SYFY'S "FACE OFF" KICKS OFF WITH A SUDDEN DEATH ELIMINATION CHALLENGE ON THE SEASON 7 PREMIERE TUESDAY, JULY 22 AT 9 P.M. ET/PT

New Twitter Contest Tweet Off: The Fan Favorite Sweepstakes Allows Viewers to Pick a Fan Favorite, Awarding the Chosen Artist with $10,000

NEW YORK - July 16, 2014 - Premiering Tuesday, July 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, season 7 of Syfy's special effects makeup competition series Face Off begins with two of the aspiring artists being eliminated before the competition even begins, a twist that shocks the 16 aspiring hopefuls the moment they arrive to Los Angeles. This begins Face Off's "Life and Death" season, in which the contestants face creative challenges that will inspire them to explore themes of rebirth and mortality.

In the premiere, the contestants must incorporate a prosthetic into their audition makeups in a stressful four-hour challenge. As the artists are working, host McKenzie Westmore introduces a special guest advisor for the challenge, horror icon Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Krueger). In the end, two artists are eliminated before ever moving into the Face Off house or stepping into the lab.

Syfy also rolls out an interactive social element for season 7, Tweet Off: The Fan Favorite Sweepstakes. Every week, viewers can tweet which of the contestants is their favorite using #FaceOff. At the end of every episode, there will be a reveal of which contestant garnered the most positive sentiment for the week. And at the end of the season, the contestant who has the most cumulative weekly wins is named Fan Favorite and will be awarded $10,000.

Tweet Off: The Fan Favorite Sweepstakes also gives viewers the chance to win. Starting with the premiere on July 22 and running through the end of Face Off's season 7, viewers can enter the sweepstakes at www.faceoff.syfy.com to win a Kryolan make-up kit and a tutorial from the season 7 Fan Favorite.

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 96 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. (Syfy. Imagine Greater.)