nomads

Although he hasn’t made a film since 2003’s Basic and spent a year behind bars on a perjury conviction, director John McTiernan can still brag about stringing together one of the hottest hat tricks in Hollywood history: Predator, Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October. Produced back to back, it’s an astonishing cinematic accomplishment that essentially set the tone for modern action movies. But just one year before he was sweating it out in the jungle with Arnold, McTiernan was writing and directing a small supernatural thriller – Nomads (1986) – with Pierce Brosnan as a French anthropologist who discovers that the punk rockers stalking around his neighborhood are much more (and less) than they appear to be.

A recent AFI graduate, McTiernan’s debut is a showy mess of flashbacks and flash-forwards, purposefully pretentious in a film school sort of way. But for all its flaws, Nomads is a uniquely engrossing experience, making great use of Bill Conti’s keyboard and guitar music score (with an assist by none other than Ted Nugent) to create a disturbing tone quite unlike any other ‘80s horror film.

Admitted into an L.A. emergency room in a state of near- insanity, Jean Charles Pommier (Brosnan) is treated by Dr. Flax (Lesley-Anne Down), who somehow catches his “crazy” and begins to experience intense visions of the prior events in his life, beginning with a run-in with a pack of punks outside his suburban home. It becomes clear that these Mohawk-wearing drifters have more on their minds than simple vandalism. And Pommier is soon using his anthropology skills to track their movements throughout the city…discovering a pattern that bears close resemblance to nomads in the vast deserts of sand and snow he’s studied before.

When his targets become wise to the tail, the hunter becomes the hunted and Pommier faces mounting evidence that these delinquents may not be “people” at all. Meanwhile, re-living everything in flashback, Dr. Flax teams up with Pommier’s wife to confront the danger that’s threatening all their lives.

McTiernan maintains his illusions for an admirable amount of time, cleverly cutting between realities and locations, all shot with a style that demands a bigger screen including slow-motion, split-diopters and steadicams. It’s as if his images are too large for the confines of a $1,000,000 dollar picture. There’s more than a hint of Micheal Mann in there (the film often feels like a supernatural episode of Miami Vice) but McTiernan was obviously ready for bigger and better things.

Nomads never delivers on its promise of a truly mind-shattering secret. But the mystery itself is an interesting one. And Pierce Brosnan, in his first leading role outside of Remington Steele, gives it everything he’s got; practically foaming at the mouth in his effort to convince the audience his fear is genuine. Lesley-Anne Down, as she admits in the extras, is poorly cast, but McTiernan makes good use of her striking looks and cuts up a pretty good performance. Nomads is never truly frightening, but, like Manhunter produced the same year, it creates a tangible sense of unease that is difficult to shake.

Scream Factory’s Blu-ray is a welcome one, pulling out some terrific colors and details in a movie that most people only saw on pay-cable. Special features include a pair of interviews with Lesley-Anne Down and Bill Conti along with a radio spot, photo gallery and trailer. Down is a bit of a downer (ha!) who doesn’t provide much info but Conti has a few great stories about the improvised composing style and “Uncle Ted’s” time in the booth. Overall, a great effort to create some added value for fans. Still, we can all lament the lack of a McTiernan commentary to answer questions about the cast (watch for Adam Ant and Mary Woronov in high-profile roles) and creative process.