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Lord of Illusions
During a routine case in L.A., NY private investigator Harry D'Amour stumbles over members of a fanatic cult who are preparing for the resurrection of their leader Nix, a powerful magician who was killed 13 years earlier.
1995 · Directed by Clive Barker · 109 min · Horror · Fantasy · Drama · Screenplay in the scene database · 4 frames
Tagline
Prepare for the coming.
Plot
In the Mojave Desert in 1982, a man named William Nix, also calling himself "The Puritan", has gathered a cult of disciples in an old house. Nix wields real magic and plans to sacrifice a girl, telling his followers he will save the world and grant them wisdom. A group of former cult members, including Philip Swann and Caspar Quaid, arrive to stop him. In the confrontation, Nix's assistant Butterfield escapes. Philip is attacked magically by Nix, but the kidnapped girl shoots Nix through the heart with Swann's gun, enabling the renegade cultists to overcome Nix. Swann fastens an ironwork mask over Nix's head in order to "bind" him and his power. They then bury him in an unmarked grave.
Thirteen years later, in New York City, occult-specializing private detective Harry D'Amour has been shaken by an exorcism case. He accepts a case of insurance fraud in Los Angeles, hoping the experience will be akin to a paid vacation. During his investigation, D'Amour happens upon Quaid, now working as a fortune teller, being attacked by Butterfield and Ray Miller, a man possessing great strength. Butterfield and Miller escape. As he dies from multiple stab wounds, Quaid reads D'Amour's palm, seeing it is his destiny to "walk the line between Heaven and Hell." He warns that the Puritan is coming, then dies.
Philip, now a famous stage illusionist, lives in a Beverly Hills mansion with his wife, Dorothea. Philip believes Quaid was killed by Nix's loyalists. Before he can leave Los Angeles, D'Amour is hired by Dorothea, who read about him in the newspaper story about Quaid and wants him to protect her husband. D'Amour agrees to investigate if Quaid's killers are targeting Phillip, and Dorothea invites him to his next magic show. A new illusion goes wrong, and Philip is killed on stage, stabbed by multiple swords. Investigating backstage, D'Amour is attacked by Butterfield and Miller, killing the latter in self-defense while Butterfield escapes. The next day, D'Amour goes to the Magic Castle. After getting into the Repository, a room supposedly containing every magic secret known to man, D'Amour discovers Philip's "illusions" involved real magic he learned from Nix.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: Clive Barker
- Cinematography: Rohn Schmidt
- Edited by: Alan Baumgarten
- Music: Simon Boswell
- Production design: Steve Hardie
- Produced by: Clive Barker, JoAnne Sellar
Cast
- Scott Bakula as Harry D'Amour
- Kevin J. O'Connor as Philip Swann
- Famke Janssen as Dorothea Swann
- Joel Swetow as Valentin
- Daniel von Bargen as Nix
- Barry Del Sherman as Butterfield
- Joseph Latimore as Caspar Quaid
- Sheila Tousey as Jennifer Desiderio
- Vincent Schiavelli as Vinovich
- Ashley Tesoro as Young Dorothea
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: United Artists, Seraphim Films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Box office: $13,294,594
- Themes: supernatural, fanatic, resurrection, occult, sect, wizard
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