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From a shadowy shape, contestants must create a horrifying creature. Some of them will haunt my nightmares. Some of them were made of red solo cups and cling wrap. In a lonely warehouse, everyone meets McKenzie and Oren Peli, producer of the Paranormal Activity series and other horror films. They’re playing off the idea that it’s better and scarier to hide your monster in the shadows instead of showing it clearly. This is a horror idea I fully subscribe to, but how do you pull […]
February 11th, 2014 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
A desultory Face Off challenge results in a few interesting designs and one hilarious failure. First up is an immunity challenge, creating characters based on motorcycles. Decent idea, some nice bikes, and original Face Off judge Patrick Tatopoulos returns briefly. I thought that ghostly green and black rider was the most interesting character, but Daran won immunity with a very cool skull face and elaborate hair piece. The main challenge is to create a rock star based on a distinctive guitar. I’m with you so […]
February 4th, 2014 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
Finally, a Face Off episode to renew my faith in Face Off. It was everything a classic Face Off should be, leaving me loving the artists and staring agape at the judges’ stunningly stupid decision. The parameters of the individual challenge are announced out on the beach at Malibu, right where Charlton Heston screamed, “YOU BLEW IT UP!” McKenzie Westmore doesn’t just show them a dragon or something. Nope. She says it like she’s in the wizard mafia or something: “I’m talkin’ about dragons here!” […]
January 28th, 2014 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
A challenge about imperiled aliens brings back some of that old Face Off magic. The artists meet McKenzie out in a field, where they learn they’re standing in a crop circle. McKenzie says that the CIA and other government agencies “officially” consider crop circles hoaxes, but that some conspiracy theorists think they’re actually distress calls from aliens. Let’s unpack that for a second here. First of all, it isn’t just government agencies who think crop circles are hoaxes. Scientists think so too, since people have […]
January 21st, 2014 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
The sixth season of Face Off gets off to a mediocre start with a new crop of artists and a castle full of not so beautiful beasts. The new contestants seem more or less evenly split between “really talented hobbyist” and “owner of a small FX studio.” I’m not entirely sure the semi-pros have a big advantage – not the way the east coast haunted house people usually have an advantage over the west coast film people. Experience is never a bad thing, but we’ve […]
January 14th, 2014 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
The Face Off season finale features…Swan Lake? Well, ok. Let’s see how that works out. Back at the house, the three remaining artists get some Skype time with their families. I always thought it was a little strange how big a deal they made about this, but Laura told me once that they really don’t get to talk to their families the whole time they’re on the show. I don’t really understand why the producers do that, but it does make it clearer why everyone […]
November 5th, 2013 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
The last Face Off elimination episode results in four bird-human hybrid designs, and I didn’t like any of them. A trip to the airport and a meeting with some wildlife specialists reveals this week’s challenge: create designs based on a particular species of bird. I like that idea in theory. In practical terms, it didn’t turn out so well. Tate’s design is based on the Egyptian vulture, and has a huge one-piece sculpt encompassing the entire head, chest, and most of the arms. He seemed […]
October 29th, 2013 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
On this week’s Face Off, so many shocking things happened. But actually nothing happened at all. Let’s get the Laney situation out of the way. She woke up feeling upset about Eddie being gone or just being homesick or something. It’s cool, everyone deals with that. Then the first day of the challenge she’s not feeling it and doesn’t really sculpt anything, opting for a good cry in the bathroom instead. Tate and Roy try to help and get her to work some more, but […]
October 22nd, 2013 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
Face Off draws on the rich tradition of horror comedies to bring to life six funny/scary ghosts. Hilarifying. I was not excited about this episode of Face Off. The “whimsy” episode was marred by arbitrary judging based on incredibly subjective design criteria, and I didn’t expect much more from this one. Not that I hate horror comedies. My October horror film viewings this year have featured Gremlins, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, and Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. I just didn’t think it was going […]
October 15th, 2013 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
Face Off gets religion with a challenge based on the seven deadly sins. This season’s group house looks like a nice place in a fairly regular suburban neighborhood, instead of the fancy porn mansions from past seasons. But did you notice the hedges in the yard when Laney and Laura were chatting? I’ve never seen 60-foot hedges before. The challenge is revealed by McKenzie and Glen in a church. Each artist has to create a creature based on one of the seven deadly sins (because […]
October 8th, 2013 | Filed under Dark TV,Headline | Read More »
