of the sand dunes and the sunset sky that almost make you want to be there with them. HOWEVER it is incredibly monotonous to watch these boring people squabble and bicker while wandering around the wilderness, and it's only when thirst and dehydration start to take their toll and the numbers dwindle that things start to get interesting. Fortunately, the most irritating supporting characters are the first to kick the bucket, and the less moaning minnies the screenplay has to focus on.. the better. This makes the latter part of the film more entertaining, despite the predictability of which will be the only pair to survive (Clue: The heroic tousle-haired youth and his sexy blonde gal are a good bet).

Canniblism rears it's ugly head, as does the gratuitous eating of lizards and fire-ants. There is some surprising gory moments as people are carved up and gangrene affects at least one of the party. The acting is in places diabolical and the running time is definitely at least ten minutes too long. But despite all this, I didn't feel as though I wasted my time. Maybe it's all the other turkeys I've sat through recently, but it made a change to watch a film where I was only bored occasionally and not throwing stuff at the TV halfway through. Besides, how can I be too unkind to a movie directed by a guy called 'Sparky'? Exactly.. :) 4/10