"Wounded" DVD by Robert Smith
Suggested Retail USD$34.95
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"Wounded", Robert Smith's DVD, teaches more methods of bleeding than you probably thought possible, each with their own qualities, each with their own workings, and all designed to inspire shock and more from spectators... and they will.

I have to confess I wasn't really looking forward to this one all that much. I figured it was going to be one of two things: some moron discovered "the graft" after all these years or some moron discovered an imperceptible way to cut themselves. Watching the demo of this, those were the first two methods I recognized. Then I got it, popped it in, and began laughing outloud.

"Wounded" isn't a method or two: it's an encyclopedic effort of how to bleed at will. Only in magic would stigmata and tears of blood have such a varied methodology that an in-depth revelation of those methods would fill up a disc.

I'll cut to the chase when it comes to the effects here: they are all about producing stigmata (you know, the whole bleeding-from-the-palms thing) with a side jaunt to crying blood (What? No crown of thorns?) and stopping your pulse. So if you're interested in bleeding, "Wounded" is for you.

With so many methods presented, there's bound to be one you like (and probably more you don't like). Smith did yeoman's work here: he teaches three different ways of producing bleeding palms (as luck would have it, my favorite was also the simplest to execute), plus there's an ebook extract with three more methods, giving you six ways of making the blood flow, then he teaches other similar effects on top of it. At the end, you've got more methods and effects here than you can shake a stick at.

By the end of this disc, despite my original misgivings, "Wounded" won me over. If this is something you want to do -- bleed, shock people, probably inspire regurgitation of yesterday's taco -- look no further.

I'll only touch lightly on a couple of things, just so you know what you're getting into.

Some of the methods require things you're not likely to know about and you'll need to hunt them down. Some you can pick up at a local store, others I can pretty much guarantee you'll be going online to track down. None of it is particularly hard to get hold of, and most of it is cheap. Smith sells a kit with everything in it for about $40 but I honestly don't recommend it unless it's your last resort to get the supplies; get the disc first, decide on which method (or methods) you like, and then track down the stuff you need. Why spend $40 when the only thing you want is under you kitchen sink?

Still, if you have problems locating the supplies you need, the kit has what you need. Just know that some of this is going to require some work to obtain and can't be done "out of the box".

Overall, "Wounded" is a neat collection for producing stigmata and related effects that, if you're into shock or geek, belongs in your hot little soon-to-be-bleeding hands. It's a fine work.

"Wounded" DVD by Robert Smith
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Material: 10
Blood, blood and more blood. Blood appearing from the palms of the hands, cuts appearing from nowhere, tears of blood... You name your blood flow and it's here, along with some very slick ways of making it all happen. If this is your thing, then this is for you.

Practicality: 10
Most involve some small set-ups (a couple are a little more involved), but this isn't something you'd do over drinks or dinner anyway. Considering the uses, the set-ups and resets and the like are really minor, making this practical by design.

Quality of Production: 8
The video needs a little help with the lighting now and again, and the sound drops off from time to time, but it's annoying more than anything else and not that great a hindrance to learning the material.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Smith does an excellent job of teaching his material, covering all the bases admirably.

Presentation: 10
It's all in what you do with it (and when you do it) but Smith's methods will deliver the shock value, that's for sure.


Shane

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