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Vortex of Fear
SKETCH-O-VISION
A VERY GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.
The setup
The funny people
Meet the cast. 7
Say it with us
Highly quotable.
Oh, for the love of God, please hear me. I'm starving. I want a burger!
I'm sorry, I can't read that chicken scratch.
A place stranger than nightmares, a place crueler than hell.
The premise
Here’s the bit.
At a nightclub hypnosis act, a showman hypnotist snaps one volunteer out of her trance and calls up Eugene Carmichael III, a commodities broker who insists he can't be hypnotized. Eugene goes under at once and is told to cluck like a chicken, but in the middle of boasting about it the hypnotist clutches his chest and collapses, and frantic attempts to revive him fail. A year later a ragged, unshaven Eugene staggers up to a burger counter, still clucking and flapping, and tries to place his order by concentrating hard while his thoughts scream that he's starving. The puzzled cashiers hand him a pen, but his written order comes out as unreadable scratches. A Twilight Zone-style host, calmly eating a burger, closes the story by welcoming viewers to the Vortex of Fear as a wild-eyed Eugene appears at his shoulder.
A little extra
Notes from the archive.
Eugene is Jim Carrey's own middle name; the actor was born James Eugene Carrey.
Script
Automatically generated script; wording may contain errors. Speaker labels are inferred.
- 00:02
Hypnotist
And wake up!
- 00:04
Volunteer
Oh!
- 00:07
Hypnotist
Alright, Another volunteer. Yes, you, sir. Let's give him a hand, ladies and gentlemen. And your name is?
- 00:15
Eugene Carmichael III
Eugene Carmichael III.
- 00:17
Hypnotist
All right, Eugene Carmichael III. What do you do for a living?
- 00:22
Eugene Carmichael III
Commodities broker.
- 00:24
Hypnotist
Commodities broker. Let me ask you, have you ever been hypnotized?
- 00:27
Eugene Carmichael III
No, I haven't, and frankly, I'm quite skeptical.
- 00:30
Hypnotist
One, two, three, trance! now with my command you will cluck like a chicken one two three
- 00:39
Hypnotist
you're never gonna be
- 00:42
Hypnotist
ladies and gentlemen the skeptic and I assure you he will remain this way as long as I
- 00:53
oh my god
- 01:04
Waitress
He's not breathing. Call an ambulance, quick.
- 01:07
Eugene Carmichael III
Oh, come on Come on, get up!
- 01:11
Can I
- 01:19
Cashier
Welcome to Nothing But Buggers, may I help you? help you?
- 01:37
laughter
- 01:41
Eugene Carmichael III
All right. Now, just concentrate. Put the money on the counter, look her in the eye, and concentrate.
- 01:52
Eugene Carmichael III
For the love of God, please hear me. I'm starving! i want a burger
- 02:14
Cashier
uh look take this i'll call the police
- 02:20
Cashier
This guy's trying to tell us something.
- 02:23
Cashier
I think I've seen this on Geraldo. Can you write it down?
- 02:29
Eugene Carmichael III
That's a great idea. I should have thought of this.
- 02:34
Eugene Carmichael III
I'd like a hamburger and a cola, please. I am starving.
- 02:49
Eugene Carmichael III
Eat
- 02:53
Cashier
I'm sorry I can't that chicken scratch.
- 02:57
Eugene Carmichael III
Please. Please.
- 03:05
Narrator
act and win a ride was a departure point for a long descent to a place stranger than nightmares a place cooler than hell he's entered a place called the vortex of fear
The rabbit hole continues
One more couldn’t hurt.
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