Criss Angel: Mindfreak | StarWorld | 06.27.2004

Flipping through channels nearing daybreak this morning, something caught my eye. It was this creature (okay so it was human) covered entirely in black lycra coming out from the stomach of a man who was held in a metal contraption. Weird is too mild a word to describe the antics of Criss Angel, combination illusionist and daredevil. He is bizarre.

Looking like Bret Michaels heavily influenced by Marilyn Manson, Criss Angel pays homage to Harry Houdini with the water tank stunt as well as the suspended-in-the-air-in-a-straitjacket escape act. As the zeester is into David Blaine and I think we have seen every David Blaine TV special to be shown, I wasn't really paying much attention to the ads on StarWorld; Criss Angel, however, is different. Definitely bizarre. In one of his stunts, he is suspended by fish hooks that pierce his skin. In another stunt, he becomes a flaming man for almost a minute--much longer than the requisite 6 to 8 seconds a stuntman would be on fire for a shot.

There is also the matter of his commentary, about a third of which is bleeped out. Mindfreak, indeed. Criss Angel raises the bar on the bizarre, effectively challenging the likes of David Blaine. If strangeness were the deciding factor, he would definitely win out.