Once again we travel into the world of foam application and blended paint as we return to another episode of SyFy’s Face Off. This week we catch up with final four artists as the battle it out for a chance at the top three and season finale that will decide this seasons winner. With the loss of Daren last week, Niko, Rashaad, George and Tyler seem to be practically chomping at the bit as their dreams dangle in front of them like a carrot.
This week, the spotlight challenge brings them to a creepy crypt housing very different and elegant styled coffins. Each contestant must choose a coffin and take out the stake in side. That’s right, this weeks challenge is to create a specialized vampire. Now these are not your typical blood suckers, instead the stakes focus on the vampire traditions of other contestants like Africa and Asia. The Face Off twist of this challenge is to give your vampire never before seen abilities in vampire lore.
As the creators are quick to find out, these vampires are really unique. Take Tyler’s Sasabonsam from Ghana, which is reported to have a 20 foot wing span. Yes, that’s right our favorite wing maker has a tall order in front of him. So how do you make an animal with a 20 foot wing span? Tyler resolves to create fake arms while disguising his actor’s arms in the wings. Now, this sounds like a great idea as his plan is to add extra fangs at the tips as his new feature however in the building phase he decides to make the wings appear more folded. The major problem with this look in the reveal is that it throws off the silhouette of the creature making him look far too simple in the front. The molded back of the application had a lot of good features however, it places all the hard work behind the actor, and not in a good way.
Rashaad also gets a few major design curve balls in his Chinese Jiang Shi, a moss covered vampire who feeds on the life force around it. The addition of a Venus flytrap appendage as his new ability, it seems like he’s heading right for the winner’s circle until his molds are delivered with two large rips in the face. With the serious damage Rashaad is forced to run it again which is a huge crunch in his time, but necessary if he is going to make this vampire a true blood crawling character. Although it made it quite a painful experience, it certainly pays off as the judges swoon over his zombie esque creature of the night.
Niko finds himself hung up on his Aswang from the Philippines, a creature known for their extremely long tongue. With the tongue taking up so much of the creatures persona it’s really hard to add anything, but he finally decides to add some razor sharp prongs in but the damage to the design is done by a static tongue that engulfs any attempt at detail. The color of the creature is a simple pale wash that burst into what can only be described as a hunk of meat hanging off the lower half of the face hiding a bloody goiter. Yuck.
Finally, poor George who picked out the Australian Yara Ma Yha Who who drinks from it’s fingers. I’m really starting to believe George’s favorite color is red, or at least that’s the color he specializes in because he delivers yet another bright red dog looking character. The hardest part to watch wasn't the extra fangs growing off the creatures back, but the hands. Literally, the most important and distinguishable characteristic is the part George flubs up on, accidentally building them upside down making them over sized and cartoony. Think of a demonic version of Mickey Mouse.
In the end, my mother and I held our breath hoping that we wouldn't have to say good bye to our little energizer, Tyler who along with Niko’s static tongue found himself in bottom looks. Thankfully, there was one more trick to this episode, all four artists get put through to the second half which airs next week. They must go back to the lab and create a real howler of a project which will be combined with their vampire score to determine top three. Hold on kiddies!
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