Do You Like Scary Movies? (Ebook) by Raphael Czaja $7.00
11 pages, 8 photos
Available at: http://www.lybrary.com/like-scary-movies-p-92394.html
Yes, I really, really like scary movies. I prefer monster movies to slasher flicks in which the villain is human. I refer to those films as torture porn. Despite this bias, I was eager to see what Raphael Czaja had to offer.
Mr. Czajas latest effect is a pasteboard homage to the Friday the 13th franchise.
The author does a good job of teaching the methods. The photos are clear and helpful.
I must provide a rough sketch of Mr. Czajas presentation, otherwise the magical action will make no sense.
The performer displays seven blue back cards. He turns the top card of the packet face-up and displays a Jack of Spades, representing a young boy. He turns the card face-down and deals it to the table.
He states that the young boy drowned in a lake and his body was never recovered. He turns the tabled card face-up and reveals that it now has blue waves on its face, signifying the dead boy. This card remains face-up on the table.
The camp was closed after the tragedy. According to legend, the boy didnt actually die. Rather, he lived in the woods, waiting to take his revenge. Twenty years later, some teenaged counselors re-opened the camp.
The performer turns the top card of the packet face-up, displaying another Jack of Spades, with a normal face. It represents the live boy. He turns the card face-down onto the packet.
He turns the packet over, displaying a Joker. It represents a drunken old codger who tried to warn the teenagers that they were doomed. The performer places the face-up Joker onto the face-down packet. The old man gets killed. The performer turns over the Joker, revealing that it now has a red back. Red = dead. The performer turns the Joker face-up and tables it.
The performer repeats this procedure with the next five court cards, which represent the doomed teenagers. He describes how they were killed in creatively gruesome ways. After displaying their red backs, the performer tables these cards face-up next to the Joker.
His work completed, the killer returned to the woods. The performer places the live Jack of Spades in his pocket, letting its face remain in view.
It turns out that the last victim was unconscious, not dead. The performer turns over that court card and displays its blue back. That girl escaped and informed the police that the boy from the legend was the murderer.
The performer removes the Jack of Spades from his pocket and taps the face-up court cards with it. He turns over each card to reveal the letters J-A-S-O-N printed on their backs.
A set-up and one common gaffed card are required.
Mr. Czajas presentation of the tale is creepily effective. But his visual depiction of the events and the methods he employs leave much to be desired.
The telling of the tale seems to be Mr. Czajas priority. Thus, the magic takes a subordinate role and feels like little more than a shaky visual aid designed to enhance the narrative.
I cannot fathom why the author chose to have two Jacks of Spades (Jason) in play at the same time. This poorly designed dramatic element doesnt support the narrative, it confuses it. How does the crowd make sense of this incongruity? I havent a clue.
Mr. Czaja could have used common methods to show the live boy, then the dead boy, then the live boy again, while ostensibly using only one Jack. That approach would have been clearer and more magical.
Im also opposed to him using the same method six times in a row to show that the cards backs have changed to red. This is an example of uniformity of action taken to an unattractive, suspicion-inducing extreme. Superior methods abound.
Finally, instead of presenting this effect as a packet trick, I would remove the requisite cards from the deck. This tactic subtly suggests that the cards are normal, which makes the subsequent developments more magical.
I adore scary movies and I really wanted to like this effect. But, for the aforementioned reasons, I cant endorse it.
Not Recommended