9-26-08 Derren Brown – Waking Dead

Dead Man’s Party, hmm? Well, now, I know exactly how to respond to that.

WITH VIOLENCE!

I mean, with a video about zombies. And violence. But not real violence. I think.

You’ve probably seen this, but it’s so well done that it’s worth a second look. In 2005, British hypnotist and magician Derren Brown featured a mindfuck on his show Trick of the Mind (at least I think it was Trick of the Mind) that incredibly freaky and well-executed, not to mention complicated. Brown allegedly designed a video game, Waking Dead, that was similar to survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. The game was designed so that iw would put the prank’s mark into a trance, allowing Brown to take him to a set that was an exact duplicate of Waking Dead, complete with actors dressed up as moaning, shambling, pre-28 Days Later zombies.

In other words, the victim was (again, supposedly) playing a safe, if scary, video game one minute and the next suddenly found himself fighting real zombies. And then, at the height of the horror, he was put back in a trance and back in front of the game, so that it seemed like nothing more than a dream. Even if it was faked, and the victim was just an actor, it was great TV.

But if it was real, and if such a thing is possible, I’m not sure if I’d want to be the victim of such a prank. It’d either be one of the most exhilarating moments of my life… or I’d wind up in a schizophrenic ward somewhere. Knowing me, I could see that going either way.

Not work safe, mostly due to the hailstorm of “fuck”s from the poor victim when he finds himself inside the game (which is understandable, under the circumstances).

Thanks to Lord Yellow Dog for cluing me into this many moons, miles and homes ago.

Courtesy of Chicken0800.

(Sorry about the audio and video not syncing. Whoever this “Kontraband” guy was didn’t know what he was doing when he ripped the video)