Syfy’s Face Off is back for episode 9 and the competition is getting scary. How did the artists stand up to this week’s challenge, Frightening Families?
It’s week 9 of Face Off All-Stars, and the pressure is building for the remaining artists. Last week, Melissa and Keaghlan went home for their uninspiring troll and fairy odd couple. Only four artist teams remain for this week’s challenge, which is for immunity, not elimination … or is it?
To find out this week’s challenge, the contestants once again drive to a remote location. They find McKenzie in front of a dirty, creepy, old, broken down gas station. But before she announces the theme, she tells them this week is a game-changer. After this challenge, they’re all working solo. To mix things up even more, McKenzie says they will combine into two super teams, because they’re going to be a scary amount of work.
They choose teams, or rather, Ben and Evan immediately run to stand beside Cig and George. So the other team is Tyler, Emily, Adam and Logan.
This Week’s Challenge
McKenzie tells them this is going to be a classic horror theme … and the challengers interrupt her with excited gasps and applause. She says “Ok, at least let me give a couple examples,” and list The Hills Have Eyes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and House of 1000 Corpses as inspirations, where freaky families lure their victims by giving fake directions. For this week’s challenge, Frightening Families, the teams will design three related horror characters. This is going to be gross, nasty makeup, and the contestants could not be more psyched.
To select the location for each frightening family’s house of horrors, they choose from two maps. Team Emily-Tyler-Logan-Adam gets to choose first, and right off there’s contention. Logan and Tyler appoint Emily to pick, but Adam races to grab one, while Emily asks for the other. He doesn’t listen. “We’re already getting along great!” says Logan. Team Cig-George-Ben-Evan make a point of collaborating and being very nice and team-y about choosing the one map left, to pick on the other team.
But wait, McKenzie has another surprise. This is not an elimination week; one artist is going home. And there won’t be any more team challenges after tonight’s episode.
The super teams follow their maps. Team Cig-Geroge-Ben-Evan find a dilapidated circus, and decide on a freak show family. The mom was a strong woman, the dad was an organ-grinder, and their son is a hydrocephalic, drooling, and wheelchair bound. He’s the ringmaster for the victims his parents lure in to entertain him.
Team Emily-Tyler-Logan-Adam discovers an abandoned, rusted out military base, so they’re inspired to make a mutated military family. The mother, daughter and father were tested on and show the horrible consequences. But Adam isn’t happy with the concept.
In The Lab
Back in the lab, everyone starts sculpting as quickly as they can. They’re all working as teams and checking each other’s work, but Adam still isn’t nuts about their concept. He tells Emily it’s too straightforward, and they should mix up the archetypes. She says she agrees, but unless he has an idea, they know they can pull this one off, and they should keep at it.
FACE OFF — “Frightening Families” Episode 1109 — Pictured: Adam Milicevic — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
Adam grumbles, but they keep working. He still thinks the concept is too simple. Here’s the thing, though, Adam. Your problem has been editing your goofy idea so they’re not cartoonish. Emily and Tyler keep being in top looks because of their restraint. Maybe you should slow your ride, my dude.
FACE OFF — “Frightening Families” Episode 1109 — Pictured: Cig Neutron — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
Michael enters for mentoring time, and he’s pretty happy with what he sees. He gives everyone some tips about emphasizing or diminishing parts of their sculpts’ shapes and textures.
The contestants get back to work, and Emily decides she needs to add more detail to her character’s face. But Tyler is worried that he’s working on small appliances instead of one of the face and cowl sculpts. Cig, Geroge, Ben and Evan continue working in happy harmony.
FACE OFF — “Frightening Families” Episode 1109 — Pictured: George Troester III — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
Logan starts making a prop: human casserole. If you watch this episode while you’re eating, fast forward through this. It is one of the most disgusting things I’ve seen in a while. It’s bloody flesh and eyes and hair, and it made my husband stop eating his dinner. Hannibal would never cook a person like that.
Application Day and Last Looks
Before they all go to bed on day 1, Adam convinces his team to switch around the prosthetic for the dad and daughter characters to make things more interesting. They agree, so their big challenge on day 2 is refitting the faces for different sized models than they’d sculpted for.
FACE OFF — “Frightening Families” Episode 1109 — Pictured: Emily Serpico — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
The models run into the lab and the gluing begins. Aside from some minor issues, it all goes smoothly, even the size switch-ups. That’s because Emily and Tyler sculpted in sections, and Tyler made all those blendy pieces. Evan and Cig remove some foam from a headpiece so their model can breathe, which is super-nice of them.
FACE OFF — “Frightening Families” Episode 1109 — Pictured: (l-r) Cig Neutron, Evan Hedges — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
In last looks, all the artists scramble among their characters, trying to make their paint jobs as perfectly gross as possible.
Application Day and Last Looks
There’s a guest judge helping the regular three this week. It’s Marcus Nispel, director of Friday The 13th, Conan the Barbarian, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so he’s well-qualified. He also looks like a kindly Santa, which is at odds with the brain in his head. The models all line up on the reveal stage, and at first glance, the characters all look pretty darn good. But what did the judges think?
FACE OFF — “Frightening Families” Episode 1109 — Pictured: (l-r) Glenn Hetrick, Ve Neill, Neville Page, Marcus Nispel — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
Top Team
FACE OFF — “Frightening Families” Episode 1109 — Pictured: Makeup by Cig Neutron, Benjamin “Ben” Ploughman, Evan Hedges, and George Troester III — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
Cig, George, Evan and Ben
Organ Grinder Dad: Ve loves how they got the face squished down all small. They’re all pretty nuts about the sculptural and anatomical details, the paintwork and the costuming. This is mostly Cig’s work and he’s at the top of his game.
Strong Woman Mom: Glenn says the wig is distracting, and the other judges agree when he removes it for a moment. Neville is impressed by the details, like the ears. Neville says she’s gorgeous and the sculpt is just beautiful.
Ringmaster Son: They love the drool more than they should, and they’re really impressed with the paint work on the head. It looks like real burst capillaries. Ve calls it absolutely disgusting and fantastic. Neville says, “Oooof, that’s good.” He also likes the little detail of the mustache. Ben did the sculpt and most of the painting for this character, and Glenn congratulates him on his best work to date. Nispel says the team created an iconic style that he can immediately see in a movie.
The judges tell the team they obviously enjoyed working together, and it showed. They loved the immediate read on the circus characters. These guys are safe.
Bottom Team
FACE OFF — “Frightening Families” Episode 1109 — Pictured: Makeup by Emily Serpico, Logan Long, and Adam Milicevic — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/Syfy)
Adam, Logan, Tyler and Emily
Little Butcher Dad: Glenn’s favorite thing is how they used form and color to make it look like the model’s eyes are askew, even though they aren’t. The detail on the back is disgusting and fantastic. But he doesn’t think the character size switch-off went so well. Neville doesn’t understand his disorder, as far as what happened to him, because his face looks like tumors, but the back of his neck is completely different. Nispel thinks it looks much better under dim lights than full house lighting, where it looks like the pizza special with everything.
Mega-Tall Daughter: The judges like the mix-up idea and think putting the dress and pigtails on a 6’5” man is incredibly creepy. They also admire the restraint in the prosthetic, and the little details that inform the character and make it come to life. Nispel isn’t sure if they’re a toxic accident or a freak show, though. Glenn says there’s an elegant restraint to a big guy in a little dress, and it’s creepy right out of the gate. He says the switch up was great for the daughter character. Ve calls her the creepiest of the bunch.
Makeup-Caked Housewife Mom: They are properly disgusted by the casserole. Glenn thinks the mom is gruesome and has a Fright Night-y feel. But Ve wishes her face wasn’t so dry. Nispel thinks it just needs less light. Ve asks if she looks dry and powdery because she’s supposed to be wearing makeup. Logan explains that she’s vain and still wants to be the perfect housewife, but fails completely, and Ve’s happy with his story. They think she’s a fantastic character.
Glenn announces that Adam is going home. He did most of the work on the toxic mutation dad. The judges didn’t really get his facial sculpture and were left asking what the character was suffering from.
Next: Face Off Season 11 Episode 8 Recap: Odd Couples
The competition this week was extra tough, and the judges had to decide on the smallest details, because they really loved all the Frightening Family members. But it’s only going to get worse from here on out because the artists will be working alone. Face Off is turning up the pressure. Check back next week to find out who’s the next elimination.