Face Off entered its two part season finale with Sinister Showdown: Part 1. Rob Seal, Walter Welsh and Melissa Ebbe are the three finalists who will face the last challenge of the season. Working off an idea from low budget horror producer Jason Blum (who will also be a guest judge) three short horror films will be produced.

The basic idea is that a couple unleash a demon and it attempts to possess and destroy them. New generation film directors: John Wynn, Bryce McGuire and Ryan Spindell have written their versions of the plot line and are randomly assigned to the three finalists.

The trio are then allowed to pick their teams and some familiar faces reappear. The teams are:

Rob: Kaleb Lewis and Anna Call.

Melissa: Yvonne Cox and Jordan Althaus.

Walter: Robert Lindsay and Melanie Licata.

The teams meet with their directors to talk demons and themes. Ryan Spindell’s script is titled “Hell Hole” and he works with Walter and his group. The demon is a “harvest demon.” The keywords are vines, earth and wood.

Bryce McGuire is teamed with Rob and his crew. The theme is oil and a horned demon appears when a couple dig a hole in the ground. The keywords for his creature are pale, dry, old and cracked. No goats.

Finally, Melissa is joined by John Wynn (who easily has a script with the best character name; “Mr. Sticks” – an evil possessed doll) his demon is a chupacabra type released when the doll is burnt. The keyword is Cyclops and possession where the man is turning into the new “Mr. Sticks.

With the design phase finished it is time for the final Face Off contestants to move into the lab for sculpting and molds. Melissa takes the face on her creation. Rob decides on a face piece and a chest piece along with a cowl piece with horns. Walter leaves Mel to do the possession makeup while he and Robert tackle the demon.

As the trio and their teams get started Michael Westmore turns up with McKenzie and he announces that they have a surprise for the finalists. Amusingly, the trio all believe that this “new” thing is going to be something bad that will make more work for them. It is instead, good news as Lois Burwell (occasional panel judge and Oscar winning makeup legend) will be giving the hopefuls some tips.

Rob is overjoyed:

“She is just so cute and British.”

After the tips and suggested tweaks, the teams move into high gear and Rob, as he has done in the past, starts his sculpt all over again. He opts to use the Rhinoceros as his template.

The models come in and Walter uses this opportunity to create his “secret” weapon; teeth for the tree demon. The trio’s teams rush through the application process and Walter is overjoyed at Robert’s use of moss on the demon.

Melissa gets stressed and “frazzled” but her team manages to get through the massive paint job. All three head into final phase before the screen tests. Melissa is disappointed with the overall effect.

At the screen test, John is pleased with her efforts and his notes are minimal. Melissa is excited to see her creation on film. The things that Wynn wants changed are the chest piece, goo out of the demon’s mouth and more reddening around the eye area.

The possessed creation also needs more “Mr. Sticks” make up. These changes are not too much in the scheme of things and it appears that John is happy with Melissa’s overall vision.

Walter and his team have brilliant feedback from Ryan who loves everything but is worried about the temporary vines on the tree demon. With the possessed woman, Spindell wants the make up scaled back a bit. Michael Westmore points out some possible problem areas, like “nose-shine” and Walter is pleased at the feedback.

Lastly Rob and his team realize they have problems with the cowl before they even put their creations in front of the camera and Bryce. McGuire asks for a plethora of changes which will mean re-sculpting and re-molding. Not only does he not like the demon but the director does not like the possession makeup either.

Rob is massively stressed at the amount of work these changes will require and he is “freaking out.”

This first part of the final challenge of Face Off follows the formula of filming the last test and having three guest directors in to collaborate with the artists. The theme of horror is a good choice as is having Jason Blum from Blumhouse Productions as a guest judge. Horror is often the firs step taken by any newcomer in the business.

Looking at the creations so far, before their final changes, it appears that Walter may just squeak past Melissa. Rob has his work cut out for him and while this could cost him the contest, the artist has proven that he works well under pressure and has done in the past.

The next time the finalists meet the directors will be on the day they shoot the short horror films. The finales of the series are always great in terms of excitement levels of the contestants and the opportunity for them to see how their creatures look on-screen.

The Face Off season 10 finale concludes April 13 on SyFy. Tune in and see if your favorite wins.

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