Hotel Falls, But Angel Rises From the Rubble
Wednesday, July 30 2008 | Comments (0)
In this espisode of Mindfreak, Criss materializes his girlfriend from Mexico in front of his cheering loyals, produces several lovely ladies from his new 69' Z28 Camaro, and escapes a locked up building set to implode.
In what was supposedly his last “life-threatening” stunt, Criss Angel survived the implosion of the spyglass resort hotel in Clearwater, Florida last night. For his second show of the season the Mindfreak planned to perform a Houdini-esque escape in front of the estimated 15,000 fans cheering on the beach.
To escape, the illusionist had to pick the locks on his handcuffs, several padlocks leading into the hotel, run up the 3 flights of stairs, pick the two padlocks on the roof hatch, and hitch a ride on a movie-style helicopter ladder that would take Angel to the safe elevation of 1,000 feet. And he had to do it all in 4 minutes before the building came crashing down around his ears.
Narrating the live event, Tim Vincent introduced video clips of Criss’ cirque du soleil director and the president of the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas where Angel’s show beLIEve is set for a gala opening in October after being pushed back because of “technical difficulties”. The two, Serge Denocourt and Felix Rappaport, expressed their concerns for the Mindfreak’s safety. “We’ve got a hundred million dollars invested, and we really don’t want anything to happen to our star,” said Rappaport.
But first, Vincent introduces a clip of Mr. Angel performing an illusion in his hometown of Las Vegas. Looking for his tequila in Criss’s luggage, the Mindfreak’s Hispanic friend Joaquin playfully tosses women’s undergarments at Angel while Criss explains that they belong to his girlfriend from Mexico, Guadalupe. “Do you guys want to meet Guadalupe?” Criss asks the crowd. Applause is the answer. Criss and Joaquin then cover the luggage dolly with the sheets Joaquin accuses Criss of stealing from the Mexican Hotel, and a moment later Criss rips the sheet free to reveal a buxom brunette whom he smooches and wheels off into the sunset, waving farewell to the amazed crowd. Just another day in the life of the Mindfreak.
After another clip of Criss’ family, friends, and colleagues expressing their concern for his safety, we get treated to another demonstration by the star illusionist. In front of a beautiful and requisite black 69’ Z28 Camaro, Criss explains that his friend has been working on a new custom car for him. Apparently blind to the sports car sitting just behind him, and within a circle of fans and an assortment of his expensive black automotive machinery, Criss asks the crowd if they see a car before lifting the car cover over the car and tearing it away to reveal 6 “fantasy girls”. Again, the Mindfreak sets off into the distance with the beauties on his arm. “I’m going to be a little 'tied up' as they say,” boasts Angel.
Next we meet the retired police lieutenant and the witness that will go up into the hotel with Criss to supervise the locking of the padlocks and handcuffs. But before the setup is done, we get to watch Angel prepare for the stunt. A couple of push-up and weight lifting-filled clips later, we find Criss practicing the helicopter take-off. “Criss will not have any kind of a safety…it would take too much dangerous time for him to try to hook himself in, and then get on the ladder. This is something that’s got to happen in a matter of a couple of seconds.” John Zimmerman, the stunt coordinator tells us. Criss will have to hold on to the ladder using only his brute strength.
Back in front of the soon to be demolished Hotel, Criss, the police lieutenant, and the witness are raised on a Genie platform to the 6th floor balcony where they lock the doors with the padlocks, ensuring they are truly locked, and chain Criss to the railing before everyone, including cameramen, leave Criss to his fate.
Audio difficulties between Criss and the host Tim Vincent add to the realism of the stunt, and by now, the viewer is very nervous for the escapist. Angel looks pretty nervous himself, waiting on the balcony handcuffed in the light rain, taking deep breaths and readying himself for what he called, “the most dangerous demonstration of my career.”
As the police perform the final sweep of the building, Criss thanks the crowd, tells them to “believe”, and asks, screaming “Are you ready?” Giving the signal to start the timer and the automatic detonation sequence, Criss begins to hurriedly pick the locks on his handcuffs. Free of the binders he moves to the first padlocked door after just 30 seconds. Due to the wetness, or perhaps some other unknown reason, the padlock on the first door gives Criss some trouble and he is forced to kick in the glass window of the room. He then moves to the second door with 2:50 left on the clock, which only takes Angel 20 seconds to pick.
The third door takes him a bit longer, but with 2 minutes left on the clock Criss is flying up the stairs to the last two padlocks on the roof hatch. The helicopter is now just a few yards away from Criss, but the two padlocks and a steel hatch are still keeping Criss from the helicopter ladder and safety. Unfortunately, the helicopter must leave at the 30 second mark to be sure of getting clear of the implosion. The Mindfreak has a lot of trouble with the last two locks. He has only just gotten the first lock undone and begins working on the second one when the helicopter leaves its position hovering over the hotel roof. With his flight to freedom gone, Criss still appears to be picking the second lock on the roof hatch when the unmanned cameras inside the building cut to static, you hear the blasts from inside the hotel, and shortly thereafter, the sound of the Spyglass Hotel hitting the ground. The entire area is enveloped in a cloud of white dust. Criss is nowhere to be seen.
As camera crews begin to search the area, the crowd goes silent after an initial cheer, and Vincent speculates about what might have happened. One camera man comes over a grassy embankment just in front of the area where the hotel stood only moments before and the Mindfreak appears with a yell, almost stumbling up the hill.
Angel’s family rush out to give him a hug and splash some water on his dusty head, while the crowd cheers “Mindfreak” and the show comes to a abrupt end.
This episode of Mindfreak asks more questions than it answers, however. How did he get out of the building? What happened with that first padlock? What was the problem with that final lock Criss seemingly just couldn’t get picked?
Criss Angel has performed some of the most sensational illusions many have ever seen. A personal favorite was when he sawed his body in half and allowed the audience up onstage to inspect his hewn corpse. But does this stunt live up to its bill as a demonstration to rival those of the legendary escapist Harry Houdini? I would have been sufficiently impressed if Criss had simply made it to the helicopter and been whisked away while the building beneath him crumbled, but Criss’s problems with the last lock did feel planned, and the unmanned “continuous shot” cameras going static before the blasts can only feel like what they are: the proverbial smoke and mirrors. And if we’re being honest with ourselves, we know that no one could have survived inside that building, and thus the entire setup, the proclamation of danger, and the concern of his family and friends feels a bit cheap. For my money, the materialization of the brunette on the luggage dolly is more of a Mindfreak.
Will Criss perform another life-threatening stunt in the future? He’s promised his family he won’t. Will this stunt be remembered alongside Harry Houdini’s chinese water torture cell escape? Only time will tell, but all the theatrics and television tricks notwithstanding, with 450 sticks of dynamite, 4500 tons of concrete crumbling to the ground, and 20 seconds from blast to bricks, the spectacle was something to see.
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