Rating: 
Summary: One of his best!
Review: I have seen the first clive barker film Hellraiser and I have to say that I wasn't impressed much.
I was pretty hesitant to see this one but being a huge Diamanda galas fan, I decided to check it out.
Overall, I think it's one of his best films as the storyline was good and the effects were not corny at all.
The only complaint is that the acting was a bit underachieved in certain parts of the film. It seemed like madonna could've done a lot better. And that's not a good thing!
All in all a good film.
Rating:
Summary: BEST FILM BASED ON BARKERS WORK
Review: I know most people will say Hellraiser but I really think that LOI is the best film based on Clive barkers work. As with his other movies there's a skin crawling uneasiness about it. But it is a very unique mix of horror, magic, and fantasy.
Harry D'Amour (Scott Bakula) is a hardened detective in New York, who is assigned to protect a famous illusionist, Philip Swann (Kevin J. O'Connor), and his wife, Dorthea (Famke Jannsen). He arrives in Los Angeles, California, and has a run-in with strange cult members, one of which has knives in his throat and body. The man begins to wrestle with Harry, and Harry subdues him, after having the crap kicked out of him. He then meets his clients. When Swann's illusion goes horribly wrong, causing his death, Harry must protect his wife, protect himself, and solve Swann's murder. Along, the way, all sorts of crazy things happen, including some amazing trickery and illusion, and discover the secret of Nix, a powerful illusionist.
Alright, so maybe this wasn't a great adaption of his short story, the Last Illusion, but it was one hell of a ride. The special effects aren't overdone, the acting was up to par, and the direction was marvelous. This movie is so gritty, its tone is perfect. Bakula may have been a bit too emotionless in a scene or two, but overall he was wonderful as the detective who gets caught up in the trickery, and the evil. There is also one or two funny moments, very very well placed. Of course, to fully appreciate the movie, you must watch the directors cut, with a couple extra scenes, that actually add a lot to the plotline, and the surreality of it all.
The DVD gives you a good commentary track by Barker himself who also directed the film.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, and well worth it in the Directors cut
Review: I saw this originally in the VHS "theatrical" release, mid 1990s. This Directors cut is streets ahead of the original theatrical version. It is hard to pigeon hole Barker in film, since his work is so diverse. Compare LORD OF ILLUSION with NIGHTBREED.
The characters of Swann and D'mour are so tired and flat because they are so obviously world weary, at least that is my take on the characters. How else should Kevin have played Swann ?? Especially since Swann so willingly gives up his life. As for the followers, it specifically says in the film "You are all sheep... but I'm not your Shepherd...". Nix was always focused on Swann.
Like most of Barkers work, he has a structured mythology, and the commentary Barker gives shows that he is at least partly tutored in show level magic. And to anyone familiar with occult works, even from a Crowley-ian viewpoint, Barker has some schooling in that side of things.
In part, I suspect Barker is playing to a small audience who "know"... but he has proven his ability to be popular with films, so I suspect that Barker does what he wants, and he is the arbiter of his own work.
Works well if you are in on the "joke"... but it also works well just as great entertainment. Thats the ambiguity and the entertainment value which is Clive Barker.
Rating:
Summary: if you lke hellraiser 1 and 2 youll love this!
Review: i think this is the most under rated movie in the world. it didnt get alot of good reviews by the so called experts and when i saw it in the theater alot of people walked out in the middle of it, these are the shallow people that dont know horror. heres my opinion on this movie, the story is a masterpiece, the characters rule, and nix could destroy jason, michael meyers, freddy krueger, and even pinhead all at one time. this movie proves once again that there is no horror and no imagination without clive barker, i also suggest you get the directors cut if its available, the extra footage will help you understand whats going on in some parts. the story is basicly about an evil illusionist named nix who is set to destroy the world and is killed by his apprentice and buried. years later another one of nixs apprentaces learned how to raise nix from the dead and goes on a killing spree in order to find out where nix is buried, theres alot more but thats all im going to explain, i dont wanna give anything away, just buy, youll love it.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the better Barker films read if you haven't seen film
Review: I want to start off my review by saying that I did enjoy this movie, but it had some problems that prevented me from liking it even more. I've seen five Clive Barker movies and Lord of Illusions was the second best behind the excellent Candyman. Basically, Lord of Illusions is about a man named Phillip Swann (Kevin J. O' Connor) who kills his teacher, a prophet with incredible powers named Nix, places an iron mask over his face (sound familiar?) and buries him in the Mojave Desert. The movie skips thirteen years later and we are introduced to private detective Harry D'amour (Scott Bakula) who is no stranger to the supernatural. He ends up getting involved in a case that deals with Nix and the possibility that he has been resurrected and has plans to destroy the world.There's some nice positives in the movie. The best parts are definitely the fifteen minute prologue, the sword illusion scene, and the twenty minute conclusion. All those scenes were full of suspense and visual effects, which is another positive in this film. Some examples of good special effects: a man puts his hand in another man's temple, a skeleton is covered with sand and then turns into a man, a fire chases after a man, a hole opens to the center of the Earth, etc., etc. The plot isn't bad either. The fact that a demon might have been resurrected is creepy, especially if you were the one that killed him. Now to the bad parts. The acting, for one thing. It's rather poor. Famke Janssen is the best as Dorothea, Swann' wife, but even she strays off a bit sometimes. Scott Bakula seemed a little bit miscast as the hero. Another problem was the fact that throughout the film there is talk of the possibility that Nix is back from the dead and is waiting for the perfect moment to exact his vengeance. But by the time this movie is nearly 3/4 through (the movie's running time is 104 minutes) we learn that Nix hasn't been resurrected at all. He's still dead as a doorknob. That's kind of disappointing considering that all the previous suspense after the introduction was negated by the fact that Nix didn't have anything to do with the creepy things happening. Then there's the 13 year jump in the film. One of Nix's disciples said it took him that long to learn how to resurrect Nix, yet when the resurrection scene finally arrives he doesn't seem to do anything but pull the iron mask off of Nix. Overall, this is a pretty good film. If you don't the mind the problems I listed then you should have a fun and entertaining time with this movie. I highly recommend that you watch Candyman, too.
Rating:
Summary: his books are much much better
Review: If you like this film (and even if you dont) you should know that Clive writes the most involving and well thought out plots i have ever read. His books achieve a level of reader involvement that the movies just dont live up to. this movie is based on a short story in one of the books of blood, but my favourite book is Imagica.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent DVD Presentation
Review: If you're a fan of Mr. Barker's work then by all means check out this DVD. MGM has done an admirable job. The transfer is flawless--rich colors, enveloping sound. Barker's audio commentary is cool although it sounded as if he was suffering with a head cold.
Rating:
Summary: So Much Suffering.....
Review: Initially I saw this film when it was first released and had mixed feelings about it.
I have been reading Barker since I was eleven years old he is to me unequaled in his writing.
There is simply noone that I have come across then or now who has the depth to create such lore with ease and abandonment as he does.
What seals it for me is that his stories and ideas and monsters and people all the things he writes and paints never focus on one specific emotion or notion for that matter.
Nothing is just good or evil.
Barker knows that there are many avenues to explore which is probally why his movies never translate well to the screen.
Lord of Illusions works as well as it does because one he had his hands all over it ie.screenplay direction etc.
and two because he actually found actors who could grasp the idea of the world and people he was trying to create.
I watched this film for the 1st time in 9 years last night and was blown away.
Scott Bakula has got to be one of the most underrated actors alive.
The man can carry a film just as well as a one hour tele drama..easy.
He is very beleivable as private dick Harry D'Amour a man trying to understand the evil that men do in the world to the world etc.
The whole concept of magic and illusions and otherwordly forces and the power one can hold over someone desperate enough to beleive in them unfolds across the screen like white lightning.
If you have a taste for the macabre and are not easily swayed or impressed by the onslaught of recent fright films like the Ring or Gothika or the hundreds of others that followed in the superior Sixth Sense then this might actually be a movie you should look into.
A good double feature would be Lord of Illusions and Angel Heart two very good films in general but the fact that they use such horrific mediums to really drive home their points is what really makes them both unsettling to watch.
Make sure that you get the unrated directors cut of both though.
Rating: 
Summary: This will do nothing for Clive Barker's career
Review: Like any other modern horror movie, starts out good but turns into a pile of trash. This movie will do nothing for Clive Barker fans. Its only the good beginning and spellbinding story that saves it from getting one star.
Rating:
Summary: Clive Barker's New Masterpiece: LORD OF ILLUSIONS
Review: LORD OF ILLUSIONS is another great film by horrormaster Clive Barker. The story concerns a private detective named Harry D'Amour who goes to L.A. in order to track down a man who is involved in an insurance scandal, and accidentally finds himself involved with solving the murder of popular magician Phillip Swann, a man who really possessed magic powers. There is plenty of suspense, character development, and of course, the complimentay graphic violence. I advise everyone to find the Unrated Directors Cut Version, if you can.
|
