BAKULA IS DRACULA! Just kidding. That does seem like a no brainer that unfortunately we never got. I guess there is still time. The guy isnât dead yet.Â
Lord of Illusions was written and directed by Clive Barker, and was his follow up feature to the awesome and underrated Nightbreed. This supernatural noir stars Scott Bakula as private dick Harry D'Amour, who comes to L.A. for a simple surveillance job but stumbles across a much larger and apocalyptic plot to resurrect a magical cult leader named Nix who is determined to bring upon the end of the world. Lucky for Harry and for us, this plot includes Hall of Fame smoke Famke Janssen in her first movie role. Famke is married to master illusionist Philip Swann, who was Nixâs protege before he turned on him. Swann is basically a fusion of David Copperfield and David Blaine but, like Nix, his illusions are actually magic. Swann, haunted by the thought of Nixâs eventual return, takes a rather drastic step to throw anyone off his scent. This causes Harry to dig deeper into the mystery behind Swannâs past....and sleep with his wife.Â
Lord of Illusions is a great little horror wrapped in a sweet mid-90â˛s glow. Bakula must have written into in his contract that he would have no less than two scenes where his shirt was optional. He delivered his lines as if he was at a table read and it was the first time heâd seen them. Oddly enough, it worked. The only thing I had trouble getting past was the character Nix. It wasnât because he was a badly written or acted, but because he was the same actor that played George Costanza's apathetic boss Mr. Kruger. Seeing him as this all-powerful warlock was just a bit of a stretch. Â
We rate Lord of Illusions 32 rabbits out of 40.
