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Psycho Quiz Prediction
Anthony Owen
Reviewed
by Marc Kerstein
Anthony Owen is well known as the Executive Producer behind Derren Brown’s TV
work and his effects are always well-received. Psycho Quiz Prediction certainly
doesn’t disappoint - the magician predicts the outcome of multiple fair
decisions made by a spectator, providing seemingly impossible foresight into
their personality in a fun and lighthearted way.
The effect is clean and direct. After studying a spectator, the performer writes
three separate predictions on the back of three business cards and gives these
to the participant to hold. The magician then reads out a short series of
multiple choice personality test questions listed in an issue of Cosomopolitan
magazine, to which the spectator responds with either A, B or C. Next, the
performer turns to the answer page in the magazine where the spectator converts
her answers into points before looking up the total for a personality reading.
She now turns over the predictions to find that the performer has accurately
foreseen her personality reading, the exact total, and finally the individual
question scores, thus proving the magician accurately knew the choices she would
make from the very beginning.
You receive the required gimmick as well as a link to a download of the
instructions. Whilst you don’t receive a copy of the magazine, a UK based source
is helpfully provided to purchase one for a fairly low cost.
I found the gimmick to be very well made and the instructions claim that it
should last for hundreds of performances which I’d certainly imagine to be true.
Some work is required to install the gimmick into the magazine but the
instructions make this simple, and the hard work definitely pays off. The effect
is fooling and the gimmick is convincing to the point that even regular readers
of Cosmopolitan magazine would be unable to spot it. Anthony has also cleverly
removed any memory work from the trick and made it simple to perform.
The effect doesn’t require any reset making it instantly performable for another
group and ideal for walk-around performances. The gaffed magazine is also not
physically examinable, although if handled correctly there should be little
desire for the spectator to do so. Suitable for both stage and close-up
environments, Psycho Quiz Prediction would appeal to the modern mentalist
looking for a killer effect with an innocent, everyday magazine.
Available from www.tvmagic.co.uk
© Marc Kerstein, February 2014