OASIS OF FEAR

(A.k.a. UN POSTO IDEALE PER UCCIDERE; AN IDEAL PLACE TO KILL; DIRTY PICTURES)

Lovers Richard (Ray Lovelock) and Ingrid (Omella Muti) are holidaying in Europe. Low on funds, they pop into a sex shop one rainy afternoon and buy a stash of porn to sell on to tourists.

After selling the bulk of their porn to a seedy middle-aged yachtsman, the pair decide to have fun with their fortune - and blow the lot on dockside banquets, jiving at the disco, flying brightly coloured balloons with banknotes strapped to them and getting chased out of a plush Italian bar for trying to get the doves pissed. Ah, to be young and stupid.

And they only get dumber. Fresh out of cash, the pair take photographs of themselves shagging in a park to sell to tourists. Unfortunately Ingrid chooses to flaunt her wares to a plain-clothed copper and their dirty pictures (note the alternate title) are confiscated.

Which leads Richard and Ingrid to a caravan park where they spend the evening with a group of bikers. In the morning however, Richard awakes to find the bikers have robbed the lovers of what little they had. In a predictably dense move, the pair determines to give chase to the bikers. But first they need cash for their journey - and this involves Ingrid getting topless once more, for shots taken in a shop's photo booth.

Pulling up to a petrol station in their car, Richard tries to flog the (very fetching) black-and-white snaps to the pump attendant. However, the attendant mistakes the lovers for a foreign couple wanted for robbery by the police - and rings his local constabulary to turn them in. Luckily, Richard overhears and the pair scarper.

As they run out of petrol, Richard and Ingrid stumble upon an oasis in the countryside. They push their car up to the house and ring the doorbell several times for help. But Barbara (Irene Papas), inside, will not answer. Something is making her extremely anxious indeed.

Barbara catches Richard and Ingrid in her garage trying to siphon petrol from her car. She's hysterical, forcing them to leave before she calls the cops. But as they pull away Barbara has a change of heart and invites them in for a sandwich. While Ingrid freshens up in the bathroom (MORE nudity!) Richard quizzes his hostess on why she's already packed her bags in preparation of leaving to meet with her husband.

But Barbara's not giving anything away. As Richard seemingly seduces her, it appears that she is ripe for manipulation by the amorous couple. But there's more to Barbara - and her restless partner Steve, who occasionally telephones the house to see where she's got to - than initially meets the eye …

OASIS OF FEAR is an also-ran of Italian genre cinema, a film that has only ever acquired the most modest of cult followings. This is partially due to its limited domestic releases and heavy cuts in the past. But it's also no doubt due to the fact that it isn't a great film.

Yes, it's always good to watch Lovelock in a prominent role (despite being young and gap-toothed here, he's still an alluring and zestful lead). And you'll enjoy spotting faces from various Gialli throughout the peripheral cast. But that doesn't stop the acting from being OTT, the script from being juvenile or the dubbing from being irritatingly poor.

The film is little more than a series of vignettes, never truly gelling plotwise until the final thirty minutes. When it does come together, it finally starts to quietly compel … but is this too little, too late?

OASIS OF FEAR does boast nice cinematography and some splendid European locations in the first half. The score is suitably rousing too, even down to the cheesy songs that pop up here and there (including the one that Richard and Barbara dance to in her home: "I tell you what I wanna do, I wanna take a little dirty picture of you"). And if it's gratuitous nudity you're after, there's an abundance on offer from the lovely Muti.

But the film falls shy upon its title promise. Where's the fear? There's very little terror or suspense present, right up until the typically 1970s nihilistic ending. And along the way, the 84-minute running time is too often filled with prolonged dances or redundant exterior long-shots. It's director Umberto Lenzi at his sloppiest.

Striving for the most complete version possible, Shameless continue to impress with their hard work collating and restoring footage from innumerable sources. The result is a largely watchable 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer with strong colours and fair detail. The presentation is soft at times and grain is unavoidable. Edge-enhancement seemed apparent at times. But this is still the best you can expect to see such a complete version of OASIS.

The English mono audio is a fine, clear proposition throughout. A disclaimer at the program's start warns that some scenes were sourced from an Italian print, and so are presented in Italian mono with burned-in English subtitles. These scenes are few and far between, and do not become distracting.

The disc opens with the traditional Shameless Mickey-take of the standard copyright warning, which in turn leads to trailers for STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER, BABA YAGA, WATCH ME WHEN I KILL, THE DESIGNATED VICTIM, THE FRIGHTENED WOMAN and TORSO.

Beyond those we get the usual attractive animated main menu, including a link to a static scene-selection menu allowing access to OASIS via 12 chapters.

Extras begin with a trailer for OASIS, which plays on the film's copious nudity.

Then we've got a fun "fact track" by the Wilson Bros, which appears as yellow text at the foot of the film when selected. It's a surprisingly informative essay at times, but is firmly dosed with agreeable humour. It's good how it's paced to synchronise with details on screen.

OASIS OF FEAR is not one of Lenzi's best films (ouch, that's not a good thing). But it is a rare curio that will be welcomed by fans of obscure Italian genre fare. Shameless have given the film a world-best release that, despite unavoidable shortcomings in the presentation stakes, will delight many.

Review by Stuart Willis