Oasis of Fear, 1971.
Directed by Umberto Lenzi.
Starring Irene Papas, Ray Lovelock, Ornella Muti, Michel Bardinet, Antonio Mellino.
SYNOPSIS:
A fun-loving couple travel across Europe by selling pornography, until they end up at the villa of a strange and mysterious woman.
Was selling pornographic photos in order to fund your travel expenses a thing? Well, apparently it was in 1971 because Dick Butler (Ray Lovelock) and his girlfriend Ingrid (Ornella Muti) manage to move across Italy, first by selling pornographic magazines and then by selling nude photos of Ingrid to some very seedy and desperate men, along the way meeting a few dodgy characters for no real reason other than to have them pop up again later, again for no real reason.
Yes, Oasis of Fear is an Italian erotic thriller from the early 1970s so it is best to approach it with your logical expectations lowered, because when viewed with any modicum of modern scrutiny there will be questions, and questions that are probably more relevant than the ones the police in this movie ask.
And why are the police involved? Because Dick and Ingrid’s adventures lead them to a villa owned by Barbara Slesar (Irene Papas), the wife of a NATO colonel and obviously someone who is very troubled, as after initially sending the hippie couple packing she lets them stay at the villa to maybe indulge in some kinky sexual behaviour, but three is a crowd and after trying to seduce Dick and incur Ingrid’s wrath, things turn a bit nasty and Barbara’s motives for keeping them at the villa may not be just for having a good time.
Oasis of Fear is a movie plot that hardened genre buffs will have seen dozens of times, a few details tweaked a little here and there, but the basics remain, and strangers in a house where the power shifts from one set of characters to another is always a fun time. Surprising, as for an Italian movie from that period Oasis of Fear never fully goes where you expect it to, teasing you with a bit of bum cheek here and a flash of nipple there, but not going totally softcore.
It probably didn’t help director Umberto Lenzi that both of his female leads refused to do nude scenes – Ornella Muti was only 16 at the time and was chaperoned by her mother, whilst Irene Papas, an established veteran actress, vetoed the nude scenes before filming even started – and so the same body double was used to portray both women during those scenes, which meant a bit of creative camerawork to fool those who were studying the mise en scène a little too thoroughly.
The three leads all give strong performances, with Ray Lovelock clearly enjoying his role – for obvious reasons – despite Dick living up to his name for the most part, and Ornella Muti shows she has presence despite her young age, but Irene Papas lends the movie a lot of weight with her presence and obvious screen experience. She clearly knows what type of movie she is in and is possibly just cashing a pay check, but she is never anything less than totally engaging when she is onscreen, and her scenes with Ornella Muti are electrifying as there is clearly an energy between them that makes the characters come alive that little bit more than they probably do on the page.
But sexual politics and power plays that would have seemed edgy and dangerous in 1971 don’t quite have the bite they once did, and in 2025 Oasis of Fear does feel a little wooden and workmanlike in what it is trying to do. Yes, there is a mystery element with what Barbara is up to, but the script shoots its load, as it were, a bit too early, leaving the final act to feel stretched out and a bit messy, filling a runtime and undoing a lot of the sexually charged build-up in the process, resulting in a bit of an anticlimax.
However, Oasis of Fear is not without its charms and this splendid looking Blu-ray more than brings the stylish Italian settings and fashions to life, as well as featuring interviews with director Umberto Lenzi and star Ornella Muti, which is well worth listening to for an insight into how a 16-year-old gets into the film business. As far as its place in crime/giallo cinema goes, Oasis of Fear probably won’t be at the top of anyone’s list but if you wish to be (reasonably) entertained in proper Italian style for 90 minutes, you could do a lot worse.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
