31 Days of Horror Recommendations: Nomads (1986)

 

Year: 1986 

Country: U.S.

Subgenre: Supernatural Horror/Ghosts

Runtime: 91 minutes

Director: John McTiernan (who also wrote the screenplay)

In John McTiernan's Nomads the lines between ghosts and evil spirits are significantly blurred; what is not blurred is the story of corruption, both of mind and body. It is a very unconventional ghost story, even if it gets some of it's indigenous mythology wrong.  McTiernan has still spun a scary yarn that includes an intriguing mystery to be solved; and while searching for clues along with the way, there a plenty of chills to the bone. Without significantly giving anything away, I will say that the way that the protagonist(s) are structured within the script is very different from just about any other film I've seen of any genre.  Principally the story revolves around both a French anthropologist (Pierce Brosnan) and a female doctor (Leslie-Ann Down) who treats him in an E.R.  Two of the spirits that they encounter along with way are played with frightening performances by Adam Ant and Mary Woronov. Moroccan born actress Anna Maria Monticelli (who has a daughter with McTiernan) rounds out the cast as the very confused wife of the anthropologist Pommier. The film is currently streaming on a number free (w/ ads) streaming services. So if you are looking for something a little different this Spooktober, give it a look.