Lord of Illusions (1995)

One of my all time favorites.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Lord of Illusions (1995)** 1/2 (out of 4) A dark illusionist named Nix (Daniel von Bargen) is leading a cult of people but his "understudy" Swann (Kevin J. O'Connor) kills him and puts an end to his evil deeds. Or so he thinks. Flash-forward thirteen years and private detective Harry D'Amour (Scott Bakula) travels from New York to L.A. and soon finds himself caught up with Swann's wife (Famke Janssen) and trying to determine what's going on with this magic cult including Nix coming back from the dead.Clive Barker's LORD OF ILLUSIONS is a film that I really enjoyed on many levels but I think there was one major problem with it that I will get to in a bit. As far as the film goes, it's currently available in two versions. There's the original theatrical cut as well as the Director's Cut, which is what I watched since Barker has made it very clear that he prefers that the version people should judge the film on.What I enjoyed most about the picture was the film noir elements. Barker apparently really loved this D'Amour character and it's easy to see. This film is basically a mystery/detective film with horror elements thrown into it. I really thought the detective angle worked quite well and the story was good enough to hold your attention throughout most of the picture. I'd argue that the performances were also quite good with Bakula doing fine in the lead role. Von Bargen is exceptionally good as the villain and Janssen was great in the lead female role.The film offers up some good visual effects, great cinematography and pretty much on a technical level the film is very impressive. As I said, I really enjoyed the film as I watched it but at the same time I thought the 121-minute running time was a bit too long. After a while you start to wish the ending would come to get everything over with. I think the film loses its focus somewhat during the final third of the picture, although there's no question that the special effects get bumped up during the finale.

There are quite a few things going for this movie that attracted me to it and should have added up to a movie that I loved. First, I'm a big fan of Clive Barker. I love his aesthetic. I love the mythology that he creates in his works. I feel like his vision pulls the curtain back on Hell's fiery gates, just a bit, and creates these wonderful, demonic fairy tales full of infernal imagery. The subject matter also intrigues me. Like all geeks with a penchant for the fantastic, I enjoy magic and illusion, but even more I like movies and books that explore that thin line between illusion and magic and the possibility that perhaps there is real magic. Of course, it's not a far stretch from that sort of magic into occult territory, either. As a horror movie lover, I have a natural affinity for things dealing with dark magic, as well. The combination of all of these could have created something that I would have put up there as an instant classic, but sadly this movie is completely forgettable.This is probably the least "Barker-ish" of any Barker adaptation I have seen. What I mean by that is that it is mostly devoid of any of that aesthetic that I was speaking of earlier. Movies like HELLRAISER, NIGHTBREED or CANDYMAN all feel like part of a large mythos, like all of them could have existed in the same world. There are very similar visual strands in those movies, even though one of them wasn't even directed by Barker. This movie is largely lacking any of that imagery. Except for the prologue and climax, we rarely get anything diabolical. It feels like it could have been the work of any old horror writer. While some may praise for deviating from his norm, this isn't what I come to the House of Barker for.Even the actual magic in the movie is somewhat of a letdown. I really enjoyed the centerpiece scene where Swann is killed during his magic show. I wanted to see more of that sort of thing. They spend a lot of time talking about how these characters had crossed the line from illusion to real magic, but they seemed to know two tricks, levitation and fire. I'd at least expect enough effects to give me a true sense of power. Hell, even Harry Potter had better tricks than this.Those were my expectations, though, so it's maybe not fair to judge this movie by how much it met those expectations. The real problem is that this movie just goes nowhere. It sets us up with a great opening scene, full of action and effects that seemed like this could turn into something memorable, but it dies quickly, mired down in a half-baked detective noir that is as predictable as it is uninteresting. Some part of that blame lies in Scott Bakula who's just not believable in this role, at all. He's supposed to be a hardened PI with one foot in the world of the occult, almost a John Constantine (comic books) type figure. Instead, Bakula just can't shake his wholesome image. Even when he swears it feels like elementary school kids trying out a word for the first time. Then, they inject a phony romance angle that just feels crammed in an insincere.There are some great effects shots that still work very well and then there are some real doozys, like the CGI polygons that look so very dated 20 years later. What I saw is the Director's cut, which was probably more of a mistake because it was just too long and in need of editing.If you've never seen anything by Barker before, do yourself a favor and go watch HELLRAISER. If you want a great movie about pushing magic to its' edge, watch Christopher Nolan's THE PRESTIGE.

Liverpool born Clive Barker is a well-known name in fiction, and especially in horror. His novels have sold millions of copies all over the World and many of his stories have been adapted to the screen over the last three decades, one of those films was Lord of Illusions, based on the short story "The Last Illusion" from Barker's "Books of Blood Vol. 6", a compilation of stories from 1985.Directed by Clive himself, Lord of Illusions is a fantasy horror starring Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap), Kevin J. O'Connor and Famke Janssen (X-Men). This was the last film that Barker directed after previously stepping behind the camera for Nightbreed and Hellraiser. The director's cut of "Lord…" is, in Barker's words, the "definitive version of the film" while the theatrical cut does not represent his true vision. This release from 101 Films features the theatrical cut on Blu- ray as well as the director's cut, complete with director commentary, on DVD. This alone makes it worth picking up this version.The plot is very Barker-eqsue. It tells the story of Private Detective Harry D'Amour (Bakula) who happens upon a cult that is awaiting the resurrection of their "leader" Nix. Nix trained Philip Swann (O'Connor) in the art of magic and illusion, and Swann went on to become a success much-like a David Copperfield. Philips wife, Dorothea (Janssen), hires D'Amour to protect her husband from the impending rise of his former master, Nix, and his demented cult members. An "accident" with Swann leads to D'Amour investigating and discovering a world of magic he didn't know existed. A twisting and turning story of magic, deception and evil, Lord of Illusions is an intriguing and unusual film that plays in the fields of horror, fantasy and sci-fi.There are few films that deal with magic and illusionists, and even fewer that deal with it in the way that Lord of Illusions does. The director's cut is much better viewing than the theatrical version, the version I had always been familiar with until seeing this release. An absorbing premise, the film offers something very different and while it isn't flawless, it is still a very palatable and enjoyable experience that I will return to once again in the futureThe acting is hit and miss. They often feel trite and border on lethargic at times, but Bakula is charming as D'Amour, and Janssen, though much improved since her work here, offers a polite performance that doesn't really offend. I found O'Connor to be a little puerile at times and it made for some scenes that bordered on cringe worthy, but it wasn't enough to put me off watching.The story isn't Barker's best, and as a reader of plenty of his novels and short tales, I am surprised that he didn't adapt something better to the screen than this. The Damnation Game, Pig Blood Blues and The Body Politic all come to mind and were released before or around the same time as "The Last Illusion". Still, Barker saw fit to make this, and it isn't a bad movie, just not on the same level as Nightbreed and Hellraiser. Barker was a fine director too and it would be nice to see him try his hand at it once more, perhaps adapting a newer novel such as Mister B. Gone to film.101 Films have done a commendable job with this release. It looks the part, and the picture quality and sound on the Blu-ray is of a high quality for a film of this type. The extra DVD featuring the director's cut of the film as well as a directors commentary is a lovely addition and should be a big reason to buy this release.It's not brilliant, and it doesn't feature an iconic antagonist like Pinhead, but Lord of Illusions is still worth a watch, and the director's cut is just dandy.

Hired to protect a widow, a private detective learns of her husband's work in the supernatural when his instructor, the leader of a black-magic cult awakens and seeks his vengeance upon them for their past work against him.This turned out to be a massive disappointment due to the fact that there's just not a whole lot here to like. One of the few good elements is the traditional use of an obscure atmosphere and occult imaginings that are just really creepy and chilling as they tamper with themes they have no business doing so with. As well, the search for the leader's writings and hiding place make for some pretty interesting times and the finale in the decrepit halls of his sanctuary and the full use of the black magic is a lot of fun. The main problem here with the film is the fact that it's just far too long and really takes far too much to get going as there's just so many useless scenes that add unnecessary time to the proceedings that there's no real use in featuring them, which include the scenes of them in the magic club, the following home from the funeral and the numerous failed attempts on his life that make the cult seem wholly incompetent to risk that kind of exposure that often with so many failed attempts. As well, the special effects are wholly terrible with primitive CGI that looks laughable and totally unconvincing, a villain with a changing conquest plan that makes no sense and a really thin story that's never fleshed out. These here drag it down quite a bit.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity.