Synopsis of Oasis of Fear aka An Ideal Place to Kill

The two hippies Dick and Ingrid earn their living by smuggling pornographic images and pictures from Sweden to Italy. When they run out of material, the couple is forced to sell nude pictures of Ingrid. During a sales talk, the police is informed, which forces the couple to flee. When they run out of gas, they find shelter in the noble villa of NATO General Slater, with only his wife Barbara at home. After an initial refusal, the couple is warmly welcomed by Barbara. During a humid and cheerful night, Dick is seduced by Barbara. When Dick and Ingrid accidentally discover the body of Barbara's husband in their trunk, they realize that they are only meant to be the scapegoat for a crime committed by Barbara. The two of them now turn the tables.

Before Umberto Lenzi started a wave of cannibal movies with Mondo Cannibale, he made several psychological thrillers, including Seven Blood-Stained Orchids, Paranoia or An Ideal Place to Kill. The other two alternative titles, Dirty Pictures and Oasis of Fear, allude to the couple's moneymaking and the setting. The two leading actors Ray Lovelock and Ornella Muti were still at the beginning of their career. The staging of the film with the birds as a recurring motif is mostly light and light-hearted with dark moments in the finale. The scenario, in which a luxury villa is taken over by elements of the lower class, has been skilfully varied, as the good bourgeois Barbara has dubious plans. Barbara's opaque game, with her intentions only gradually becoming apparent, creates a high tension curve.

The Shameless DVD was shortened due to film tears

The first DVD release of the film was released in Italy by Alan Young Pictures. The picture quality was very bad and some footage was lost due to film tears. The picture jumps were obvious. When the film was announced on DVD in 2008 by Shameless, an uncut version was promised. The back cover promises a rebuilt edit with previously censored footage from the vault which was never seen before. As it was often the case, this marks another time in which a Shameless release is likely to have quickly disillusioned its customers, because the transfer of the Italian DVD was taken over and a sex scene was reintegrated into the film. The other film tears, some of which are up to 17 seconds long, are still included. Some scenes of the Shameless DVD are in Italian with English subtitles. Even for 2008, this is a very bad procedure, because they could have used a separate subtitle track for it.

The better alternative is now the US Blu-ray by Mondo Macabro. The picture quality is very good and all formerly missing scenes are included. A small drop of bitterness remains however, because when Dick and Barbara are watched by Ingrid during sex, the UK DVD cuts to Ingrid once more before she runs away. This short cut is missing on the Mondo Macabro Blu-ray. Interesting is that alternative footage was used in two places when the nude pictures of Ingrid were shown. On the DVD, Ingrid's intimate hair is visible, while the Blu-ray is a little more restrained. The bonus material of the US Blu-ray includes an audio commentary, an interview with Lenzi and some short X-Rated snippets.

Picture comparison:

DVD:

BD:

Runtimes:

DVD: 84:36 min.
BD: 89:36 min (89:11 min without black image with music at the end)

The UK DVD by Shameless was compared to the US Blu-ray by Mondo Macabro.

[00:00:00][00:00:00]

The DVD has the English opening credits, the BD the Italian.

No time difference.

[00:16:05][00:16:42]

After the two nuns have asked for some money, the BD shows a shot of Dick and Ingrid driving their car.

The DVD starts again when the newspaper is seen.

BD: 9 sec.


[00:16:39][00:17:27]

On the DVD, we see Dick fanning out the nude pictures of Ingrid as he shows them to the gas station attendant.

The BD shows an alternative shot in which he shows the images one after the other.

DVD: 4 sec.
BD: 4 sec.


[00:33:15][00:34:45]

When Dick is sent by Barbara to get cigarettes, he thinks that it is too far. Ingrid finally manages to persuade him to take the cigarettes out of the glove compartment of the car. In the next shot, we see how he opens the door earlier.

BD: 17 sec.


[00:36:47][00:38:43]

Barbara continues walking down the hallway to her bedroom.

In the next shot, Dick can be seen earlier. He wants to know from Ingrid what she thinks about Barbara.

BD: 12 sec.


[00:39:57][00:42:12]

On the BD, a short shot is missing when Ingrid watches Dick having fun with Barbara. It is cut once more on her frightened face. Then she runs to the side.

DVD: 1 sec.


[00:41:53][00:44:12]

After Barbara has gone downstairs, we see her walking along the passage for a longer time. Dick can be seen earlier in the next shot.

BD: 6 sec.


[00:45:06][00:47:38]

After Dick tells Barbara to move, the BD shows an outdoor shot of the house. The next shot with Ingrid at the window starts earlier.

BD: 6 sec.


[00:45:49][00:48:28]

When Dick says that Ingrid should get the money, a cut to the door can be seen on the BD after Barbara.

BD: 2 sec.


[00:50:21][00:53:14]

After the lawyer has left with his car, a short scene is shown in which a man is questioned about the accident. He says that a grey car with foreign license plates was involved. In the next shot, Dick is seen earlier.

BD: 6 sec.


[00:51:38][00:54:40]

Ingrid and Barbara can be seen longer after she asks if they would like to leave together. The next shot starts earlier. Barbara grabs Ingrid's breast.

BD: 4 sec.


[01:04:14][01:07:52]

Dick pulls the cigarette back from Barbara's chest. We see him earlier in the next shot.

BD: 1 sec.


[01:04:20][01:07:59]

Dick's leaving the room. An outside shot of the villa can be seen.

The DVD sets in as they paint the car.

BD: 4 sec.


[01:08:27][01:12:21]

The gardener can be seen a little longer as he leaves again.

BD: 1 sec.


[01:15:32][01:19:46]

On the DVD, the inspector looks at the pictures of Ingrid.

The BD has an alternative scene of this.

DVD: 3 sec.
BD: 3 sec.


[01:17:48][01:22:09]

On the DVD, the inspector can be seen a little earlier, when Barbara tells how her husband was murdered.

DVD: 1 sec.


[01:19:43][01:24:07]

The two can be seen in the water a little earlier.

BD: 1 sec.


[01:23:45][01:28:20]

The DVD has the English credits, the BD the Italian credits. The BD shows a black image at the end while the music continues.

DVD: 51 sec.
BD: 1:16 min.