Nomads

If Brosnan somehow transferred his memories to Lesley-Anne Down, then why do we mostly get a third-person's point-of-view of his life in the flashbacks, with only brief and random intervals of his own point-of-view? It may sound like a small quibble, but think about it and you'll see that the device simply doesn't make any sense. McTiernan fails to bring out the supernatural elements of the Nomads (who come off looking more like your standard street punks - "they don't live anywhere, they don't work anywhere, they resort to violence at the slightest provocation"), and the movie drags. The ultimate point seems to be that Brosnan's character should never have bothered thinking about The Nomads, just as you shouldn't bother watching this film. (*1/2)

On top of bad acting and bad direction, the premise is only scary to the most sheltered suburbanite who saw a teenager kicking over a trash can and thought the world was going to hell. Oh yes, these are "nomads." That means they are "primitive." That also means they are "dangerous" too, somehow. For some reason, never stated. Basic premise is that homeless punk rock kids are somehow like tribal people. Get it? Homeless for a short time, gathering food from garbage or from handouts, equals the same as hunting animals and surviving as a people for centuries. Right.... And guess who they get to play a "punk nomad"? Adam Ant, the white Englishman who played Indian. Only his "Indians" were from old racist westerns, and he played them mixed with old movie pirate images. So what do these supposed nomads do that is so scary and primitive? They skate...seriously, that's supposed to be so scary. They do a little bit of petty theft and minor vandalism. That's it. A nothing movie.

I caught this in a movie theatre back in 1986 and I remember being less than thrilled. Pierce Brosnan plays Jean Charles Pommier (with the worst French accent you ever heard) who is tracked down and killed by some tribe he uncovered. Before he dies he whispers their name to doctor Flex (Lesley-Anne Downe) who is in turn hunted down by the tribe. The movie is boring and pointless with no scares and a stupid plot. Also just try to imagine Brosnan trying to play a French guy! Brosnan is a great actor but his French accent is downright hilarious. Downe does what she can with a seriously under written role. However it was fun seeing Adam Ant and Mary Woronov as part of the tribe (even though they have no dialogue). I will admit that this film had one scare--when you find out who is riding the motorcycle at the end. Still, that one scene doesn't make watching this any easier. Mostly forgotten--for good reason!

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.

And the theory is, as spelled out by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro in her book of the same name, that there are earthbound, malevolent spirits who bring madness to any human that makes camp with them. That people don't realize that a percentage of what they see or hear is not.....there! Most people are luckier, they don't look so closely. But Pierce Brosnan's character, being the inquisitive person he is, has looked.......too closely. Now, these nomadic beings, who are attracted to places of calamity, have taken an interest in Brosnan and he is warned by someone, who may or may not be one of 'them'. Warned to leave, change his job and move away. It's all very interesting to watch. And afterward, you can't stop thinking about it. Yes, it contains flavors from the 80's but it is still thought provoking. Read the book too!