LORD OF ILLUSIONS (1995)
Starring Scott Bakula and Kevin O'Connor
Pretty interesting Barker film, better than "Nightbreed" but not quite up to par with "Hellraiser." Bakula plays a New York private eye specializing in supernatural cases -- he's the same noir-esque Bogie-style character who turns up in many of Barker's written stories. "Private Eye in Brooklyn Exorcism Trauma," heads one newspaper headline about him. He's hired by a gorgeous wife (Famke Janssen of "Goldeneye" fame) to investigate a fanatic cult, members of whom are waiting for the resurrection of their sadistic leader Nix (Daniel von Bargen). The cult is threatening her husband, a world-famous magician with the typical Barker-esque name of "Swann". Played by O'Connor, he's one of the guru's former followers.
Swann and his wife betrayed Nix, burying him forever (they had hoped) and are now more than a little worried that this powerful, evil leader is about to return. He's also been using real magic to accomplish his on-stage antics. It's your typical occult ride from Barker, who brings up many of the themes and ideas of the works of Aleister Crowley, from whom one can assume Barker garners much of his overall inspiration.
Unfortunately, like much of this writer/director's work, the film suffers from too much pretentiousness. Barker likes to believe that his work is somehow something more than just schlock—which it isn't. But the awesome effects during the film's finish more than make up for these usual Barker flaws. Look for the unrated director's cut for maximum gore.