Lord of Illusions

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“A private detective gets more than he bargains for when he encounters Philip Swan, a performer whose amazing illusions captivate the world, but they are not really what everyone thinks.”

If it is one thing I know, it is that Clive Barker understands horror on a level so few directors get. And this movie is no exception.

Is everything we wee some sort of illusion? Or, for that matter, is death itself an illusion? Clive Barker takes this questions and tosses it into a detective movie that edges on the film noir. Each new piece of the puzzle takes you further down that path that makes you question your own reality.

Though a few of the effects that were pre-2000’s CGI lack some of the current finesse, the practical special effects are on point and lend seamlessly to the story.

The opening gives us a cult drawn to this mystical man “Nix” who tells them that he has been shown how death is the ultimate illusion and although it is not made clear yet, they have kidnapped a girl for some nefarious purpose. After Nix is defeated, the movie moves forward some span of time.

SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT

Though no specific deity is referenced, Nix’s power from the grave could be a reference to the Germanic folklore where Nix was a water spirit that drew his victims to its underwater home. Although it is earth, not water, this Nix plunges his victims into.

The other question is Dorthea’s loyalty to Swan. Was her love the fairytale style or just some form of oblugation?

Is love the true illusion?