Lord of Illusions

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Lord of Illusions

R

Released Aug 25, 1995

1h 48m

Horror

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Popcornmeter

58%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

53%

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10,000+ Ratings

Private eye Harry D'Amour (Scott Bakula) travels to Los Angeles and meets with a new client, Dorothea Swann (Famke Janssen). Swann reveals that she and her husband -- famed magician Philip Swann (Kevin J. O'Connor) -- have been targeted by a religious cult experimenting with reincarnation. After Philip dies on stage in the midst of a dangerous trick, D'Amour must struggle to protect Dorothea from the ruthless cult members and their newly reanimated religious leader, Nix (Daniel Von Bargen).

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Critics Consensus

Lord of Illusions may come as something of a disappointment in the context of writer-director Clive Barker's best work, but genre fans should be reasonably diverted.

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Anthony Puccinelli

Chicago Reader

These days the horror film is practically a bankrupt genre...

Rated: 0/4

Jun 7, 2022

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Barker, who directed as well as wrote, establishes an effective rhythm in these scenes, and Bakula finds just the right note to play them.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 1/5

Jan 1, 2000

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Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

From the mind of Clive Barker comes....one weird-ass horror noir.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 30, 2020

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The problem with the story is that it's overlong, full of bland details, and engrossed with bloodshed over sensible occult configurations.

Rated: 3/10

Sep 14, 2020

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Brent McKnight

The Last Thing I See

Awesomely '90s Day-Glo noir, Lord of Illusions has everything you want.

Rated: B

Jul 7, 2020

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Jay H

Of the three feature films directed by Clive Barker, this one is my favorite. I highly recommend the Director's Cut.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/22/24

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James B

While lord of illusions is faithful to the short story the last illusion it is unfortunately let down by bad CGI which is a shame because this is a great movie with awesome characters and it definitely one that I will be rewatching quite a few times.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/19/24

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Dallas H

Clive Barker has a distinct way of showing graphic violence in his horror movies. This one is no different. However, the visual effects that are more CGI-based than practically designed appear to be extremely dated. I wish it were all matted visuals or practical effects to give them a more tangible element.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/23/24

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Alec B

An enjoyable supernatural Noir. Whenever the characters or plot start to get dull, there's usually some striking imagery to distract you.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

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sally b

all style no substance, it really felt like a bunch of random disjointed ideas the director thought would look cool but without any real narrative purpose or connective tissue to make any of the scenes much more than shock factor. Some of the shots were genuinely cool looking, but the storytelling fell short. The dialogue was unimpressive and often felt very stilted and artificial. It almost feels like a story cobbled together from the doodles one would find in the margins of a bored hormone addled highschool aged boy's notebook in a way that makes me feel like I can see the director through the film like the organs of a glass frog in the least flattering way possible. There were also tons of tits for no reason! But hey! Some of the imagery was actually sick as hell it's just a shame it wasn't used with more intention. Worth watching for inspiration if you're someone who likes picking movies apart to analyze what works and what doesn't.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/28/23

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KB B

It was ok more like a tv movie. The plot, acting and FX were pretty marginal. Watch if there's absolutely nothing else on.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/24/23

Full Review

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Clive Barker

Director

Scott Bakula

Harry D'Amour

Kevin J. O'Connor

Philip Swann

Famke Janssen

Dorothea Swann

Vincent Schiavelli

Vinovich

Barry Del Sherman

Butterfield

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Synopsis

Private eye Harry D'Amour (Scott Bakula) travels to Los Angeles and meets with a new client, Dorothea Swann (Famke Janssen). Swann reveals that she and her husband -- famed magician Philip Swann (Kevin J. O'Connor) -- have been targeted by a religious cult experimenting with reincarnation. After Philip dies on stage in the midst of a dangerous trick, D'Amour must struggle to protect Dorothea from the ruthless cult members and their newly reanimated religious leader, Nix (Daniel Von Bargen).

Director: Clive Barker
Producer: JoAnne Sellar, Clive Barker
Screenwriter: Clive Barker
Production Co: Seraphim Films
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 25, 1995, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.4M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround

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