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Nomads
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Shout! Factory Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (30th August 2015). |
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The Film
 It takes some balls to use “If you’ve never been frightened by anything, you’ll be frightened by THIS!” as your movie’s tagline. Horror films have long been plagued by hyperbolic marketing, but at the very least most will ensure there’s one good scare to be had. That memo mustn’t have made it to the desk of writer/director John McTiernan, whose debut feature “Nomads” (1986) is wholly devoid of scares. And this isn’t just a standard complaint from a hardened horror junkie who doesn’t jump at anything; the film doesn’t even go for stock jump scares. There are no moments of even the mildest sense of terror here. Although, it could certainly be argued that Pierce Brosnan’s attempt at French accent is quite horrific. Shot in and around Los Angeles, “Nomads” is told in non-linear form. We first meet Dr. Eileen Flax (Lesley-Anne Down) as she tends to a raving, bloody patient, Jean Pommelier (Pierce Brosnan), who shouts in French before lurching at Flax, biting her neck and then collapsing dead. Eileen shrugs it off as a mere flesh wound, but soon after she begins to experience strange hallucinations and repeated fainting. She’s admitted to the hospital, where doctors determine she’s perfectly functioning, yet not completely conscious. What’s actually occurring is Flax is reliving the life of Pommelier, just as the photographer had moved to Los Angeles with his wife, Niki (Anna Maria Monticelli). After travelling the world and studying primitive religious cultures, Pommelier is ready to settle down and teach at UCLA. Their newfound tranquility is disrupted when a local gang vandalizes their home and leaves a crude altar honoring a murderer in the garage. Intrigued, Pommelier tracks down the van and begins to photograph the gang members. Apparently calling the cops and obtaining actual assistance in stopping a violent group of thugs wasn’t a consideration. Eventually Jean figures out that these are no mere thugs – they’re nomads! Whatever that means. Oh, wait, here’s an old nun to help fill us in on all the expository details. Basically, they’re not people but Inuit demons who are attracted to death and violence, and now they want to claim Jean’s soul for themselves. As the events of Pommelier’s life are unfolding, the film sporadically cuts back to Eileen, probably to remind viewers she is still a part of the story. The final act finds Eileen at Jean’s home, where she teams up with his grieving wife to uncover the mystery of what exactly happened to her now-deceased husband. McTiernan obviously went on to achieve major fame, thanks to action cinematic masterpieces like “Predator” (1987) and “Die Hard” (1988), but his debut feature hardly hints at what was to come. “Nomads” is just straight-up boring, with zero scares, no tension and a convoluted storyline that doesn’t seem to know how to establish clear parameters. When the most notable characteristic of your film is the leading man’s atrocious attempt at a French accent things are dire. The titular nomads are nothing more than rejects from “The Warriors” (1979), only with less style. The plot device of having Dr. Flax experience Jean Pommelier’s life makes little sense since, if she’s seeing things as Jean did, why isn’t everything from his POV? Instead it’s as though she is watching a movie about his life in L.A. Those looking for supernatural scares would do well to look elsewhere. There’s nothing remotely scary to be found here, barely qualifying this as horror.
Video
“Nomads” arrives on Blu-ray with a 1.85:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image that is satisfactory, though far from dazzling. Detail and definition are where this picture suffers most, with most shots appearing soft and lacking in sharp focus. Details come through best during daylight shots, but even those hardly impress. Colors appear mostly natural, maybe a shade warm. Black levels are frequently crushed, and in the darkest of shots nearly all image detail is obliterated. Grain appears healthy – maybe a bit too much at times – and there are many instances of dirt and debris on the print.
Audio
An English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track carries the audio here. Dialogue is clean and hiss-free, although the levels do seem a tad low during some softly spoken moments. Sound effects are decently spread out across the front-end speakers. The highlight here is composer Bill Conti’s synth-driven, rocking score which injects some much-needed life into the picture. Subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired.
Extras
The bonus features here are a little on the light side, including a couple of interviews and some promotional materials. “Interview with Lesley-Anne Down” (1080p), this interview runs for 16 minutes and 28 seconds. The actress seems impressed by the film’s small legion of devoted fans. Originally from England, she fell into acting after being a model and considers herself quite lucky. “Interview with composer Bill Conti” (1080p), this interview runs for 17 minutes and 24 seconds. As Conti notes, “music carries the message” of a film, and he had to adapt to a new style of making that music when he got this project and found himself working alongside Ted Nugent. A radio spot runs for 33 seconds. A still gallery (1080p) runs for 3 minutes and 2 seconds. The film’s theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 2 minutes and 6 seconds.
Packaging
The single disc comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keep case.
Overall
I really wanted to like this movie because it’s always fun to find hidden gems from the 80's; however, with a dull plot and no scares to be seen this debut feature from one of Hollywood’s top action directors lays on the snooze button and never lets off it.
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