> Til Death Do Us Part By Jim Critchlow

Not going to fool anyone Report this review
Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 2nd, 2010
I have a policy of never purchasing an effect that the creator refuses to show any part of it in the demo video. While they may tout the effect as "The most powerful effect you'll ever perform" or "The closer you've been waiting for", if they don't show it in the video that usually means it's so easy to figure out you can't even watch it once and be amazed. When I saw "Til Death Do Us Part", the demo video showed nothing more than glowing praise for how powerful it was. I went against my policy and bought it anyway.

I should have stuck with policy.

Even the back of the box doesn't tell you anything about the effect other than how incredibly powerful it is. Inside you find 10 old photographs of married couples, an envelope, the teaching DVD and the "gimmick". The routine takes about 5 minutes to perform from start to finish, and if you amaze anyone with it you've found the perfect audience for a D'Lite performance as a closer.

Hand the spectator a black envelope to keep for later. Then you show the spectator the photographs while letting them decide which one "gives off strong negative emotions". If they can't pick the right one, then do what they do on the video and magician's force them into it (it's so painfully obvious too). Tell this spooky tale about how the wife killed the husband and ask them to tear the photograph in half. She ripped out his throat, so tell them to tear the husband's photo in half again. Have them arrange the pieces on the table and then tell them to open the envelope.

The pieces match! Kind of.

Even in the demo video, the pieces do not match perfectly. They're close, but it's not like "Holy cow! It's the same!" It's more like "Yep, that's pretty much how you'd tear a photograph twice". This isn't amazing to anyone, and the storyline isn't compelling enough to make it seem remotely spooky. They call this a mentalism routine, but there's nothing mental about it. I think even Derrin Brown would flop with this one.

If you're doing this at a Halloween party with the right ambiance you might get a "Huh, that was weird" kind of reaction, but it's not "an effect that will stay with the spectator long after it's over" or anything.

I will give Alakazam points for including the PDF files here so you can make as many "gimmicks" as you need later on, but it's a minor thing for an effect of this price. I can pretty much guarantee you've already figured out how to do this and create this effect on your own just from reading my description. And now you know why they wouldn't show any of the performance online. Save your money and skip this one.

Report this comment
swarlock
Sep 05th 2020 3:15pm
I think you're correct that this effect isn't strong as a magical effect. In Bizarre magic you have three common reactions screams, speechless, and that's weird. This fits into the that's weird category because this is more of a performance pice, you really need let your spectator believe in the story or this effect won't do well. In my opinion this is more of a performance peace than a magical effect.

Report this comment
swarlock
Sep 05th 2020 3:17pm
*note I didn't complete my comment so ignore that

I think you're correct that this effect isn't strong as a magical effect. In Bizarre magic you have three common reactions screams, speechless, and that's weird. Plus you either categorize those effects with either a shocker or a performance. This fits into the that's weird category because this is more of a performance piece, you really need let your spectator believe in the story or this effect won't do well.

Report this comment
goldeneddie
Jul 26th 2021 3:55am
What a thorough, helpful review. Thank you. As customers we need to boycott products that refuse to show any part of the performance. Honestly, what's the issue - that someone could work it out if they watched the performance? If that's true, then it's clearly not very good is it? I'm with you on this - stick to your principles and don't get duped Brother, many of us share your point of view!

Add a comment
Bestsellers
See all bestsellers



Act Builder beta



     Get To Know Us

     Shipping and Store Policies

     Need Help?

Home | About Penguin Magic | The Penguin Foundation

Mail orders: Penguin Magic, 3299 Monier Circle, Unit A, Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
Call us at 800-880-2592 | International Dial: +1 707-317-6733

© 2002-2023 Penguin Magic. All Rights Reserved.
We hope you found the magic tricks you were looking for!