S08.E08: Dressed To Kill

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The artists select a stunning avant-garde outfit as inspiration for their own stylish horror villain. With guest judge Clive Barker!

 

Clip:

[starri]

I'll say this for the current season:  At least they're continuing the attempts to de-emphasize monsters and aliens.

[hincandenza]

Yeah, whatever we think of the contestant level, this season has been among the best in challenge design and novelty. Plus, the show has been pulling out all the stops on production values and guest stars; this week we have horror icon Clive Barker. Like you, I assume the description and guest means something akin to a highly stylized and chic horror character that is *not* a simple monster face, but more like the Cenobites from "Hellraiser".

And I'll admit, as soon as I read "stunning avant-garde outfit" I started pencilling in Emily for at least Top Looks. :) Partly because she's awesome and this sounds right up her alley, and partly because even though this is episode 8, I still couldn't name all the contestants left off the top of my head. :)

I think it's going to be Adam leaving this week; if you look on the Wikipedia for season 8 and omit the first two-part team episode (where he was on a winning team but did not win), over these past 5 weeks he has never been in top looks- but has been in the bottom 3 times (although he did win that Foundation challenge as part of a team).

In fact, every other person left has either a win, or at least two appearances in Top Looks. Plus, he says in that clip two of the most ominous things we hear on Face-Off: "My mold broke" followed by "This is my only piece this week, so...". The latter is what is usually followed by Glenn saying "I'm sorry, but at this stage of the competitom, the effort was just not enough."

[Maelstrom]

Definitely not one of my favorite challenges, but horror movies are *not* my cup of tea so it makes sense. I'm sorry to see Jamie go, because she had some really clever ideas. Seems like she just needs more experience to be able to pull them off. I'm glad Ben won, mostly because I didn't want to see Kelly's bloody monstrosity win. But I did like the sleek look of Ben's makeup, and thought he integrated the outfit into the makeup pretty cleverly.

 

I did think it was strange that in a horror challenge, most of the makeups would've worked better as aliens. Seems like a lot of the contestants kinda missed the boat this week.

 

Next week's intergalactic beauty queen challenge looks interesting. I really love this season's renewed focus on creative beauty makeups.

[Ketzel]

Maybe it would have been different if I were in the room, but through the screen none of these makeups looked particularly horrifying. Well, maybe Kelly's, but that was in a more "yuck-at-all-the-mess!" way, rather than an "OMG-I'm-skeered!" way. And I'm docking Kelly a million imaginary points for excessive use of the word "nasty" to describe her character.

[GaT]

I finally remembered that Jamie is in the competition, aaaaand she's gone.

[Quilt Fairy]

I agree that most of the monsters went too far alien. Not sad to see Jamie go, even with her win last week I didn't find anything she did very compelling. And I won't miss the perpetual pout she wore during judging every week.

[hincandenza]

I liked that they named all the models this week, and was shocked that Megan was picked first.  The tall woman who was picked by Kelly- Antonia I think?- is also great, we've seen her a lot and her imposing statuesque figure makes for some great makeups.

 

Adam: "I've seen some big cracks... and this is the biggest crack I've ever seen.".  :)  Yup, I'm still 12 years old, as are the editors who probably giggled non-stop when including that talking head. I thought from the preview that he would be lousy (obviously, I posted it above!) but no, I really liked his concept and execution this week.  Granted, it was so alien it wasn't even close to the challenge parameters, but that is a damned fine sculpt.  I mean, if you look closely at it, the great part is how he made the model have their chin pushed forward and head tilted back, so the effect makes it seem like the creature has a neck that cranes forward a little.  That is a beautiful, sophisticated trick that shows some serious artistry.  The shit end of the stick for him is, if he had just done this sculpt one week later, this would be an amazing "Miss ______" alien beauty pageant challenge.  Shit, if he's smart, he'll keep the molds around. :)

 

I'll say this about Logan's: the only reason I remembered to comment on his was because I counted it up and realized I was missing someone.  He's actually a pretty good technician, but the thing with him is some weeks he has a fantastic idea, and some weeks he has something very blah.

 

Darla's was atrocious.  Honestly, I don't think she's done anything remotely good in several weeks.  This was just bland, and boring, and alien, and not at all Clive Barker.  I mean, a friggin' shotgun?!?  Did she not at least Google Clive Barker? And the mask itself was one of those cheap foam mask types we see too often.  By that, I mean sort of unmoving, the mouth fixed in either the cliche "bared teeth growl" expression, or some kind of lead chip eating mouthbreather with dead deep-socket eyes and wetly parted lips.  Compare to how Julian's allowed the character to really act and convey a persona.  Maybe she can turn it around, but outside of the bottom 2 of course, she was easily the worst for me this week.

 

Ouch, Stephanie; I don't think I've ever seen anyone that creatively blocked before, she still couldn't articulate her concept when she was on stage!  She handicapped herself a whole day of work, and it showed.  I can't recall the name of that substitute coach a couple of weeks ago when Rayce was out (JT?) but he gave someone great advice in that show about just slapping on clay if you're creatively blocked.  You're going to have to do it anyway at some point, so you save time doing it now- and maybe even get inspired from emerging random shapes while you're doing a repetitive task and not consciously obsessing on the idea.   But I guess Jamie was sent home as just horribly, amateurishly executed.  The paintwork on that face was like one those orange marshmallow circus peanuts if it was left out in the sun too long.

 

Julian really redeemed himself this week; that was very solid and I love how the model could emote.  The one knock is that with the model's awesomely imposing height and oversized foam head, the shoulders should have been broadened with even padding to keep the proportions.  Instead, it kind of looked like that demon was a teenaged boy in the middle of puberty.  He's not going to drag me to hell, he's going to ask if I want to join his "Magic" gaming group.  I did note it was odd to hear Neville gently chiding him on originality; these are so heavily edited, it makes me wonder what else we don't here.  Hey, SyFy intern surfing the web: please have the web guys start adding full, unedited critiques on the website.

 

I was sad Emily's yarn contraption fell apart; that silhouette with the wires was so very cool.  I am so pleased that when the wires fell apart, she didn't follow suit.  She just let a few tears out and then recovered decently with the feathers. The judges at this point have made it obvious that they are (rightly) blown away by Emily; I am too.  She's not the best artist this show has seen, but she's clearly in the top 10% and at her age that's insane.  I don't think I've ever seen a top 4/bottom 2; it's like they intentionally added her as a 4th top look just to praise her skills and technique even while admitting it wasn't really Barker-esque.  And as Maelstrom notes above, they've been putting more beauty into the challenges this year including next week, which is totally playing to her strengths.  Her arc this season is so very similar to Dina's last year, where that touch of aesthetic detail or creative use of materials and colors and techniques is what kept/keeps putting them over the top.

 

Even before the judge's critique comments in the close-ups, I knew either Ben or Kelly would win.  Weren't they the two that the Clive Barker's right hand man said would be good in a graphic novel or a futuristic reboot?  Kelly's was creepy but I concur also a bit too messy; the eyes were astonishing, but the lower half of the face was so bloody it sort of blended into the neck, making her fivehead look unusually bulbous and thus alien.  I loved the tongue moving like some demonic worm, but I think if the lower half of the face had been a little lighter it would have made the wriggling tongue and her jawline more delineated.  I get that with her second skin problem that was a challenge, but she could have still used more of the skin tone color on the rough spots.

 

As for Ben, he totally deserved the win this week.  I agree with Glenn that mirroring the straps in the outfit onto that head was a touch of genius, and I'm blown away by how he did that face: like the real creature was that glossy black skinned model which was being absorbed by an alabaster-colored blob monster, oozing up from the neck and face in a thin layer until it finally swallows it up completely.  I do wish his facial paint job wasn't a little "chalky" because I think glossy/wet looking would have been utter perfection.  Still, that's about the only knock I have; he absolutely nailed the concept of the challenge, the whole body head to toe looked perfectly balanced, it was avant-garde and futuristic and artsy while also being so creepy dead-eyed and porcelain doll-like.  Very good spin on that Clive Barker aesthetic.  His immature blow-up last week can be forgiven; this is his second outright win and he's turned in a number of good pieces this season.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was shocked that Darla was safe instead of in the bottom. In terms of execution it wasn't as bad as Jamie's but the concept didn't fit the challenge at all.

 

I could totally see why Jamie and Stephanie were in the bottom two though. Jamie's execution was just rough all around, but I agree that she does have interesting ideas. I don't know if it's the time constraints or her inexperience that have gotten in her way.

 

Stephanie's mental block is what really screwed her this week. On the one hand, I really felt for her because when that happens, there isn't much you can do and it's really frustrating to know that you are just wasting time. On the other hand, she was such a whiner about it. I loved how encouraging Laura was. When she told her to look at it as an opportunity, I wanted to hug Laura. She is such a great mentor and a positive person.

 

Ben has annoyed me in past weeks, but he managed to make an elegant yet creepy creature so props to him. Extra credit for integrating the costume into the makeup.

 

Emily's was really cool but I understand the judges saying that it wasn't very Clive Barker. Often with the monsters and aliens on this show, the head shapes start to look like they come from the same three or four basic shapes so it was really nice to see something so different.

 

I wasn't crazy about Kelly's. between the contacts and the bloody mouth, I thought it was veering a little too much into Halloween costume territory.

[Monty9]

I think Kelly (gory face with covering mask) made not a plastic surgery victim but instead a scary clown. It WAS scary but it was because she made a scary clown.

 

I think there were a lot of strong makeups this week, I liked the big triangle head especially and I agreed with all the top looks. Jamie totally earned the boot this week. That was horrible. When she went "I was surprised to be leaving" I went. "Really? Did you not look at that mess you made?!"

 

Matt (the model) is back! He's been missing the past few weeks. I had referred to myself as Matt's stalker but I don't really try to Google or seek him out in anyway when Face Off is not on. That's either a very bad or a very lazy stalker. Perhaps unnaturally obsessed is a more proper way to refer to myself.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Monty9

[Lorimac]

I liked that they named all the models this week, 

I agree It makes the whole process more interesting when there is some attention paid to the models.  After all, it was not just the make-up that made Spock Spock (sob).

I was trying to root for Jamie as anyone who does Yaya Han's make-up is A-OK with me, but she deserved the farewell.

 Emily is a genius, that is all there is to say.  Ben's creation was very good too and it seemed that they were the only two who did not rely on the "big forehead alien" shape.

[LoneHaranguer]

I'm a bit puzzled about this week's results. Emily didn't win because her creation wasn't very Clivey, but Ben did even though his wasn't either, but it went in a direction Clive had been thinking of going (according to the guest). When I google Clive Barker's characters, Emily's does fit in with some of what CB has done (albeit not those mentioned in presenting the challenge). Meanwhile, based on the previews, Ben's creation looks like it would have fit right in with next week's alien challenge, but this week was supposed to be a horror challenge.

 

 

When [Jamie] went "I was surprised to be leaving" I went. "Really? Did you not look at that mess you made?!"

It's not unusual for bottom contestants to convince themselves that someone else deserves to be booted more. They could be right, but the judges are not consistent in how they weigh that week's work vs track record, and may not see a meaningful difference anyway.

[Maelstrom]

I can't recall the name of that substitute coach a couple of weeks ago when Rayce was out (JT?)

...

Her arc this season is so very similar to Dina's last year, where that touch of aesthetic detail or creative use of materials and colors and techniques is what kept/keeps putting them over the top.

His name was RJ, one of Rayce's fellow season 2 contestants. His Burtonesque bell hop character will live in my heart forever.

 

Agree about Emily's arc reminding me of Dina. Beyond both having the talent to get sh*t done with the minimum of tantrums and Drah-ma, both really have an eye for giving their makeups that last polish - the fine details that really make the look sing.

 

I think Kelly (gory face with covering mask) made not a plastic surgery victim but instead a scary clown. It WAS scary but it was because she made a scary clown.

Yes!! Exactly this! Probably another reason I didn't like it (beyond the overuse of blood and the word "nasty") is because clowns are evil. And scary clowns are super evil. Period.

[Primetimer]

Horror hall-of-famer Barker is this week's challenge inspiration on Face Off.

Read the story

[jbrecken]

It must be frustrating to be a contestant, having to guess what aspect of the challenge matters.

Emily - your work is amazing but it's not Clive Barker, so no win for you.

Julian - you did the best job of creating a Clive Barker character, but it wasn't different enough, so no win for you.

Ben - your work matched the costume best, so you win.

[WearyTraveler]

It must be frustrating to be a contestant, having to guess what aspect of the challenge matters.

Emily - your work is amazing but it's not Clive Barker, so no win for you.

Julian - you did the best job of creating a Clive Barker character, but it wasn't different enough, so no win for you.

Ben - your work matched the costume best, so you win.

 

I think the parameters of every challenge get explained in more detail off camera or the editors cut some requirements away or a combination of both.

[Kaoteek]

Yeah, aside from Ben's make-up, which felt complete, cohesive, and had a great look, at the same time pretty, fashion-y & weird, none of the other convinced me in the slightest. The bottom two need no explanation, Kelly's was just a gory mess (btw, I'm sure Kelly's nice and fun IRL and everything, but she must also be exhausting, cos her talking heads segments alone kinda exhaust me already... always so hyper & enthusiastic...), Darla was... I'm not sure of what it was (certainly not "good" or "safe"), Emily's feathery-dark-First-Form-Cell was nice (better with the strings, though) but not Barker, and Julian's was a great, expressive demon... but Barker ? Eh.

 

Also, distinct shortage of chains, meathooks, fishhooks, latex, bdsm, and all that jazz (except in Jamie's creation, but the less said about it, the better)

Edited March 4, 2015 by Kaoteek

[Xazeal]

Ben's was my least favorite out of the top looks, but I'm not too surprised it won. It was exactly the kind of look the judges usually go for.

 

Seriously, from the moment we caught a glimpse of Emily's concept, I just knew it would be great. It was so completely different from anything we've seen on the show, but not in a completely ridiculous, way-too-out-there way. I honestly thought the final result was fan-fucking-tastic, and I'm really glad the judges basically shoehorned her into the top just to tell her "hey, this isn't what we asked for at all, but you freaking rock".

 

If it weren't for the way reality TV works, I'd say there's a pretty good chance we get an all-Team Laura finale. I still think her team is so obviously superior overall that I expect to see two of them (probably Emily and Julian) at the end, but if they want one from each team, I guess we're looking at Emily, Ben, and Logan. Either way, I think Emily's win is a given at this point.

[Monty]

Just making a note to myself that Naomi is the model I always enjoy (she was the face-cutting clown this time out) because she puts so much energy into her work. If a makeup has a character at all, that's the kind of model you want selling it.

[akr]

When [Jamie] went "I was surprised to be leaving" I went. "Really? Did you not look at that mess you made?!"

 

It's not unusual for bottom contestants to convince themselves that someone else deserves to be booted more. They could be right, but the judges are not consistent in how they weigh that week's work vs track record, and may not see a meaningful difference anyway.

 

Perhaps Jamie was surprised that they let two teams go down to two members each, while Laura's team still has four (one of whom is Stephanie). And everybody else might have thought that would be a tiebreaker, too - but instead, nobody feels safe even if their mentor's ranks are getting thin . . . 

Edited March 5, 2015 by akr

[Pandora]

I was sad Emily's yarn contraption fell apart; that silhouette with the wires was so very cool.

 

I was really disappointed too. For the first time ever I find myself hoping a contestant will recycle an idea and use it later. Wishful thinking, I suppose.

 

The feathers worked out well though, her creature didn't look like something went wrong and she did a half-ass fix.

[Nutjob]

I think Kelly (gory face with covering mask) made not a plastic surgery victim but instead a scary clown. It WAS scary but it was because she made a scary clown.

Agree about this, including the mouth piece reminding me of Twisty from AHS: Freak Show. Also, am I the only one who thinks Kelly is just... not that bright? This episode in particular, the word "airhead" just kept coming to me every time she spoke.

[Richness]

Kelly may be somewhat talented, but her personality is really starting to annoy. It feels so forced and overdone to me. Her work looked like a literal bloody mess, so I'm surprised Vee found it as disturbing as she did. Oh well.

 

Good job to Ben. I just wished he didn't come across quite so surly and sour. His work was gorgeous.

 

Emily continues to impress. I don't recall being annoyed by her big 80's hair lately, so maybe I've finally built up a tolerance. Glad she didn't panic when the strings fell. As awesome as they were, the feathers fit the outfit better.

[April Bloodgate]

UO: Although I have mostly enjoyed Emily's work this season, I didn't think her piece this week was that great. The (non)mouth was kind of interesting, but otherwise it was just a triangle to me.

 

I normally don't care for Ben, but he was the clear winner to me this week. (Although that wasn't too hard, as I wasn't impressed with most of the characters this episode.) I do wish he had actually done more of a beauty makeup on it, like he talked about.

 

I agree with the others who have said that Kelly's was just a bloody mess, not that impressive. (Her model did really sell it though.)

 

I was slightly surprised to see Jamie go home over Stephanie, only because Jamie has won a challenge and been in the top at least one other time, while I don't remember Stephanie having any strong pieces. But I am still struggling to know who some people are, so maybe I'm just forgetting a good week she had. But Jamie's makeup this week was awful.

[starri]

I find Kelly incredibly annoying, and I thought they were going to give her the win just because hers was the scariest of the bunch, but I think that was mostly due to Naomi selling the shit out of it.

 

I would have booted Stephanie over Jamie.  Frankly, they should have booted Darla over Jamie, she's been seriously underwhelming for the last few weeks.

 

ETA:  I'd also have dinged Kelly for basically making Poison Ivy after a rough facelift.

Edited March 5, 2015 by starri

[sourpickles]

I think Stephanie won the week she and Kelly did the Clockwork Lady, for the portrait she did that the model was carrying. I was glad Jamie went home, I've not been thrilled with her all season. Darla is seriously sinking for me. She started out so well. Emily's creature looked like the aliens from Independence Day. I did not like the Poison Ivy colors that Kelly did. I'm really tired, too, of getting all excited seeing the challenges every week and then having the majority be crap. I refuse to get excited about next week. This week had two categories. Alien looking, or straight out of Hellraiser, which to me wasn't super original. It was like the Burton stuff...it either came right out of his playbook or missed the mark totally. I was overall unimpressed, especially since Chiller channel was showing old Face Off epis, I saw Water World from Rayce's season, and all these people I had forgotten about and was glad to see again. Jerry! Beki! Rayce as a contestant! Etc. When they said avant garde, I was hoping for Chris March to waltz out and help us out, but having the models wearing the creations saved time. Again, I'm feeling a half ass episode to this. They really need to get rid of the coaches thing. For me, every week is more the gimmick gone wrong. And Kelly. I'm sure she's a peach in real life but she's getting on my last nerve, as well as getting a lot of screen time. At least her hair is less lilac now.......

[morakot]

I must admit I have been feeling underwhelmed this season... Maybe it's because on Tuesday nights I don't get home until 11 and I end up watching my recording when I'm way ready for sleep but I haven't been as excited as I usually am.  And count me underwhelmed too with Kelly's scary "clown".

[diebartdie]

Im trying to guess who the third of the final three will be? I mean unless an utter catastrophe happens, Emily and Ben are the real final two but who will be the third? I know for some reason a lot of people seem impressed by Darla (I dont get it! I think she had one really nice makeup but other than that all her stuff looks the same and looks rough, ugly, vague and the one she made for the Clive Barker challenge the face color did not match the chest color), others seem really impressed by Julian (I think everything he's made has a rough, unfinished look to it) and there is even support for Adam (he's ok but not consistently creative or inspired). Logan has been really impressive so he might be in the final three and even Stephanie has made at least one really amazing piece. Finally, as annoying as she is from time to time, I like Kelly, she is really talented but I think she suffers from the same flaw as Julian, her work seems to stop right before it's really polished.

 

So, final three....Emily, Ben and.......Logan?

[hincandenza]

Im trying to guess who the third of the final three will be? I mean unless an utter catastrophe happens, Emily and Ben are the real final two but who will be the third? I know for some reason a lot of people seem impressed by Darla (I dont get it! I think she had one really nice makeup but other than that all her stuff looks the same and looks rough, ugly, vague and the one she made for the Clive Barker challenge the face color did not match the chest color), others seem really impressed by Julian (I think everything he's made has a rough, unfinished look to it) and there is even support for Adam (he's ok but not consistently creative or inspired). Logan has been really impressive so he might be in the final three and even Stephanie has made at least one really amazing piece. Finally, as annoying as she is from time to time, I like Kelly, she is really talented but I think she suffers from the same flaw as Julian, her work seems to stop right before it's really polished.

 

So, final three....Emily, Ben and.......Logan?

 

That's what I expect at this point purely on merit, flip-flopping Logan and Julian on a week-by-week basis.  Interestingly if Ben, Logan, and Emily are the final 3, then we have each coach with exactly one contestant remaining (not sure what happens if a coach loses their team early; do they stick around as a free-floating coach, or just wave goodbye and leave?).  If I had to rank the contestants at this point:

 

1. Emily is as close to a sure thing as any of our previous stars like Laura and Anthony seemed in their season; we'd all be shocked if she went home before at least top 4.
2. Ben is very good technically and has some cool ideas, but he lets frustration get the best of him at times; I can see him getting thrown by a challenge at some point like he did with the bodypainting, and knocking himself out of the competition.
3. Julian has been in top looks in every single week but two, and from that perspective is ostensibly a front runner... so why do I never seem to remember his work?  In a couple of cases (demon executioner, jack of clubs) I distinctly remember thinking he should have been safe, not top, and someone else been there.  Still, the judges don't keep putting him in top looks for no reason, and they are the final word on who stays and goes, so...
4. Logan is at times great, and at times mediocre; if he can get a run going at the right time of 2 or 3 solid ideas in a row, he could be in there...
5. Kelly is competent, and while I vary on how much of her enthusiasm I can take in her talking heads, she has been on a bit of a roll lately, with 3 top looks in the last 4 challenges.  Her work is solid, but not particularly clever or intriguing.
6. Stephanie should have gone home this week; she would be in danger as there's no real cannon fodder left if she has an off week again, excepting the people below.
7. Darla has been struggling for weeks; her work is uninspired and cliche, so either she blows us away soon or there's no more padding for her to stick around.  On the flip side, we've been saying that here, but the judges keep marking her "safe", so maybe they're seeing something we don't.
8. Adam looks like he's better than he is. He seems so professional and experienced... yet he's alternated "safes" with "bottom looks" since he got here. His only achievement was that three-person relay race Foundation challenge he won (with the butt-chin ice queen). He's due for a bottom look next week, so... might be time for him to go.

[starri]

I'm thinking Emily/Julian/Logan.  I'm usually bad at calling these things, though.  But I can't shake the feeling that some of Ben's success has been luck as much as skill.

[snakenax]

I feel at this point it's anyone's to win. Emily and Ben definitely have the strongest record to win, but they also have both landed in the bottom with real doozies that one could argue probably should have sent them home over the one that did go home. That is, there is enough performance variability here that I would only be slightly shocked to see a Stephanie/Julian/Adam finale.