Episode Recap: Sexy Beasts

McKenzie and the gang are back for another explosive season of monstrous movie magic. The contestants file into a room fitted with tons of Kryolan supplies and an impressive fashion runway. As they shake hands and size up their competition, McKenzie walks onto the runway to welcome them to what promises to be the most extreme season of Face Off ever. The judges will be looking for bigger, more adventurous designs than ever before. And then, it's time for their first Foundation Challenge to begin. McKenzie introduces makeup superstar Tammy Lane, artist on The Hobbit and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, who tells them that this challenge will be all about matching hair and makeup to create a cohesive character.

Then, the fun begins. A slouch of models file onto the runway wearing outrageous wigs. Each artist dashes toward the model that attracts them and work for two hours creating makeup and wardrobe that show off their unique visions. When the two hours are up, Tammy critiques each makeup and chooses George, a self-taught artist originally from Puerto Rico, competing for the sake of his growing family, Corinne, whose effects studio recently worked on SyFy's Sharknado, and Bethany, who switched from video game design to her true passion of effects makeup, as the top looks. George's woodland princess, hunted for her precious-metal blood, that wins the challenge - and immunity for George going into the Spotlight Challenge! Cryptically, McKenzie tells George that his second prize will be arriving tomorrow when they start their challenge...hmmm...

The selfsame challenge is delivered at a castle; a reinterpretation of a famous one in Scotland. The artists watch a diverse group of princesses line up – these are their Belles, each holding a picture of a different style of castle that will inspire the Beast to be created in teams. McKenzie assigns them their randomly chosen pairs, leaving George for last – he gets to choose his own team to work with in a trio! - then introduces this week's guest judge extraordinaire, Steven Sommers, writer of Van Helsing and the Mummy movies. He tells the artists to create a Beast that's scary at the top of the movie, but sexy enough to be kissable at the end.

Daniel, who has a ton of experience and has worked on some major projects, is partnered with Cat, and she defers to his lead considering his credentials. She starts to regret this when he pitches a classic, in-the-box concept to go with their gothic manor – not the extreme vision McKenzie suggested yesterday - and as he puts up more resistance to her ideas and teamwork in general, she sees that she's going to have to watch her own hide to avoid being the first one eliminated. George chose to work with two dudes' dudes, Daran and Graham, who chose a stony citadel as their inspiration. Their beast is cursed to transform into his very castle the longer he stays there.

Chloe, a passionate artist and Rashad, a self-taught artist competing for his family, are working with a deep-sea spire castle. They get off to a good start, but frustration gets high when Rashad's mold-making skill falters. Chloe steps in and saves what he started, but they've lost some valuable time and will have to go with an inferior product when pouring their pieces on the final day. She schools him on what to do with the subsequent molds and they press on, a united team once again.

They're not the only ones with drama on the mold front: Tess and Niko find clay jammed into their cowl mold. With only 5 minutes on the clock, they move like the wind to get everything done, and rejoice when they get it cleaned out and ready by the buzzer! Their jubilation doesn't last long – Tess realizes that their mania to complete the cowl distracted them from finishing the face mold, so they'll have to pour a gelatin face instead of polyfoam. Pros: It moves better than polyfoam, so the actor will be able to emote. Cons: a translucent face might not go with an opaque cowl. It's a gamble either way, and not a position you want to be in on the reveal stage.

Matt and Margaret, who spent a ton of time perfecting their face piece, now find that the cowl has a huge "skinning" issue – a thick line right down the center that they're going to have to fight to hide. Graham made some excellent molds, so his three-man team is able to breeze through application and painting, and even add some extra nuance to the color scheme.

Corinne and Tanner, who chose the ice fort, thought they were working with a strong concept of a snow-wolf beast, but the final product looks cartoonish and misshapen. Corinne is despondent, but holding out hope.

The artists take their places on the reveal stage for the first time (and one of them for the last time) and watch their creations make their debuts. Before the judging begins, McKenzie has one more little thing to let them know: The judges will have a one-time "pardon" for one of the contestants that they feel had a particularly tough week. No one will know when it's coming, but it'll mean essential grace for one of the artists!

Once the judges, including guest judge Steven Sommers, take a closer look at the makeups, McKenzie calls out the following names: Tess & Niko, Tanner & Corinne, and Cat & Daniel. These people are safe and can head back to the makeup room. The judges then call Graham, Daran, and George to the platform, and load them with praise for making their model truly look as though he's melding into a version of his own castle, while keeping him sexy enough for Beauty to kiss at the end of the film. Chloe and Rashad, whose Gill-Man beast contained a TON of detail, had beautiful paintwork, and the brilliant stroke of looking like a believable Disney figure, also receive glowing reviews.

Matt and Margaret don't fare so well. Their beast, inspired by a lunar spire, has a truly odd profile, a paint job that looks like silly putty, and no lips (hence no kissing at the end of the film). Also in bottom looks are Bethany and Tyler, who created a "sultan's palace" beast who Ve famously says looks more like a cat got into a fight with some blueberry ice cream cones due to the odd, spiky balls sticking out of his head.

The tension mounts as the players wait to hear what Glenn will announce. It's with two huge smiles that Chloe and Rashad hear their names called, and Chloe melts with pride when she hears that she's the week's overall winner – it's a huge boost to her confidence.

But the good news must be followed by the bad, and so Margaret, Matt, Bethany and Tyler head to the platform of doom. It's a really tough choice, but the judges feel that Margaret, who was responsible for the odd face with poor anatomy, must be the one to go home. Glenn tells her this was definitely one of the toughest first week eliminations, and she should be very proud. Though she's sad and surprised, she's also grateful to have worked with and been influenced by all of these great artists. This experience will definitely change the course of her work.