Monster Mentalism

DOCC HILFORD
MONSTER MENTALISM (4 volumes)
JMOM Price: $126
Suggested Retail Price: $140

THE BLURB:
Docc Hilford is the crazed creator of the renowned Cassandra
Deck, author of over 30 books on mentalism and consultant
for a dozen television shows. He’s joined by professional
mentalist David Alexander to discuss the psychology behind
each piece. Monster Mentalism is an astonishing collection
of useable effects and the diabolical methods that have made
Docc Hilford infamous.

Volume 1 - Attack of Monster Mentalism
Contemporary mentalism can be as fun and exciting as a hot
night at a drive-in movie. The giant screen portrays regular
people, leading mundane lives until — DUNH DUNH DUNH — an
unexpected monstrous event influences their lives forever.
That’s what good mentalism can be — a MONSTER.

Time Will Tell — A Dunninger secret that rips the fabric of
time and space! See an unsuspecting spectator set his watch
to any time he wishes.
A primitive sketch of a watch face eerily has the same time!
RATED RT - for Real Time Mentalism™
Jailbait — From a feverish, perverted mind like Ed D. Wood
Jr., comes a tale of juvenile delinquency and miscreant
mentalists. Don’t miss the shocking end of this Glen or
Glenda story where an ordinary man receives the disgusting
ability to create “young girls” out of grown men everywhere.
On the job, on the golf course, at home . . . where will it
end?
Dead or Alive — Only the hand of a naive woman and the
chilled fingers of a ghost touch a fateful pendulum, yet its
movements tell a dozen details about the deceased; details
NEVER WRITTEN! Suddenly, a cry. It’s the dead man’s name!
WARNING: This routine teaches extremely strong subject
matter and should be attempted only by responsible
individuals.
T-4-2 — Out for a night of fun, two men secretly think of a
card. You’ll be on the edge of your seat when you watch a
mysterious stranger figuratively dissolve his victims with
his evil eye and disclose their secrets. Audiences
everywhere are stunned at the shocking conclusion of this
riveting routine.
Hard and Soft Drinks — The secret world of teenage drinking
parties, dancing, smoking and uncontrolled desire is our
backdrop. Only the intervention of someone who possesses a
psychological intelligence and an ability to manipulate
paper slips can save Angela’s drunken soul.
RATED RT - for Real Time Mentalism™
Uncle Klink — Harry Klink’s mad wife devised and executed a
murder so horrific that it made seasoned detectives queasy.
But Harry Klink was a true artist of escape. Freeing himself
from the grave, his water-soaked corpse is on a rampage of
revenge.You’ll see solid steel chains pass through human
flesh when Klink makes his presence known. Just keep telling
yourself, “It’s only a trick . . . it’s only a trick.”

Volume 2 - Curse of Monster Mentalism
Mentalism is killing people — but not in a good way. Death
by dullness. However a MONSTER is loose. A creature that’s
set on revenge. Vowing to destroy a contemporary tediousness
that’s growing like a cancer.
Tear away from the safety of your father’s mentalism. Give
yourself completely to the curse. Become one of us . . .

Nightmare Coin — Have you ever dreamt you walked past an
empty house at night? Have you ever been unable to wake up
from a nightmare? From the acclaimed book, Band of the Hand,
comes a chilling routine that turns a spectator’s ethereal
dream into a solid, spendable nightmare!
Rasputin’s Secret — The man who couldn’t die! Rasputin used
a palace as a playground. His unbridled lust and alcoholic
gluttony knew no bounds. His surreptitious secret, and a
special deck of cards, allowed him to know the past, the
present and the future. Information that freed him from the
mundane laws of society. Now you can possess his secret . .
. his life style . . . and his deck! IMPORTANT NOTICE: This
specialized deck still sells for $25. Tell no one.
For One to End — Do you believe that speaking certain words
can influence a person’s thoughts? One man did and used his
awesome ability to wreak havoc throughout a quiet seaside
resort. Psychic expert Banachek declares Docc Hilford’s
original technique to be, “. . . one of the strongest
psychological subtleties in print today!” See the unedited,
director’s cut.
40,000 Words — Like a brain that will not die, this hoax
will assault your senses with a barrage of clandestine
information. Psychically removing a mentally selected word
from a spectator’s brain will propose no problems, but can
it be done without destroying the surrounding living
tissue? You must see this!
Rhineless ESP — A quiet laboratory. A simple test between
two people. And a mental power so astounding that when
unleashed, it threatens to destroy an entire university. See
this with someone you love so they won’t have to suffer
through another night of the dreaded Two-Person-Code!
1 in 10 — See that man? He’s different. He makes remarkable
statements, boasts incredible intelligence and successfully
demonstrates his claims. But he has something normal men
don’t — the incredible power to erase your memory, leaving
only facts he wishes you to retain. Now even the simplest
card tricks hold dreadful intensity.
WARNING: This routine contains powerful concepts and is
intended for use by responsible individuals.

Volume 3 - Bride of Monster Mentalism
A dreadfully seductive beauty has emerged from the depths.
She begins by humorously entertaining her victims and leaves
them with an insatiable urge to believe in her awful
abilities. This bride is dangerous. She is MENTALISM!

A Letter from the Future — A mysterious man risks everything
to travel forward in time, gain information and prove he’s
returned to the past. But will he live long enough to see
his proof discovered? An interactive production that will
draw you into every choice that either proves or disproves
it’s not just science fiction.
Tridiction — When David was thrown out of a Tahoe casino, he
vowed revenge. A Satanic pact gives him a weird power,
enabling him to predict the outcome of dice, poker and 21!
Now they would pay, but what would be the price to David’s
soul?
WARNING: This technique is described for entertainment
purposes only!
Self Help — When evil genius Harry Lorayne created a
nightmare in his basement, he never dreamed that its chains
would be broken and the little terror re-trained to rip the
eyes out of innocent tradeshow attendees. But that’s what
happened. Come see the beast . . . if you dare.
In 1992, a group of young college students were forced to
participate in the following three unspeakable, psychic
experiments:
Projected Force — A subject was psychologically MADE to
think of a playing card without any being present. NOTICE:
This is the original method that became a famous UK
mentalist’s favorite.
Peek Book — Without a single book in view, another subject
was instructed to merely think of a word. She never wrote it
down, yet unconsciously made it evident to the experimenter.
An apparent “bookless-booktest.”
ESPed — A subject was finally instructed to draw any picture
he imagined on an index card. This experiment was conducted
across the room and the experimenter never touched the card,
yet he still had total knowledge of the design. Now the
experimenter becomes the experimented! The required props
for this full routine are as bare as the skeletons buried
behind the laboratory. It’s shockingly direct!
“This is the closest thing to real mind reading I’ve ever
seen!”
— Dr. John Randolph, Miskatonic University Dept. of
Psychology

Volume 4 - Night of Monster Mentalism
It’s a dark night when audiences scratch at your door . . .
demanding actual entertainment. A single taste of your new
mentalism isn’t enough. They need more! Following you on the
street, reaching through the hallways of restaurants or even
breaking thewindows of your own home, what will you do when
they cry for MONSTER MENTALISM?

Impossible Choice — What’s crazier than a mad street
performer who sneaks off to a deserted coffee shop,
transforms himself into a mutant half-mentalist,
half-jellyfish and attacks college kids with his razor-sharp
deck of death? Not much!
The Great Magazine Test — Like the pounding of your heart .
. . book tests . . . book tests. . . BOOK TESTS! A far as a
man can run, he can’t escape the unremitting beating of
ubiquitous book tests. There’s only two ways out — either a
razor to the wrists or the gentle love of a magazine. In
this test, two people share more than mere words; they share
a night of insanity.
Number of the Beast — The ancient Egyptians knew the
accurate, undying vibrations of numbers. The teachings of
the adepts, long hidden in the dusty tombs of the past, are
now revealed in a demonstration so direct, it’s impossible
to understand.
It’s Personal — Meeting new people is simple. But be
careful. The night is filled with strange people. When one
unsuspecting woman reads a personal ad, she finds that
someone knows more than her selected card, he knows
everything about her! A chilling example of depraved psychic
phenomena ripped from the pages of your local newspaper.
Killer on Tiber Street — A relentless, psychotic killer is
pursuing innocent prey. The police are entirely bewildered
because the slayer randomly selects his unsuspecting victims
from a telephone book. Only you can use psychic abilities to
discover the victim, decipher the address and prevent the
murder; but will you be too late?
Invisible Dice — In the world of fast gamblers and loose
women, there’s a secret tool that everyone desires. Rare and
beautiful, when possessed they ensure wealth, power and all
the luxuries that come along for the ride. Maybe you’ll find
the . . . INVISIBLE DICE!

MY COMMENTS:
Most readers know that I think Docc Hilford is one of the
few creators whose works I will buy sight unseen and
recommend. With this set, my opinion isn't any different.
However, this is definitely a set that may disappoint Docc
Hilford fans because his top material isn't included (e.g.,
Wizard's Manual, Cellular Mitosis, Cassandra Deck, etc.).
But let's be fair. Comparatively, with the exception of
Richard Osterlind, the big names of mentalism who've been
participating on L&L videos have also not released their
best material on DVD (Banachek and Maven, specifically).

Taken by itself, the material on this set is still superb.
And, as you would expect from this series, Docc's razor
sharp thinking and charismatic style are in full evidence.
If you don't care for the effects, the explanations and
discussions are a master class in mentalism and more than
worth the price of this set. I'm sure you'll find, at the
least, quite a few invaluable pieces of information that
you'll find worthy of your purchase, even if this doesn't
turn out to be your favorite set of mentalism DVDs.

The key to this is expectations. If you're buying this
because you want to see what the fuss with Docc Hilford is
all about or you're a fan wanting to see Docc Hilford
present his classic well-known material, you will definitely
not get that. On the other hand, if you look at it kind
of like a four DVD series of solid mentalism, classic
principles, and brilliant discussions of stagecraft,
presented by your host, the knowledgeable Docc Hilford,
you'll find it much more enjoyable and useful. Personally,
though I did feel initially let down because I had those
expectations, and though I do agree with many that the Docc
Hilford DVDs we'd like to see are yet to come, there are
more than enough pearls of wisdom here and that made
watching and purchasing this set quite worthwhile.