Lord Of Illusions (1995) (Collector’s Edition) (Blu-ray Review)
Directed By: Clive Barker
Starring: Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O’Connor, Joseph Latimore
Rated: R/Region A/1:78/1080p/Number of Discs 2
Where to get it: Scream Factory
From best-selling author and celebrated director Clive Barker comes a supernatural thriller that rips apart the boundaries between sanity and madness, and between the art of illusion and the terrifying forces of magic. Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap) portrays Harry D’Amour, a private detective visiting Los Angeles on a routine investigation. Harry gets more than he bargains for when he encounters Philip Swan (Kevin J. O Connor, The Mummy), a performer whose amazing illusions captivate the world. But are they really illusions? Harry isn’t so sure as he is thrust into a nightmare of murder, deception and terrifying assaults from the dark beyond. Famke Janssen (X-Men, Taken, Hemlock Grove) and Daniel von Bargen (Crimson Tide, The Faculty) also star.
Clive Barker doesn’t have the largest filmography in the world, but if you look at the each film you see a wide variety and range of different plots that all equally as creative and weird. Lord of Illusions isn’t Hellraiser or Nightbreed, but it does need some credit for the strange and bizarre world it introduces where you are never really sure if what you see is real or illusion. That would be the point of course and while when I think of Scott Bakula I think Quantum Leap, I found he fit the detective role about as perfectly as you’d want here. I don’t know if this was a story for me overall, but the film gives you enough violence and weird things that you will stick around to the end regardless of which cut you are watching. There is blood and there is some very nice effects, but I’d be wrong to not point out there are a few noticeable bad generated effects as well. Then again, this was 1995 and when you take into account what the world of horror was getting at the time, we can sort of give this movie a break, especially when you do take into account the odd and interesting plot.
Let me now go back to Scott Bakula and his detective role. While he plays about the most stereotypical detective you could ever see, I feel in a movie like his the detective he plays seems a bit out of place. Its like you took your 80s action movie detective and tossed him in a 90s trip driven horror film and I do think at times the two things clash. It isn’t enough to drop Lord of Illusions below a satisfactory level, but it is enough to at times seem out of place. As far as everyone else in their roles, you won’t find another complaint from me. Another thing I can’t complain about is the transfer on this Collector’s Edition. The movie has some spots that might be considered soft, but otherwise it is a clean and clear transfer with some really solid color and details. It isn’t perfect, but it isn’t bad. The same could be said in some extent for the film as a whole.
Disc One
– Theatrical Cut of Film
Disc Two
– Director’s Cut
– Commentary by Director Clive Barker
– “A Gathering of Magic” Featurette – Original Behind the Scenes Footage
– Unseen Rare Behind the Scenes Footage “Illusion of Reality” – Vintage interviews and UNSEEN On-Set Footage provide a fascinating look into the making of the film
– Deleted Scenes with Clive Barker commentary
– NEW Interview with Storyboard Artist Martin Mercer
– Photo Gallery
