A Legendary Action Director Made His Debut With This Creepy Pierce Brosnan Movie
by Bill Bria · /FilmAny casual study of the film industry and cinema history reveals a perennial truth: doing a horror movie is a great way to break in. For directors, it can be as simple as showing off your prowess behind the camera. Yet for those who consider themselves filmmakers with a vision, the horror genre could serve as a backdoor into various concepts and themes they're interested in exploring. Such filmmakers don't always stick with horror beyond their debut, making their early dabbling in the genre seem more distinctive compared to the rest of their careers. This is the case with the likes of Francis Ford Coppola ("Dementia 13"), Peter Weir ("The Cars That Ate Paris"), Peter Bogdanovich ("Targets"), and John McTiernan, whose first film was 1986's "Nomads," starring Pierce Brosnan.
To be sure, McTiernan never abandoned the genre world when he found A-list success during the late 1980s and '90s. After all, his big breakout hit was his second film, 1987's "Predator," which is a horror movie at least in part. Yet there's no question that his reputation is solidly rooted in the action genre, which makes "Nomads" feel even more like a curio. Unfortunately, the film was poorly received when it was released, and because McTiernan's later, more successful movies were so different, it wasn't sought out for a while. Yet the film's reputation has grown a bit in recent years, thanks in part to its becoming more widely available. As such, it feels ripe for rediscovery, especially as its uncommon, creepy approach to the ghost story aligns more closely with today's increasingly popular trend of liminal horror.
Nomads is a liminal ghost story that's ripe for rediscovery
"Nomads" is the only movie by John McTiernan that he wrote himself, making it a fascinating insight into his interests. A student of the Juilliard School, McTiernan makes "Nomads" a ghost story that's as rooted in anthropology as it is in genre. Set in then-modern-day Los Angeles, the film follows a French anthropologist named Pommier (Pierce Brosnan), who specializes in the religious beliefs and practices of non-Western cultures. It's this point of view that makes him interested in a roving, nomadic group of street punks he sees around Los Angeles after moving there with his wife. These punks turn out to be evil spirits who turn up and wreak havoc.
While "Nomads" is conceptually unusual compared to a more conventional horror movie, McTiernan's intentional conflation of the supernatural and culture shock between different human experiences makes it feel like a progenitor of the liminal horror film, where one's reality slides into the uncanny. It treats ghosts as if they were cryptids, making them more like mythological creatures than an extension of the spiritual. McTiernan and cinematographer Stephen Ramsey get a lot of eerie mileage out of shooting on LA's Skid Row, and amongst the nomads are the singular likes of New Wave musician Adam Ant and actress Mary Woronov. The score is by prolific composer Bill Conti, with added electric guitar elements by Ted Nugent.
There's no doubt that "Nomads" is strange, but it's also a highly engaging piece of work if you give its odd premise half a chance. McTiernan would go on to perfect a knack for pushing the genre envelope in hits like "Predator," "Die Hard," and "Last Action Hero." Yet he couldn't have done it without going out on the limb of "Nomads" first.