NOMADS (1986) An interesting, if not fully successful, tale of a French anthropology professor (Pierce Brosnan) who passes his life force (I think) to a medical doctor (Lesley-Anne Down) right before he dies in an L.A. hospital. Soon after, the pretty doc begins re-experiencing the last days of the professor—who was following and documenting a group of murderous street punks he believed were actually a race of otherworldly beings, roaming the earth in human form. Written and directed by John McTiernan (Predator, Die Hard), Nomads is unconventional in that it tells its story from two different timelines. The Brosnan timeline is the more engaging of the two—and gets the most screen time—but, unfortunately, it drags to the point where nothing obviously supernatural happens until the last 20 minutes or so. Brosnan gets credit for doing something so non-commercial during his Remington Steele years, as well as having a surprising full frontal nude scene. C+
DON’T TORTURE A DUCKLING (1972) How can you go wrong with a title like that? When the body of a murdered boy is found in a small Italian village, it ignites a media frenzy—especially after the local pervert is arrested for the crime. Soon after, two more boys are abducted and killed, causing hysteria and panic within the superstitious town. Fingers point towards an out-of-town heiress (Barbara Bouchet) who likes her men on the young side, and a peasant (Florinda Bolkan) branded a witch by the townsfolk because of her homemade voodoo dolls. One of goremeister Lucio Fulci’s earliest and more restrained horror films, this is a sophisticated and well-plotted murder mystery soaking in atmosphere and beautiful-but-desolate Southern Italian locations. Fulci keeps the tension moving at a good pace, culminating in a brutal scene where a suspect is beaten to death by an angry mob. A well-directed and well-acted giallo that should lend credit to Fulci as a legitimate filmmaker. B+
THE BLOOD-SPATTERED BRIDE (1972) Newlywed Susan (Maribel Martin) becomes increasingly tired of her brutish husband’s (Simón Andreu) lustful appetite while on their honeymoon at his family’s country estate. That is until Susan is seduced by a mysterious woman (Alexandra Bastedo) who apparently murdered her husband on her wedding night centuries earlier—and wishes for Susan to do the same. A film very much of its time, this is filled with New Age feminism and political subtext—a dream in which Susan cuts out her husband’s heart isn’t exactly subtle—although much of it is muddled in the flimsy screenplay, which is loosely based on the vampire tale Carmilla. Susan isn’t exactly sympathetic, and none of the other characters are worth caring for, including Susan’s husband who flip-flops between asshole and hero. Not nearly as exploitative as its title would suggest. A shame. C