Lord of Illusions (1995)

Review #0044

The "last" illusion indeed...

This third auto-adaptation by Clive Barker proves once more that the British author extraordinaire is just as good behind a computer than in a director's chair. This time, he manages to remain close to his Gothic roots by cleverly updating the film noir genre to include supernatural elements. After all, Lord of Illusions is less of a horror film, than a noir with magic-using characters. Every element is there: the dark and savvy detective (named Harry D'Amour, no less) caught in a dangerously intricate investigation involving a mysterious femme fatale and her rich, impotent husband, the romantic entanglement between the detective and his client and a climatic five-way duel. Barker strikes again! Based on his short story, The Last Illusion, Lord of Illusions is another crafty, tension-filled supernatural thriller featuring top-rate special effects and wondrously perverted contraptions and characters.

Warlock Nix is a paunchy cult leader à la Charles Manson who blindsides his fanatical followers with his magic. Enticed with renegade pupil Swann, which he believes to be his only worthy "student", he kidnaps a young girl and menaces to sacrifice her in order to lure him back. Swann does come back, with a bunch of gun-totting friends. With the help of the young girl, they manage to subdue Nix, to "bind" him (by screwing modular metal masks directly into his skull), and bury him. Cut to 13 years later. Bad-ass, supernatural-investigating detective Harry D'Amour is sent to L.A. for some well-deserved "vacations" when he stumbles upon sadistic cult members Butterfield and Ray Miller, who are hellbent on avenging Nix and bringing his binded carcass back to life. Enters Dorothea, Swann's seductive wife (played by Goldeneye Bond girl/Dark Phoenix Famke Janssen who looks more fetching than ever in a see-through bathing suit) who wishes to protect her husband from those freaks and thus hires D'Amour. As the mystery unfolds, Dorothea and Swann's backgrounds are slowly revealed by the cunning detective, while freaky Butterfield tries to locate the remains of his master. Eventually, Nix is revived and an exciting confrontation takes place between D'Amour, Swann, Dorothea, Nix and Butterfield.

A typical noir character, Dorothea is the woman who's seen too much

Although not on par with Gothic masterpiece Hellraiser, Lord of Illusions shares most of its significant assets including Barker's masterful direction that makes exemplary use of somptuous locales, a flair for editing exciting action sequences, awesome special effects and a tight screenplay featuring many twisted characters. The opening sequence alone features all of these elements neatly packed for an explosive start. Set in a rundown desert hideout (no doubt inspired by Charlie Manson's shack in Topanga Canyon), it features a fairly unusual rescue mission. Roaming through labyrinthine corridors, Swann and his commando must locate Nix and the girl amidst a sea of demented cult followers. When they do get a hold on the megalomaniac wizard, an exciting fight involving flight, telekinesis and binding rituals brings the opening act to a screeching halt. The only way to go from there is down. Fortunately, Barker keeps his story afloat thanks to strong characterization and the ever-present promise of weird and sadistic magic rituals. Bakula and Janssen are spot-on as the tough detective and femme fatale, while Barry Del Sharman is downright scary as Butterfield, the gay-looking sadist wearing skin-tight silver pants. The "magic" sequences are impressive, paramount of which is the nightclub act featuring Swann impaled by falling swords. This distinctive scene is absolutely exhilarating thanks to Barker's love for crisp editing and blood-spurting wounds. In the end, the film comes full circle and we find ourselves back at the dilapidated desert shack from the opening sequence. Although heavy on special effects, this wholly enjoyable finale ties all the loose ends together and makes for some pulse-pounding, eye-popping entertainment.

Nix gets what he deserves: 13 years in a sandy prison

Finally, a few words on the character of Nix. Interestingly enough, he is not the suave, well-mannered megalomaniac of, let's say... the James Bond films, but rather a true-to-life cult leader. He is fat, dirty, badly groomed and badly dressed, sort of a wizardly Manson whose cunning promises of doom are almost hypnotic. Everything about him is unsettling. He lacks the civilized demeanour that makes traditional villains almost loveable, and unlike Pinhead, he mostly steers clear of campy one-liners. Most of all, he is not at all fashionable, unlike Pinhead again, who almost singlehandedly invented S&M chic. Proof of his repulsiveness (which you could also call effectiveness) is the absence of plastic Nix figurines in the show cases of video stores and Nix costumes in the streets during Halloween... Cheers to Barker for fashioning this terrifying antagonist from scraps of collective fears instead of using a worn-out archetype. And cheers for blending the fantastic and realistic elements of the story so nicely as to make us fear that antagonist all the more.

3/5 Another savvy quality film from multi-talented auteur Barker.

Hellraiser (1987)

Review #0035

Hellraiser is Clive Barker's adaptation of his own novella, The Hellbound Heart. In the transfer, he has tacked-on a more "filmic" ending and awarded Kirsty a much greater role. Of course, I was happy to see the young woman (played by gorgeous 21-years-old American actress Ashley Laurence) get as much screen time as possible. On the other hand, I was not totally convinced by her dream scene (which adds nothing to the plot but a dubious hint of ESP) and her under-developed romance with some bland boy whose name I don't even remember (a relationship that adds nothing to the plot either). To be perfectly honest, I felt that all elements extraneous to the novella seemed contrived, even unwanted by Barker himself. Still, the film unveiled him as a competent director who can successfully translate words into cinematic expressions.


The scenario is almost Shakespearian in nature. It features the fratricidal relationship between evil Frank, good Larry and Julia, the bitch queen inbetween. You see, Frank is an explorer of extreme pleasures. Bored with sex and drugs, he summoned the "Cenobites", sado-masochistic demons from Hell who offered him the ultimate S&M experience (which obviously killed him). When brother Larry and second wife Julia (Frank's one-time lover) move in the now-abandoned family mansion, they revive Frank by spilling blood on the spot where he died. But the resurrected Frank is incomplete. He needs blood in order to recover his flesh and skin. Using a promise she made in the throes of ecstasy, Frank manipulates Julia into bringing him unsuspecting victims, namely lonely men she lures home with the promise of sex. There's only one small dent in their plan: Larry's daughter, Kirsty. Once she learns of their murderous doings, she strikes a deal with the Cenobites: Frank's life in exchange of her own. In the end, everybody's dead but beautiful Kirsty and her bland boyfriend.

The film benefits mostly from a haunting score, Barker's masterful adaptation of the source material into a concise, suspenseful cinematic experience and from some incredible special effects that move this classic tale of horror into the realm of the grotesque. The back story is superbly integrated to the ongoing plot (a case in point: the breathtaking cross-cut sequence involving both Julia's flashbacks of Frank and Larry's inevitable accident with the protruding nail) while the huge set full of stairs allows for some great, dramatic camera movements. Rhythmically, the film is excellent. It also features some of the greatest horror FX of the day, used with tremendous effect to showcase Frank's transformation. In my book, the scene where he rises from under the floorboards is one of the greatest in all of horror cinema. It is gooey, well-framed, well-edited, well-animated, and freaky as hell! Personally, I think this scene alone is worth the price of the best-quality DVD available.


Unfortunately, the film also features some lame, contrived add-ons to the original story which only mares the radical efficiency of the film. The 'engineer' character, for example, seems to have been tacked-on only to prove the proficiency of the FX crew. But its presence is irrelevant to the story, even annoying. Its morphology is interesting, in a purely graphic way, but it makes the creature non-functional. Seeing it "hover" above the ground and flailing its arms to no avail, we almost feel sorry for it. Its presence in the final scene is more than underwhelming since it seems incapable of interacting with human actors. In fact, the entire scene following Frank's demise is laughable. This sequence is superfluous, clichéd and unwelcome. It even transforms the grotesque Cenobites into token 'bad guys'. And this line by Pinhead (then called "Lead Cenobite"), this pathetic: "Don't do that!". Ouff...

Now, that's another thing: the Cenobites are freaky, yet they are almost criminally under-developed. Sure, their suits and makeup are memorable, but they lack a real onscreen presence. They only spurt "cool" one-liners that fail to really flesh out their characters. It's as if they were intentionally designed as camp objects! To me, the real pop icon here is Gary Turncliffe, the guy who designed Pinhead, and not Doug Bradley who merely chews through his lines. After all, it is Giger we worship for creating Alien, not Bolaji Badejo, the Nigerian titan (7'2'') who donned the costume.

3,5/5 The film comes short of greatness only because of the superfluous elements tacked-on to this otherwise great horror story.