Nomads

A very well acted and directed movie. There was very little bad to say about this movie, so on to the positive.....Dark, concise, with a few twists that still are a bit on the provocative side, nearly 20 later.

I don't like to comment to much on the contents of a movies plot, as not to give anything away. Suffice it to say if you enjoyed 'Identity' with Cusack, Liotta, And Amanda Pete, you likely will enjoy the ride that this future 'Bond' takes you on.

This movie ranks much higher than the stars assigned to it. I like the fact that this movie cannot be pigeon holed nice and neatly into a category, although the tag is 'horror'. It is not a slice and dice ho-hum, but a tight psychological thriller. ENJOY! (adult viewers)

Truly coming from the genre of Urban Fantasy, this film belongs with stories such as Alan Dean Foster's "Into the Out of" or some of Charles de Lint's more horrific tellings.

An anthropologist returns to the city after years of travelling and investigating, only to find that the spirits of the places he travelled have become aware of his probing eye, and have come looking in return. A balancing by the Manitou, as it were. The film has a heavy, oppressive mood to it, but leaves the watcher to figure out a great deal of the content for themselves.

Coming from the same director as "Die Hard" and "The 13th Warrior", this is a rather surprisingly subtle film, and quite delightful in it's execution. Highly recommended, if you can find it.

A globe-trotting French anthropologist & his wife (Brosnan and Anna Maria Monticelli) try to settle down in Los Angeles wherein he notices a gang of malevolent street punks (Adam Ant, Mary Woronov, Héctor Mercado, etc.) and, regrettably, draws their attention. Lesley-Anne Down plays the doctor who somehow shares his memories.

Written & directed by McTiernan, "Nomads" (1986) is an innovative mystery/thriller with supernatural bits and a smidgen of horror. There are similarities to the soon-to-come "The Lost Boys" (1987), except that this isn't about vampires and is less comic booky (although there are several characters who seem to wander off the set of "The Road Warrior").

It's adult-oriented and artistic in the manner of "The Mothman Prophecies" from fifteen years later, but is even less viewer friendly. Don't expect formulaic convention. It respects the intelligence of the viewer to put the pieces together. Schwarzenegger said he was so impressed by it that he convinced the producers of "Predator" (1987) to hire McTiernan.

A respectable friend of mine cites "Nomads" as one of his favorite movies and so I had high expectations the first time I viewed it and was disappointed despite its professionalism. Seeing it again, I paid closer attention and was able to figure things out. For instance, why does Pommier (Brosnan) do nonsensical things, like after he uses the crowbar on a thug? Who is the weird nun in the vacant building? Why does Dancing Mary (Woronov) turn back when the women are obviously cornered in the attic? Why does the motorcycle rider stop at the border?

Brosnan is at his best here, very masculine, while the stunning Lesley-Anne and the Anna Maria are easy on the eyes.

The film runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

GRADE: B/B-

Nomads is style over substance.

John McTiernan as writer and director delivers this mid 1980s surreal and supernatural thriller with LA punks and a thumping rock score.

The film opens with Dr Flax (Lesley-Anne Down) a tired accident & emergency doctor who is called into treat a deranged French anthropologist Jean Charles Pommier (Pierce Brosnan.) He has only moved to Los Angeles with his wife recently where they have been harrassed by punks and rockers.

Jean Charles dies but not before biting Dr Flax in the neck. She does not become a vampire but she gets his memories and experiences into her head. We are not sure that we are reliving Dr Flax experiences or Jean Charles.

Dr Flax seeks out Jean Charles's wife who is very confused as to why she knows so much about her husband. Meanwhile one of Dr Flax's colleague gets a phrase that Jean Charles was ranting about deciphered.

The phrase comes from the Innuat. It refers to a band of nomadic spirits who live place to place in human form. These punks and rockers might be the nomads intent on evil.

It seems Jean Charles and his wife had been constantly on the run from these nomads. A nun warned him to keep on running and hiding, he might still be able to evade them. He needs to leave LA.

The film is an incoherent mess. It does have a great visual style but the narrative is lost. I did find the film a curious watch and felt that there was a better movie in there somewhere.

Still Brosnan and McTiernan would later reunited in the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair with McTiernan becoming one of Hollywood's top action directors.

A French anthropologist (Pierce Brosnan's first leading role in a feature movie) moves to Los Angeles and is followed by the evil spirits of an extinct tribe he once uncovered. A woman doctor (Lesley-Anne Down who married director William Friedkin) investigates and becomes the next target of a group of rare people with nomadic life .

This is an eerie as well as supernatural chiller about a society of malevolent ghosts set in Los Angeles and dealing with a mysterious anthropologist well performed by Pierce Brosnan and the woman doctor finely acted by Lesley-Anne Dowen who investigates the weird deeds . The film packs gruesome images, grisly killings , amazing events , and intense horror sequences . It is a spasmodically effective thriller plenty of suspense , continuous flashbacks and nightmares , chills and plot twists . Nomads notables include pop stars such as Adam Ant and second screen appearance from legendary singer/song writer Josie Cotton . In addition , a cult actress , Mary Woronow and veteran Nina Foch . Director John McTiernan is an expert at staging action and thrills and here he has proved talent at concealing explosive final to individual sequences until it arrives . Catching score though filled with pop music and synthesizer was composed by Bill Conti of Karate Kid. Atmospheric cinematography by Stephen Ramsey , being necessary a correct remastering .

The motion picture was professionally directed by John McTiernan , though has some boring and confusing moments . McTiernan's first efforts at filmmaking were all in the terror genre , and none too successful at all , such as ¨Watcher¨, ¨The demon's daughter¨ and this ¨Nomads¨ . McTiernan is especially known for directing violent, high-energy action-adventures and very active movement of camera . His movies have an explosive combination of suspense and dynamite action that make them irresistible , and boosted by big stars . McTiernan confirmed his ascension to blockbuster with ¨Predator¨ and ¨Die hard¨ , which few expected to be such huge hits , they are two violent , exciting thrillers , as he broke through to the big time . In his subsequent films used big stars as Sean Connery , Schwarzenegger , Willis , Travolta and again Pierce Brosnan , all of them appeared in ¨The hunt for Red October¨, ¨Medicine man¨, ¨Last action hero¨, ¨Die hard with vengeance¨ , ¨Basic¨ and ¨The Thomas Crown affair¨.