"Pure Filth" by David Regal
Suggested Retail USD$20.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"Pure Filth", a new effect from the ever-creative and ever-twisted mind of David Regal, takes the classic "Twins" plot to a new and shocking level, making this one of the best packet-tricks to come out in years.

'Course, I love Regal's stuff and I love good packet tricks, so I'm biased a bit. "Pure Filth", though, will win many a performer as easily as it does spectators.

The plot is typical of the "Twins", but Regal built more magic into it by getting rid of any suspicious moves (in a phase or two, there're no moves whatsoever) and adding a hilarious, interactive presentation to things ending with an unexpected climax.

The effect goes like this: the performer shows four cards, the King and Queen of Spades and the King and Queen of Diamonds. The cards are mixed so that a red queen and a black king are tabled while the black queen and the red king are held in the hand. A tap of the cards against each other and things have sorted themselves out: the red cards are on the table and the black cards are in the hand. This is repeated, this time with the cards magically moving very visually. The last time now, and things get really bizarre. This time, three of the four cards turn blank, with all the cards suddenly joined together onto a single card.

It's a gorgeous routine. Regal has put this together to be as clean in appearance as possible and he accomplished that goal: no moves are in evidence because Regal chose some ancient gaffs over the sleights usually associated with such a routine. That handling also allows for a startling visual phase that is completely unexpected, letting the gaffs do the work.

If it sounds like I'm high on the handling, it's because I am. I almost OD'd when it came to the presentation though which, as good as the effect's workings are, is the icing on the cake here.

The presentation revolves around two couple who, inadvertently, keep winding up with the wrong "partners" in a hotel and who somehow magically "straighten things out", eventually ending up all together in the same room. The entertainment here, though, comes from just where your audience's mind is: if they're at least at street level, this plays as clean as can be; if their minds are in the gutter, then this is one of the dirtiest little card tricks you can do and "Pure Filth" lives up to its title.

I've run into both audiences with this one and, regardless, it plays huge. "Pure Filth" looks just too impossible. But it's the most fun when the spectators are in that certain frame of mind. Let me be clear here: there is nothing at all adult or "blue" in Regal's presentation. The dirt comes from the spectators and what they are thinking and when they're thinking dirty, the entertainment value of this one goes way up (if that's even possible).

Okay, so "Pure Filth" has a great handling, great visuals, and a great presentation. What are the drawbacks? Well, there're two that are worth mentioning.

First, it's a packet trick with gaffed cards. That means ringing them in and dealing with examination will be issues for some. Honestly, this is not that big of an issue here; this is one time simply whipping out four cards from an envelope and going straight into the routine seems to be perfectly acceptable. You can use the old "pull them out of a deck" ploy, but it's not strictly needed here. As for examination problems, Regal makes grand use of that surprising climax to focus all attention on the one card that can be examined and the spectators snap at the bait; the gaffs go unnoticed. Still, if you're wary of that, you'll need to find your own way of working around it (a little thought will be needed, but not much -- there are countless ways of doing it and that climax card will give you all the misdirection you need).

Second, the handling relies on a ton of minor discrepancies. This puts off some of our number, though I personally revel in such things. In "Pure Filth", the discrepancies truly are slight and will go right by even the most attentive spectator. I mention this for what they call "informational purposes only"; I wouldn't worry about this part of "Pure Filth" unless it's a phobia for you.

So I said all of that to say this: "Pure Filth" is pure fun. It's visually appealing, presentationally entertaining, and shockingly unexpected magic. For magic with four pieces of pasteboards, that's not too bad at all.

"Pure Filth" by David Regal
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Practicality: 10
Bring the four cards out of your pocket and you're ready to go. The reset is very minor, as is the set-up. There are no angle issues to worry with. True enough, it's a packet trick so you have to deal with what that usually brings to the table, but with "Pure Filth" you don't have to excessively worry about those issues at all.

Workmanship: 10
The gaffs are printed on Bicycle stock and look great.

Documentation: 9
Regal does a great job here and the countless color photos help. There's a portion of the instructions that is worded a bit strangely, but it's easy enough to see what you need to do when. All in all, no problems here and a big thumbs-up for the attention to detail.

Effect: 10
"Pure Filth" plays huge... period. Regal builds the phases logically and magically and, when that climax hits, expect screams and laughs. This is great stuff.

Presentation: 10
Regal is hitting on all cylinders here. Visually, this is strong. Verbally, it's as entertaining as it gets. In many ways, this is the perfect presentation for "Twins".

Shane

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