The Oasis

Retitled 'A Savage Hunger' for video release, 'The Oasis' is one of those motion pictures for which the original title suits the project much better. At first glance, 'The Oasis' might seem like a misleading title for a film about plane crash survivors who spend the entire duration wandering around in the desert, but an oasis is of course a symbol of hope and the overall film is about human beings slowly and gradually losing hope, in the end resorting to desperate measures to survive. Some of the dialogue is a little on the nose, what with one character early on laughing at the fussiness of two vegetarian survivors, "you're gonna argue about you're gonna eat out here?", but much of the dialogue is sharp and pointed with the adverse situation causing all concerned to place their lives into perspective; "out here ... I feel like ... what difference does it make anyway" states the main female character at one point. Other memorable bits and pieces include one survivor losing his mind and bathing in sand and another wincing while drinking his own bodily fluids. The project is a bit light in the character development department and some of the arguments between the characters border on repetitive but the whole thing is cinematically well assembled by Oscar nominated documentarian Sparky Greene, making his fiction directional debut. The near silent first six minutes that examines the aftermath of the crash in a series of panning and tracking shots is absolutely haunting and the film retains an appropriately post-apocalyptic aura throughout.

This movie is low on many things. The plot is very sluggish, and hardly discernible, except that there is not much water kicking around, and everybody wants it. And then the water conveniently shows up out of nowhere, so now these dumb people can start eating each other.

There are close-ups of people eating bugs, lizards and human flesh. It starts with a silly-looking plane crash and just gets worst as these dumb people try to save themselves in the desert. Terrible dialog and illogical decisions by the survivors make the movie little more than a bad TV show plot.

What there was no flight plan or "may day" transmitted? It's not even worth further discussion.

This film was released on video at least as SAVAGE HUNGER with a cool but rather lurid box art that will let you think you're in for a sleazy film where in fact what you have is the real deal. Very memorable beautifully made realistically rough survival movie which strips away society to show the primal survival needs of the situation. Though it has nudity and violence all of these serve the story and add to the realism. This was the first film I saw with music by Christopher Young, billed here as Chris Young. He's certainly gone on to a strong career, sad that director Sparky Greene has not. He deserved and deserves to make another, if not many films given the power and beauty and proper ugliness of this one. This is a first rate movie on all levels, lacking only movie stars, but all the actors do well. Fans of true life survival tales will see this as a valid fictional version of what can and does happen in these situations. Memorable opening sequence and a great final shot as well. If you find a used VHS of this grab it. Would be nice for a DVD release but who knows if that will ever happen.

Creatively photographed, emphasizing the beauty and inhospitable hopelessness of the Mexican desert, "A Savage Hunger" is a brutal fight for survival film. Nine survivors of a plane crash set off across the desert, when hope of rescue fades. As the situation deteriorates, stealing water, murder, and eventually cannibalism, reduce the group to four. Some relief is offered by an abandoned well at an old mining camp, but impending starvation forces a confrontation based on who will be next? The outcome is in doubt until the very end, and the final panoramic shot is amazing. My only criticism would be a lack of character development, however the fascinating downward spiral of ethics is enough to recommend "A Savage Hunger". - MERK

Here is a one-of-a-kind low-budget film so raw, of such perverse imagination, that it could only have been made far outside the Hollywood mainstream. Portraying the aftermath of a small private plane crash in the Mexican desert and the desperate attempts at survival by the surviving crew, the film spares the audience no details in their quest - and I mean NO DETAILS. This movie is grimy, violent, utterly disturbing, and throws every taboo right in your face - there is no getting around that. For anyone who has seen "Alive", the only real Hollywood version of similar subject matter, "The Oasis" makes that movie look like Disney soap-operatic nonsense.

The film opens on a chilling montage worthy of Kubrick, completely without dialogue, showing the previous lives of the various passengers cut between shots of the carnage in the aftermath of the crash. There are no special effects showing the actual crash, but this lack of extraneous detail is crucial to the film's total leanness. There are other similarly beautiful visual passages throughout the film, and very little actual dialogue. Director Greene's visual sense seems remarkably honed for his first and only feature film. And his final long tracking shot is brilliant in its simultaneous portrayal of adjulation and despair. The very title of the film is distressing, as its nonsensical nature becomes apparent once you have seen the film.

This movie is a total lost gem; it is too bad that it has probably disappeared by now from studio film libraries and will be completely forgotten in several years. I highly recommend tracking down and holding onto one of the few videotape copies still floating around. It is easily one of the most disheartening movies you will ever see, but then again, great works of tragedy are always disheartening. You will probably either love it or hate it, but you will definitely not forget having seen it.