"Hyper-Bent-Elation" by Fooler Doolers
Suggested Retail USD$30.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Hyper-Bent-Elation", a new trick by Fooler Dooler and Daryl, is one of those great pieces of strangeness that is so visual and so different you'll have to get accustomed to spectators screaming for you to do it again.

I knew I was going to love this one because when it comes to magic using topology, well, I'm a nut-case about it. Hypercards, flexagons, hexaflexagons... you name it, count me in for it. But I didn't expect the reactions to be so strong from this one. Color me surprised, but, in hindsight, I guess I shouldn't be: the handling is simple and direct, the presentation generally pleasing, the visuals striking and the climax startling. Add that all together and you get a fine piece of magic.

The effect is simple when seen, but a bit hard to explain. It begins with two cards being chosen and signed from a deck. These two cards are then cut and folded and just generally mutilated into two hypercards, impossible objects that, logically cannot exist. When the hypercards are separated, it's seen that now those two impossible objects have become a hypercard with two faces and a hypercard with two backs.

This routine has it all. It's simple to do, the presentation is solid, the visuals capture attention and hold it, and the climax, with that unexpected transposition of the sides of the cards, generates every reaction you could ask for from shouts and screams to stunned silence and the dropping of jaws. You can't ask for more from a trick, let alone a card trick.

Now on the performance side of things, "Hyper-Bent-Elation" is very easy to do. While it makes use of common gaffed cards (which you'll burn through quickly; more can be purchased from almost any dealer), they are never suspected to be such and are given away at the end of the routine. Put the gaffs in your deck and you're ready to go with this one. As usual, this doesn't mean "Hyper-Bent-Elation" is for beginners; you'll need to get the presentation down pat to get the most out of this one. But being mechanically simple allows for more time and effort to be spent on that presentation, which is a major plus.

As for that presentation, the words and the visuals both get the job done perfectly. While I initially rebelled at the idea of giving away constructed hypercards (like a magic trick itself, once you've made one and given it someone, the secret is out and the hypercard loses its appeal), the revelation of the transposition at the climax makes it all work wonderfully. And I'd be re-miss if I don't mention that, with a little thought, this can be done with business cards or other bits of paper goods.

"Hyper-Bent-Elation" is my newest favorite toy, one of those things that goes out the door with me. It's a killer routine that looks great, grabs an audience's attention and doesn't let it go (even after the trick is over), and, when combined with other things like a "Card Warp" variant or the like, you have the makings of a powerful act all ready and waiting for you.

"Hyper-Bent-Elation" is a solid keeper.

"Hyper-Bent-Elation" by Fooler Doolers
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Practicality: 10
Put the gaffed cards into your deck and you're ready to go; it's that simple. And the gaffs? Don't worry about them at all: they end up being giveaways when you're done. This is definitely one of those "anytime anyplace" effects you hear so much about.

Workmanship: 10
The cards are printed on Bicycle stock by the USPCC so you know how that goes. You're supplied with enough cards for twelve performances, but the gaffs are common; you can buy more from pretty much any dealer.

Documentation: 10
The printed documentation is wonderfully thorough and loaded with large photos to help you learn the routine. The accompanying DVD picks up where the printed documentation ends, going into a variation or two and covering such things as getting the gaffs in play logically, all taught by Daryl. An excellent job here.

Effect: 10
This is one of those things that just knocks people for a loop. Going from one impossible object to two freezes brain cells in their tracks. Even I didn't think it would play this big.

Presentation: 10
The presentation is along the lines of a "warp" effect: you're doing some extra-dimensional stuff that ends up really weird. The hyper-cards get things going and then the strange transposition set things in concrete. The visuals and the verbal components all work together wonderfully.


Shane

Available direct from your favorite dealer. Dealers, please contact Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. toll-free at 1-800-853-7403 or visit Murphy's Magic Supplies website.