Halloween Wars Season 8 premiere recap: Boogeyman running scared

Who scared the Boogeyman? Halloween Wars Season 8 premiere recap showed that these teams have some frightening imaginations.

A seasonal favorite is back on Food Network. Halloween Wars Season 8 premiere recap shows that these teams of three are ready to scare the judges. This food TV competition isn’t the cute, silly version of Halloween. These Halloween displays might be too scary to eat.

This season has six teams eager to prove their creativity in the kitchen. Looking at the various teams, some of the competitors look familiar. A few teams have people who have previously been on Halloween Wars and one baker was on this season’s Wedding Cake Championship. Even though previous Food Network experience can be helpful, it doesn’t give them an automatic advantage.

Like previous seasons, each episode is broken into the small scare and the spine chiller. This week’s episode’s small scare had Halloween candy fighting back. The teams had to create a scene that showed what happens when the candy terrorizes the Halloween experience.

For the first challenge, the majority of the teams did well. While a few displays had issues with scale and/or clear story lines, the displays were quite impressive. Given the short amount of time, these creations were quite creative.

Tom Lindskog assembles his pumpkin brain, as seen on Halloween Wars, Season 8. photo provided by Food Network

The team winning the small scare was Candied Cadavers. I think that this team won because of its sugar bag in the display. This one element was so impressive. It was an element that no one had seen before and totally wowed the judges. They received the extra helper for the bigger challenge.

For the spine chiller challenge, the teams had to channel their haunted creativity. This week’s theme was twist on the classic Boogeyman fear. Instead of the Boogeyman frightening the kids, the teams had to create the Boogeyman’s nightmare. Wonder what scares the scary character?

Looking at the teams’ designs, many of the creations were quite ambitious. Combining pumpkin, sugar and cake into a single scene is a lot. The key to a well-designed scene is setting a tone without overwhelming the eye. There needs to be a focal point for the theme and it needs to be extremely well done.

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Being successful in this spine chiller round isn’t just about a great design, but also using the three elements well. Where the teams choose to use pumpkin, sugar or cake is key to success. Pumpkin is heavy and needs to be supported. Sugar is fragile and can shatter. All of these concerns must be addressed in the design.

For pure ambition, Candied Cadavers had the most technical elements in a single piece. The balance of pumpkin, sugar and cake was smart. Each element popped. The scene didn’t have obvious flaws and the story was clear. More importantly, the idea of a scary mom was creative.

A few teams had technical issues. Monsters of Mayhem had a huge structural issue. The pumpkin head was too heavy for the rice krispy body. By placing the head on the floor, the scene was saved but the story was less impressive. It was a little disappointing.

Tricked Out Treats had several issues in their display. Some items were unfinished and the scale seemed off. Overall, the team seemed to suffer from time management issues.

While each scene was quite different, the sugar work in all of the designs was quite impressive. One trend seemed to be the realistic looking sugar eyes that the many sugar artists created. Those eyes looked like shinny glass. The talent from these sugar artists is quite impressive.

Even though the scene is the focus, each team had to present a tasting element in the design. Overall, these tasting elements seemed like after thoughts. It was slightly disappointing. I wanted the teams to push the envelope with these treats.

Host Jonathan Bennett with judges Shinmin Li, Todd Tucker and Sean Gunn, as seen on Halloween Wars, Season 8. photo provided by Food Network

Since the theme was what haunts the boogeyman, why didn’t the teams hide something scary in the tasting treat? Or, why wasn’t there a hidden color or ooze factor in the treat? For a team to win this title, these tasting treats need to be more creative (and tasty).

In an unusual twist, the winner of the spine chiller was Candied Cadavers. This week was a double win for them. Their sugar artist was extremely good and the team seems to work well together. They understand time management and they are creative. While it is only week one, this team has proved themselves.

Unfortunately Tricked Out Treats was sent home. Their tasting element was ok, but it couldn’t save their unfinished scene. There were too many mistakes in this display. Plus, their small scare wasn’t a top look either. And so comes to a close this Halloween Wars Season 8 premiere recap.

Can Candied Cadavers roll over the competition this season? Are you ready for another spooky scene next week? Check back for another Halloween Wars recap each week on FoodSided and watch Halloween Wars on Food Network every Sunday night.