History Film / LordOfIllusions

* FatBastard: Nix is a little hefty, at least as a human. he is introduced wearing a t-shirt that his stomach sticks out from under, and is a murderous nut job with delusions of grandeur.

* {{Expy}}: Nix and his cult take some cues from UsefulNotes/CharlesManson and his Family, such as living in a run-down compound in a Californian desert, and committing murders at the behest of a charismatic madman. Harry even compares the cult to Mansons' at one point.

* SealedEvilInACan: The binding that should have killed Nix doesn't quite do the job, but it does keep him pent up for thirteen years.

''Lord of Illusions'' is a 1995 movie directed by Creator/CliveBarker, based on his own short story "Literature/TheLastIllusion". A [[FantasticNoir blend of noir and horror]], the story opens in the early 80s at a run-down cult compound in the Mojave Desert. Nix (Daniel von Bargen), the leader who calls himself "the Puritan," wields magical powers he promises to share with his enthralled followers. Unfortunately for him, some of the group decide Nix has gone too far by kidnapping a young girl. Led by Nix's prize pupil Philip Swann (Creator/KevinJOConnor), the rebels manage to overpower and subdue him. They leave him bound in an iron mask and buried deep under the sands of the Mojave, with the loyal followers scattered to the winds.

* SexySurfacingShot: There's a scene with Dorothea coming out of a swimming pool while wearing a swimsuit with AbsoluteCleavage.

* AlmostDeadGuy: Quaid survives just long enough to warn Harry of Nix's impending resurrection

** The self-mutilations that Nix's cultists have inflicted on themselves in anticipation of his ressurection.

* CameBackWrong: Nix was never a good guy to begin with -- he originally called himself "the Puritan" and told his followers that they were meant to "cleanse the world" -- but his claim that he had originally "wanted to be a god, (but) changed his mind" suggests that he initially had (in his mind) good intentions, and saw this as a righteous task of purification. His time in the grave, however, transformed this into a desire to destroy the world completely. Whether this was due to being [[AndIMustScream trapped in the]] [[GoMadFromTheIsolation earth for 13 years]], his new un-dead state, or a corruption caused either by the process of "resurrection" or by something on the other side of death which twisted and warped Nix's mind (possibly even now controlling him), is unclear.

* MagiciansAreWizards: Philip Swann passed off his real magic as stage illusions, and explains to the man investigating his "suicide" that "Illusionists get Vegas contracts. Wizards get burned at the stake." (A more modern reaction might get Swann strapped to a lab table rather than tied to a stake, but either fear would likely seem rational given that Swann's teacher Nix was a StrawNihilist and an OmnicidalManiac. In the original story, Swann pretended to be a fake simply as a TakeThat to the infernal powers he bargained with.)

* MysteriousBacker: Loomis, the client who first sends Harry out to L.A. (albeit on an unrelated case) and seems to have some kind of history with him. Billy Inferno also provides aide to Harry in a combat cryptic fashion.

* InformedAttribute: Butterfield claims that Swann and Quaid's friend Maureen Pimm is dead and that she "knew the Puritan was coming home" (possibly implying she committed suicide), but this isn't brought up again, and Pimm's friends (who would have kept in relatively close contact with her and also had access to news sources) have no knowledge or awareness of this. Butterfield also claims that Jennifer Desderio has disappeared, when Harry is able to find out where she is relatively easily, making it somewhat ambiguous as to Pimm is really dead, or Butterfield simply believed she was and/or was trying to intimidate Quaid by mentioning this.
* InsistentTerminology: Swann's assistant Valentin is adamant that Harry understand his boss is an ''illusionist'' - he does ''not'' perform real magic.

* MagiciansAreWizards: Philip Swann passed off his real magic as stage illusions. He explains to the man investigating his "suicide" that "Illusionists get Vegas contracts. Wizards get burned at the stake". (In modern-day America?) But consider that his teacher Nix was a StrawNihilist and an OmnicidalManiac. In the original story, Swann pretended to be a fake simply as a TakeThat to the infernal powers he bargained with.

* PureIsNotGood: Nix sermons to his followers that he has been named "the Puritan" by holy decree. [[spoiler:They get to find out just how purely evil this guy is when he kills his loyal minions for being mindless slaves not worthy of a being as 'perfect' as him.]]

* TheSociopath: Nix. A pure evil sorcerer bent on turning the world into a living cemetery, considers people "just flesh" [[spoiler: and also kills all of his own minions for having him "waited like lambs".]]

* BittersweetEnding; [[spoiler: Dorothea is rescued by D'Amour. Nix and his cultists are gone once and for all. However Swann sacrificed himself for the love of Dorothea and his body has also been dragged in the grave along with Nix.]]

* CameBackWrong: While Nix was never a good guy to begin with he originally called himself the puritan and told his followers that they were meant to cleanse the world. He would also later claims that he wanted to be a god but then changed his mind. This implies that he originally had (in his mind) good intentions for the world and that he was performing a righteous task by cleansing it but his time spent "dead" or in the grave changed that to where he wanted to destroy the world and kill everyone. what changed his outlook isn't clear but may have been due to being [[AndIMustScream trapped in the]] [[GoMadFromTheIsolation earth for 13 years]], his new un-dead state or the method which brought him back corrupted him, or something on the other side of death twisted and warped his views that he's either following or being controlled by.

* KnifeNut: Butterfield's WeaponOfChoice is a sharp switchblade knife.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: Harry feels that Swann wasted his ability to do real magic by using it simply for stage performances rather than solving the worlds problems.

* FilmOfTheBook

* TheSociopath: Nix. A pure evil sorcerer bent on turning the world into a living cemetary, considers people "just flesh" [[spoiler: and also kills all of his own minions for having him "waited like lambs".]]

* UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler:Nix's cult have spent the better part of 15 years trying to revive him from his imprisonment in the afterlife. Upon his resurrection he murders them all for having proven themselves unworthy of him.]]

* TheXOfY: ''Lord of Illusions''