Nomads [DVD]

French Anthropologist, Pierce Brosnan with a dangerous French accent moves to Los Angeles to begin teaching at UCLA and buys a lovely house but the realtor forgot to mention the gang of punks that worship the previous owner and spend their time tearing around LA in a van. When he gets too close he soon finds himself hunted by the punks who are actually evil Inuit spirits or ghosts or both. This is all seen through the eyes of an ER doctor, Leslie-Anne Down with some dangerous 80s hair, who attends his last moments who too finds herself facing off against the mysterious punks.For me this was a very frustrating movie. There is definitely a good movie in here somewhere but, and this is more than Pierce Brosnan’s naked butt, it never manages to figure out what it wants to do. Does it want to by a ghost story, an allegory for primitive forces in the urban jungle, or a Desperate Hours thriller? It is three dogs gnawing at the same plot bone and none of them get any real control over it. It feels like a very thin movie because of the competing plots so the movie, like a drunk optometrist, can’t get any focus. The punks are the best thing about the movie, Adam Ant, Josie Cotton, and Mary Woronov, lead a solid group of menacing punks but because the movie can’t figure out what it wants to do with them they spend too much time just hanging out while they get glamour shots from Pierce Brosnan like black leather clad zoo animals. The scene in the abandoned-ish nunnery in Skid Row is creepy as all get out but feels like it belongs in another movie. The look of the film is good and it gives the movie a great feel and place in time as does the menacing soundtrack but like so much of the movie it is all dressed up but with no idea where it wants to go.

First thing, this is a ghost story, plain and simple, but it does require your full attention. The story is a little complex and, as far as I know, absolutely unique. Pierce Brosnan shows his acting chops in a rather dramatic role (though his French accent leaves something to be desired).The real standout, however, is Lesley-Anne Down. Her's is a difficult part and she plays it absolutely convincingly. Her role goes through almost every emotion you can imagine and, often, in the span of just a couple of minutes. It's difficult to pull that off and she does it magnificently.All this said, this is a movie of the 80's and the soundtrack reflects that fact with some very poppy rock songs and a little electronica thrown in for good measure. It is, however, effective; especially when coupled with the very imaginative photography used throughout the film.If you like cerebral ghost stories, this is your movie. Great acting, a compelling story without the need for special effects.

John Mctiernan's 1986 release, "Nomads", may not be a perfect film but in a genre (horror) cursed all to often with cliche, derivative story lines and stupidity in general, it is an imaginative, compelling, and suspenseful entry.The film opens with emergency room doctor Eileen Flax (easy on the eyes Lesley-Anne Down) being attacked by a madman (Pierce Brosnan, suave even as he froths and foams) who has been hauled raving in French to the L.A. hospital where she has recently begun work after a divorce and subsequent move from Boston. Soon thereafter she begins to relive - through some kind of telepathic bond with the dead man (the nature of which is not explained) - the last few days of his life. We learn that the mad Frenchman was an anthropologist named Jean-Charles Pommier, only just settled in L.A. with his wife (beautiful red-head Anna Maria Monticelli) after a decade or so spent tracking remote areas of the earth in the study of nomadic peoples. Unfortunately, the house they have moved into was the site of a recent murder and seems to be a magnet for a gang of wild and mysterious characters (Adam Ant, Mary Woronov and others) who drive around in a black van. Pommier follows this group into the night and the mystery that brought him to the hospital in the opening moments of the film begins.I understand that the narrative structure of the film, which shifts between past and present via the agency of the mysterious bond between Flax and Pommier, confuses many people. I hate to sound snobbish but for me this is more an indication of the general low level of the typical movie viewers intelligence than a failure on the film makers part. This is not an "easy" movie; it requires that some attention be paid and for me the reward is worth the effort. The film is not completely successful, however. There are times, for instance, when I (who appreciate the ambiguous element of a well crafted tale) would like a bit of elaboration or explanation - the telepathic bond, for example, or the scene in which Pommier, after being pursued by the black van bunch, finds himself in a deserted building with a strange old nun (who is she precisely?). Also, the rock soundtrack by Bill Conti and Ted Nugent is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of effectiveness, alternating between appropriate and annoying. But, on the whole, I find this a creative, engaging and, ultimately, satisfying ghost story.

I bought this film because I'm a huge john mctiernan fan and I wanted to see his first film. Obviously it's not die hard or predator but it's got an original story and a good soundtrack. You can see the mctiernan trademark throughout but it's not the greatest film ever, worth watching if you like McT or pierce brosnan

As per other reviews, this was a good idea made badly. Really, don't waste your time watching this.

brill thx

very good

Pretty rubbish but has a few interesting ideas.