Review of Lord of Illusions (1995) by Ed Fucking H — 22 Jan 2011

If ever I wanted to convince someone that Clive Barker is over-rated, I'd use this movie as exhibit A. It starts with a compelling premise, but the rest of the movie is disappointing. Seeing as this is a show about sorcery and real magic, shouldn't it actually display more of it? It seems limited to producing hallucinations, levitating, creating unconvincing illusions, and being bizarrely unkillable.

Where's the wizards fighting with fire and lightning? How about Harry Potter-esque transfigurations and charms? Instead, the whole movie is a cliche private detective story with cliche sex scenes and mediocre acting.

Scott Bakula is not convincingly hard-boiled, and the bad guys just seem more like annoying losers than dangerous criminals. Only just watchable, not scary or thrilling.