Podcasts
[Horror Queers Podcast] Cults, VPL and Famke in Clive Barker’s ‘Lord of Illusions’
The Third Eye is the Butthole of the Face.
After kicking off Pride Month with a double feature of the first (Hellbent) and latest (Killer Unicorn) gay slasher films, we’re marching on with an analysis of Clive Barker‘s 1995 cult classic Lord of Illusions, which was adapted from his own short story “The Last Illusion” in his Books of Blood.
In the film, private eye Harry D’Amour (Scott Bakula) travels to Los Angeles and meets with a new client, Dorothea Swann (Famke Janssen). Swann reveals that she and her husband — famed magician Philip Swann (Kevin J. O’Connor) — have been targeted by a religious cult experimenting with reincarnation. After Philip dies on stage in the midst of a dangerous trick, D’Amour must struggle to protect Dorothea from the ruthless cult members and their newly reanimated religious leader, Nix (Daniel Von Bargen).
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Episode 77 – Lord of Illusions (1995)
Continuing our Pride Month marathon, we’re checking in with Clive Barker’s third (and final directorial effort Lord of Illusions, which features the first (and only) live-action appearance of Barker’s recurring protagonist Harry D’Amour (Scott Bakula).
Topics up for discussion include: forehead buttholes, studio interference leading to a Director’s Cut, mid-’90s special effects, magic vs. illusion and queer henchman Butterfield’s Visible Penis Line.
Also, Trace lauds everything cult-related in the film, but struggles with all of the noir elements. Joe gushes over all things Famke Janssen. And both of us praise Barker for the unapologetic queerness that he injects into so much of his work, paving the way for queer horror outlets like us.
Cross out Lord of Illusions!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re going back to the ’80s to check out a film with….positive queer representation? That’s right, it’s Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (aka Night Warning)!
– Joe & Trace
P.S. Check out last month’s article on 1986’s extremely upsetting In a Glass Cage. You can find all of the old articles here.
P.P.S. If you subscribe to our Patreon you can listen to bonus episodes! Since every new horror release has been delayed, we decided to go with a creature feature theme this month, so you can listen to full-length episodes on Deep Rising and Arachnophobia, as well as an audio commentary on Snakes on a Plane!
Coming Soon & Now Showing is a monthly series on Halloweenies that catches up on the latest horror headlines and round robins capsule reviews of new and old horrors.
This month, Michael Roffman and Justin Gerber discuss the blockbuster weekend involving Backrooms and Obsession. They also brush on some franchise news and dust off oldies for the first time: 1987’s Dead of Winter and 1977’s False Face.
Stream the episode below. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, Alien, and the Universal Monsters.This year? Hellraiser!
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Re-Animator, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter, ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.