Face Off: The Final Six Episodes

(This review includes spoilers)

Six more episodes have come and gone after a promising start to the third season of Face Off. And in the end, a new Face Off champion has surfaced.

First, Episode 7 started with a surprising bang when all the eliminated contestants returned for a chance at redemption. After a brief Foundation Challenge, Nicole was chosen to return to the show. This kinda pissed me off a bit, because I felt it was unfair to the other contestants. But anyway, after 6 more episodes, here is my take on the last half of the show.

Weeks Seven and Eight
This two weeks presented two unique challenges that in the end fell flat to me. The first one had the contestants paired with a kid to create a monster based on a sketch from their kid. I thought the premise was so great and could lend itself to some interesting makeups. However, I thought that the kid sketches chosen weren't that creative. And second, I thought the execution from the contestants was really poor. Laura won this one, but I really didn't like her monster. I kinda leaned more towards Roy's blinking monster, but none of them really surprised me.

The following week, the contestants had to create a hybrid human based on Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book. This was another challenge were I didn't think the source material was that good. I'm not that familiar with Dr. Seuss, but judging from the book illustrations shown on the show, I think I've seen other Seuss books with more colorful characters. To me, most of the characters looked similar, which translated to some "meh" makeups. If I were forced to choose, I think that I would've agreed with Nicole as the winner. But like the previous challenge, none of them did much for me.

Week Nine

Episode 9 turned it all around, though. The contestants visited a junkyard and had to build a cyborg makeup using materials scavenged at the site. This was probably one of my favorite challenges from the season, and maybe the show. Most of the finished makeups were great and impressive, with the possible exception of Sarah, who ended up being eliminated. As for Roy, I was looking forward to his makeup, but I think he spent too much time focusing on the contraption in the back of his character, which should've gone to a much integrated makeup. As for the final two, I agreed with the judges that Derek and Nicole were the best. Nicole ended up taking the win, deservedly so; but I think I would've gone with Derek's. His character looked so cool, that I wanted to see it in a film or something.

Week Ten
In the last episode before the final, the contestants had to create a creature based on the show Grimm, using a different crime scene as inspiration. This was another challenge where I think that most of the contestants failed. Laura won with her insect-like creature, but I wasn't that crazy about it. For starters, looked too much like a Predator, and it didn't look as polished as other creations. If I were to pick one winner, I would've gone with Derek; but even his creature wasn't perfect. It looked sorta unfinished. Sadly, Roy ended up being eliminated after making a wig-wearing, snake/reptilian biker. It pissed me off, cause I was kinda rooting for him. His makeup was solid, but the choice to turn her into a biker, put her fangs outside of the mouth, and most of all, wear that awful, awful wig... Gawd, when he put that wig over her, I almost reached through the screen to yank it off. It killed him.

Week Eleven

The final challenge had the three remaining contestants preparing two different makeups: a demon, and a queen inspired by one of the four elements. Also, they had a chance to choose two partners from the previous contestants. The end results were, overall, pretty good. All three queens had a lot of impressive qualities. The overall concept and color of Derek's Fire Queen was impressive, while the details and application on Laura's Earth queen were pretty good, although her body didn't look as detailed. But Nicole's Water Queen really looked like a complete character from head to toe. Her work was impressive, and so was her demon. They both looked like characters from the same universe, and those teeth! Really cool. Derek and Laura's demons weren't that successful. Laura's was just a mess, IMO, while Derek's looked really good up-close, but not so much from a distance. The winner, however, would be chosen by the public, and announced on another episode.

The twelfth episode worked as some sort of reunion, with all the other contestants answering questions from the audience, while they all shared anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories. They all looked really cool and relaxed, and I enjoyed watching the camaraderie between them. In the end, Nicole was crowned as the winner. It was an impressive win, considering she was eliminated on Week 4. But she came back with a bang, and most of the work she did after her return was among the best of the show.

Overall, a really great season, even though it hit a couple of bumps on its last few episodes. I look forward to the next season.

(All pictures belong to Syfy and its affiliates)

Face Off: The Show, not the Film

(This article includes spoilers about the whole season, so far)

For those that didn't know, Face Off is a reality game show for prosthetic makeup artists. They have to face different challenges related to their field, creating prosthetic and makeups from different inspirations, while being judged by a panel of concept and creature designers. The show is broadcast by Syfy and its third season just reached its midpoint this week.

So, after watching Episode 6 (of a total of 12), here is my take on what has happened so far:

Week One

Working on teams of two, the artists had to create an alien character that would fit on the Mos Eisley Cantina scene from the original Star Wars. A geek's dream. I basically agreed with the judges decision: Joe and Tommy's alien/bodyguard was a mess and the worst of the bunch. Plus, judging from what we see, Joe did behave like a douche. Him leaving the way he did only proved it. On the other hand, Roy and Rod's exoskeleton, and Laura and Sarah's Dagobah bounty hunter were clearly the best creations. The guys surely had the most ambitious creation and they excelled in it, but damn, I really liked the girl's bounty hunter. Really cool concept and execution. (see Roy and Rod's creation here)

Week Two

The artists had to create a pirate character inspired by a specific article found on a treasure chest. I thought that this episode was mostly a mess. IMO, most of the contestants had problems conceptualizing the inspiration. To be fair, some of them were tough. I mean, how do you translate "ship in a bottle" to a character? That said, Roy and Sarah were clearly the superior creations. Roy "dagger" pirate was slick, cool and bad-ass, while Sarah's "sea urchin" pirate was creepy and ghastly. As for the eliminated contestant, even though C.C.'s "barnacle" inspired pirate was weak, I thought Jason deserved the boot. Not only was the concept bad, but the execution was poor.

Week Three

Working on teams of two, the artists had to create a Chinese New Year dragon makeup that could hold its own after an acrobatic dance routine. The inspiration for each dragon was the zodiac symbols of the contestants. I thought that most of the makeups here were solid. I agree that Derek and Tommy's monkey/ox creature was the most elegant and colorful, but I disagree with the judges as far as the "bottom" looks go. I thought that Eric and Sarah's monkey/boar creature was solid, and I also liked the colors from Jason and Roy's rabbit/snake creature. If anything, the one I thought was the weakest was Alana and Laura's goat/rat. IMO, it didn't fit with the colorful inspiration of the Chinese New Year.

Week Four

Each artist had to create an original take on a character from Alice in Wonderland, that was just infected by the Resident Evil zombie virus. I think this is one of the episodes where I've disagreed the most with the judges. IMO, the worst creatures were Sarah's Cheshire Cat and Tommy's Rabbit. Both were a mess. Horrible costumes, poor makeup. They were plain bad. Nicole was eliminated for her take on Alice, which wasn't that great, but I really didn't see it being as bad as those other two. I thought both Hatters were cool, and I would've given Laura the win. But the judges chose Roy, for his Queen of Hearts which, to be honest, I didn't like. It never looked real to me. It looked just like a costume would look.

Week Five

Working on teams of two, the artists had to create an original superhero and a sidekick, inspired by a specific vehicle. Here is another one where I didn't necessarily agree with the judges. Although Jason and Rod's effort was weak, I thought that Sarah's lack of effort was deserving of the boot. She practically did nothing to her character, except from a fake-looking scar, some bad coloring, and a weird eye patch. That said, Jason's character was pretty bad too, but at least he did something. On the other hand, I did like Laura and Tommy's approach, and I could see their concept, even though the judges couldn't. As for Alana and Roy's, sure, they looked like comic-book characters, but I hated the fake-looking flames on the superhero. Overall, I think most of the makeups were weak, but I think that Laura's superhero alone was way above the rest.

Week Six

Each artist had to create an original character with exaggerated proportions, inspired by the video game Dishonored. This last week, I had no major complaints. I thought the two top looks were good, even though I really liked Laura's "weeper". And I agreed with the elimination of Tommy. I think he had something going when he began, but the problems he faced with the gloves, the hair he chose, and some other things, ended up sinking him. As for Derek, even though his "thug" looked a lot like his character from the previous week, I think he embraced the complete look of the video game with the clothes, the proportions, and whatnot. But I still think Laura's character was the best.

So, overall, the show has been pretty good, even if I don't always agree with the judges. I started watching this last season, and I think it's a unique show about a unique profession.

(All pictures belong to Syfy and its affiliates)