Lord of Illusions

Lord of Illusions

1995

Director- Clive Barker

Cast- Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O'Connor, Famke Janssen, Daniel von Bargen, Barry Del Sherman, Vincent Schiavelli, Joel Swetow, Joseph Latimore, Lorin Stewart, Jordan Marder

           

     If you ask most horror fans to name a Clive Barker film, most will say Hellraiser, and for obvious reasons.  Hellraiser didn’t just spawn a franchise, it made Barker a household name in horror. Some will say Nightbreed, Barker’s ultimate ode to the outsider with a city of monsters being terrorized by humans. Very few people will say Lord of Illusions, Barker’s supernatural detective story. It is loosely based on Barker’s short story The Last Illusion but you don’t need to read the story to thoroughly enjoy the film.

            

      Harry D’Amour (Scott Bakula) is a world weary private eye in the classic noir sense. He has a track record of run ins with the dark side. When we first meet him he is recovering from the effects of an exorcism in which he was involved. We don’t know exactly what happened but we know it involved a child and gave Harry a firsthand look at some dark powers.

            

     Nix (Daniel von Bargen) is the head of a cult that worships him like a god. However, unlike Charles Manson who was just charismatic, Nix actually possesses supernatural powers. He offers the cultists tidbits, little glimpses of power, but the only person who really has the ability to understand Nix’s lessons is Swann.

            

     Swann (Kevin O’Conner who horror fans will recognize from Deep Rising and The Mummy) was a student of Nix who turned away from the evil and left. Nix kidnaps a young girl for nefarious purposes and Swann leads a crew into the cult compound to rescue the girl and kill Nix. Of course, killing Nix in the traditional sense is not possible. He may not be an actual god yet, but he is close enough. Once Nix is “dead”, Swann binds him with magic and the body is buried in a hidden location.

          

  

    Now, thirteen years after his death, someone is killing off Swann’s crew and preparing for Nix’s return. Butterfield, another of Nix’s students, while not as promising as Swann, has remained loyal to his master and has been teaching himself the occult knowledge to resurrect Nix.

            

    In the years that have passed, Swann has set himself up as a kind of David Copperfield stage magician. He has made millions convincing audiences that he is using sleight of hand to construct elaborate illusions. In reality, he is using magic and what they see is real. Swann knows that Nix is returning and is distressed. Swann’s wife, Dorothea, (Famke Janssen, who also appeared in Deep Rising as well as Goldeneye and the X-men franchise) knows that something is wrong, even though her husband won’t tell her what. She hires Harry to find out what’s up. Very early in his investigation, Harry faces Butterfield and Swann is murdered. He could check out and leave this to the police, but he is drawn to the darkness and isn’t backing out now.

            

   

   In the true noir sense, Harry has to dig around in dark corners and put the pieces together. All the while, a romance buds between Harry and Dorothea so he has an emotional investment beyond his dark curiosity. Famke Janssen isn’t the femme fatale of the traditional noir thriller but she is able to provide the mystery and allure that the part needs.

            

     Scott Bakula is not the first person that people think of when they think of horror, but that just shows how genius the casting is. Scott is the perfect fantasy everyman. He is rugged and square jawed, able to be clever and quick witted but can connect with a solid right hook if he needs to. As stated earlier, Famke was well suited as the mysterious love interest. Kevin O’Conner, who plays a weasel in The Mummy, is a genuine tortured soul, someone who has seen too much real horror but is still pretending everything is OK. I think the best performance came from Barry Del Sherman as Butterfield. Though the character is presented as flashy and sexually ambiguous, Barry conveys a sense of melancholy and desperation. Butterfield has spent a decade working feverishly to prepare for his master’s return but he isn’t a deranged Renfield. His devotion is fueled by a concrete logic based on his first hand observations of Nix’s power.

            

     

  The occult investigator is a staple of horror whether it’s the Lovecraftian researcher or John Constantine. However, that character doesn’t have a long tradition in horror movies. Fred Ward portrayed a humorous version in Cast a Deadly Spell. Probably the best occult detective story is Angel Heart with Mickey Rourke as a sleazy New York private eye lost in Louisiana. Lord of Illusions is a good addition to the sub-genre. The 1995 theatrical release is about 11 minutes shorter than the director’s cut. The director’s cut is the better version and shouldn’t be hard to find.

            

     For being a quarter of a century old, the movie has held up well. There is some regrettable mid-90s CGI which looks terrible but that only takes up about a minute of the film. Everything else still works and is effective.  So if you can only have one Clive Barker movie in your collection, that movie should be either Hellraiser or Nightbreed. But if you have room for one more movie, don’t forget this occult gem.