Skullduggery Dvd

Luke Jermay

(Based on 1 review)
This is the first time Luke has allowed any of his work to appear on film, and we are sure it will prove to be a real treat for magic lovers. This DVD features material from 7 Deceptions and brand new developments of effects from 7 Deceptions as well as some unpublished material.

Contents Include:

For Andruzzi:
Stop your own pulse...with no gimmicks! And-stop a spectator's pulse without even touching them! No stooges, confirmed by another audience member, this is the real work!

A Twisted Palm:
During a palm reading, the lines on the spectator's palm apparently move and twist on their own. A stunning combination of linguistics, psychology and neurology.

The 7th Deception:
A new version of an effect that saw print in 7 Deceptions. Mixing suggestion and magic to achieve a powerful and touching moment as well as a strong performance piece of mentalism. This is the way Luke uses this effect in every show.

And If I fall:
A coin disappears from the performers hand reappearing in the closed fist of a spectator.

Synchronized:
A spectator thinks of a time, another spectator amazingly set the hands of a face down watch to the very time thought of by the first spectator.

A Darker Dai:
A brand new version of an effect that first saw print in 7 Deceptions. Five objects are displayed a spectator is asked to simply cast a shadow over one of the five. While the performers back is turned. Upon turning back around the performer correctly senses which of the objects was selected. All wrapped in a neat story making a wonderful performance piece of strong mentalism.

The Burst Bubble Suggestion:
A versatile method of causing a spectator to actually feel their thought "pop" out of their mind and into the mind of the performer.

All performed in a real world setting and then explained in detail

Reviews

Brad Henderson

Official Reviewer

Sep 24, 2004

Ok, It's been a LONG time since my last review. I feel bad about it, but I was on the road. And that's a good thing. See, when Jermay's Building Blocks came out, I was (to be honest) unimpressed. I thought to myself, "This has some great ideas, but they won't work. At least, they won't work the way they are described."

Then I was sent Skullduggery to review. I watched the tape and became convinced that the material WILL work. However, Luke's skills in communicating via the written word are insufficient to address the methods required to "pull off" this material. Further, there were times when reading Building Blocks when I thought, "You know, this MIGHT work, but not for the reasons he says it does." Watching Jermay in action, one can glean how this stuff is meant to work, and I think he does a pretty good job of getting out all the details in a conversational manner. Nevertheless, one learns a lot from watching the performances. They are critical to understanding the actual methods in play.

Now, what does my little summer tour have to do with this?

Well, I tried out some of this stuff to make sure it worked. And it does. There is one piece on here which will FREAK people out. However, it will not work on everyone. That's ok. Right person, right time and you have a miracle.

Miracles are worth the gamble.

So, if you have Building Blocks, I think you need this in order to truly understand what Mr. Jermay was trying to convey.

If you enjoy effects where the method is psychological, then you really should consider adding this resource to your study materials.

If you crave effects which can profoundly impact your audiences, then this DVD will prove a great asset.

If you are looking for sleight free, easy tricks to carry around impromptu, this is NOT for you. These effects take work and practice. It will be just as difficult to learn to pull off these stunts as it is to execute a FLAWLESS double lift, maybe even more so. The lift can become technically flawless with concentrated practice. However, the techniques explained in Skullduggery require a confidence and performance maturity that cannot be cultivated in front of the practice mirror alone. Of course, to "execute" a flawless double for real people requires the same dedication.

This material takes work.

But it is there for those serious to cultivate the requisite skills.

Good to great material. Adequately taught. Adequate production value. Overall I give it a good 3.5 stars. Remember, as I posted somewhere on here, I think a 3 is average, and not in a bad way. This is better than average. Had the production and instructional values been higher this could EASILY earn a 4 or 5 star rating.
(Top ▲)