Clive Barker's Lord of Illusions (1995) Blu-ray review

There exists an irony in Hollywood that is hardly obfuscated, and that is despite being a town built on creative concepts very few people in a position of power within the industry actually embrace the creative minds behind that art. Even those writers & directors & producers who are fortunate enough to get an unconventional picture green-lighted are subject to the whims of capricious studio heads. Unless you make them a mint, in which case the doors remain wide open… until you falter just once. For these reasons, some of the very people who should be producing films are essentially locked out. People like Clive Barker, whose mind lives in the strange & unusual places we, as horror fans, want to visit. His films may be undeniable cult classics now, but none of them managed to ignite the box office save for Hellraiser, which went on to produce sequel after please-god-make-them-stop sequel. Nightbreed (1990) bombed. Five years later, Lord of Illusions (1995) limped to a tepid finish, too. Perhaps coincidentally, both Nightbreed and Lord of Illusions were compromised films, in that Barker’s original vision was sliced & diced until the films were made more “commercially viable”. Whatever the reason for their failures, the sad takeaway from all of this is Barker hasn’t worked in Hollywood since. Oh, sure, Universal jerked him off for a few years like they were ever serious about making a film based on his Tortured Souls toy line, but did anyone genuinely think that was going to happen?

Barker’s work has been enjoying a minor renaissance this year. Nightbreed finally got released on Blu-ray the way Barker had intended. He’s also working on the you-knew-it-was-coming Hellraiser remake (hey, better him than some studio hack). And Scream Factory has rescued Lord of Illusions from MGM’s Vault Hell, cleaning up his director’s cut and bestowing it upon Barker fans that have already had a boon year. The wonderful thing about Clive’s films is that he rarely repeats himself; each of his three efforts feels fresh & original. Lord of Illusions blends two of my favorite genres: horror and noir. Theatrically, it was heavier on the latter and light on the former, thanks to studio meddling. In its director’s cut the balance is restored, though ultimately it remains a flawed picture.

Somewhere out in the Mojave Desert back in ’82, cult leader Nix (Daniel von Bargen) preaches in a squalid shack to his followers, with plans to sacrifice a young girl. His ritual of devilish magic is interrupted when Swann (Kevin J. O’Connor) and a few other former cult members infiltrate his compound. Nix is shot multiple times before Swann binds his face with some medieval fetish mask made of steel and buries him in the dirt. Jump to thirteen years later and Swann is a highly successful illusionist (don’t call him a magician) working in Los Angeles, with his face plastered all over town billboards. Whatever tricks he learned from Nix have served him well in the public’s eye. Meanwhile, New York City private investigator Harry D’Amour (Scott Bakula) is in town on an insurance fraud claim that leads him to the apartment of Quaid (Joseph Latimore), who is nearly dead from an attack by two of Nix’s acolytes – Butterfield (Barry Del Sherman) and a skinhead guy with skin problems and pointy teeth. Just before he dies, Quaid warns D’Amour that “the Puritan” is coming. When Swann learns of Quaid death, he has his wife Dorothea (Famke Janssen) hire D’Amour to investigate things further.

D’Amour is a natural fit, having always been drawn to both the light & dark side of life, though going deeper into the world of Nix leaves in it a wake of bodies and loads of danger. But then, danger is a given when there’s a woman thrown into the mix, greatly complicating matters between Swann and D’Amour. Swann saw to it that Nix was scorched from the earth all those years ago, however it seems like the time has come for Nix to make good on his promise of resurrection.

Lord of Illusions is the sort of film that I liked well enough in theaters and have only appreciated more and more each time I watch it on home video. Horror and noir are very complementary genres. Barker doesn’t allow one genre to overshadow the other either, making this a true dichotomy of investigative work and visceral terror. D’Amour is perfectly cast with Scott Bakula, who maybe isn’t the world’s most charismatic actor but he certainly fits the mold of an everyman struggling with his place in reality. It’s a shame we’ll never get to see more of his otherworldly adventures. Credit must be given to Daniel von Bargen, too, who is devilishly good as the nefarious Nix. The actor fell upon hard times a couple years back, attempting suicide after losing a leg to diabetes. No updates on his condition have been given since then, and I sincerely hope he’s on the mend.

The film isn’t often credited for its abundance of practical FX, which makes sense since they are secondary to the story, but Barker rounded up a serious who’s-who of the makeup world. Greg Nicotero, Tony Gardner, Howard Berger, Steve Johnson, Robert Kurtzman, and Gary Tunnicliffe all had a hand in bringing the film’s gruesome body horrors to life. Barker’s films have long been known for their gross-out gags, and every little bit of FX work done here is exemplary. There aren’t many big “showstopper” pieces, though Nix’s final form is impressively decayed and imposing. And you’ve gotta love the “over the top” brain zombie at the Magic Castle.

Even in its fully fleshed-out director’s cut, Lord of Illusions remains a flawed film, largely due in part to a third act that sort of peters out. The entire film builds up the return of Nix, and Barker’s cut restores many key scenes that heighten the anticipation of his resurrection, but once D’Amour and Swann descend upon the old desert shack the battle that ensues feels less thrilling what comes before it. Barker sows the seeds for a grand finale, yet either due to budgetary reasons or simply uneven writing the end result is a little underwhelming.

According to the disc’s specs, Scream Factory has given the film’s director’s cut an all-new high-definition transfer. The 1.78:1 1080p image is an improvement over the age-old DVD, though it’s far from reference quality material. Detail and definition are moderate, looking best when the camera grabs a close-up. Colors are nicely saturated and accurate, though at times they appear a bit drab. This could have been a stylistic decision to add to the noir atmosphere. Black levels are rich & dark, with no hazy shots. The print is clean overall, with no dirt or damage present. This isn’t going to wow anyone watching it on a high-end home video system, but there are no major issues of which to speak either. Maybe (and I stress maybe) a 4K scan could have improved the results; as it stands now, this is a great effort and it’s always a pleasure to see Scream Factory ponying up the dough to improve A/V quality.

Lord of Illusions features an aggressive sound mix, with the English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround sound track conveying an aura of menace with traditional noir elements. Fidelity is strong, with the soundfield given ample range with which to play. Dialogue is presently clean and balanced, never lost in the shuffle of effects. Speaking of which, the rears are abuzz with activity frequently. There aren’t many moments of heavy bass, though when it is required its presence is clearly made known. Also included is a DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo track. Subtitles are available in English.

While this is ostensibly a collector’s edition, Lord of Illusions is a bit lighter in the extras department than many fans (myself included) will want to see. Wagering a guess, I’d assume the lion’s share of the film’s allocated budget went to restoring the picture, leaving little for the comprehensive, all-new extras many of Scream’s titles are known for. Still, they’ve packed in all existing material – both previously seen and unseen – they could, including an audio commentary, featurettes, deleted scenes, interviews and more.

Starting things off from the main menu is “A Note from Clive Barker”, in which the writer/director explains his director’s cut and how it restores his original vision.

Clive Barker also provides an audio commentary, one that has been around since the film’s Laserdisc days, and it’s just as insightful and engrossing as any other he’s recorded. The track is full of scene-specific notes, comparisons to the D’Amour stories, random musings and expectations for how audiences were to receive it.

“A Gathering of Magic” is another carryover from the Laserdisc, one that did not appear on the previous DVD. Here, Barker & Bakula talk about the film, while behind the scenes footage is shown and storyboards are presented.

The big beast here is the “Original Behind the Scenes Footage” featurette that runs for an hour and change. This never-before-seen piece features extensive interviews with Barker, who delves deep into the film’s story while puffing away on a fat cigar (something I’ll bet he now regrets). Considering no comprehensive piece was commissioned for this release, this is the next best thing.

A handful of deleted scenes are presented, with commentary from Barker, running for just over three minutes. There are a couple more bits with Nix’s cult, and a little more of D’Amour, too.

New to this release is “Interview with Storyboard Artist Martin Mercer”. Mercer tells of how he stayed with Barker for six months, at his home, to work on the film. Storyboards he drew are then shown and compared to the filmed scenes. They are impressively close in detail and direction.

A photo gallery rounds out the supplements.