‘Dancing With the Stars’ Recap: Who Was Sent Home on Horror Movie Night?
What To Know
- The remaining 10 couples on Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars performed Halloween-themed dances for Horror Movie Night on October 27.
- The judges’ scores and viewer votes were combined with last week’s to determine who was eliminated.
- The two couples with the lowest combined judges’ scores and viewer votes from both weeks were sent home at the end of the night.
The competition is really heating up on Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars. The October 27 episode marked Horror Movie Night, bringing out spooky, Halloween-themed performances from the remaining 10 contestants and their partners.
Shirley Ballas, the ultimate stickler for technique, served as a guest judge alongside Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli. Ballas is notoriously a difficult judge, so the couples had their work cut out for them during rehearsals.
With no elimination last week, two couples were sent home at the end of the night, with last week’s judges’ scores and viewer votes carrying over to be combined with this week’s. Scroll down for a recap of the performances and to find out who’s been eliminated!
Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa — 26/40
First up, Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa performed an Argentine tango inspired by The Omen. After a frustrating rehearsal, Stiles and Sosa came together on show night.
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Ballas weighed in first, and wasn’t thrilled with the dance. “I need sharper, controlled legs. Also, postur-ally, it wasn’t in the right place for Argentine tango for me, but a good start,” she said.
Tonioli said Stiles brought out the “temptress” he’s been wanting to see from her, but Inaba called the dance “tense” and “stiff” compared to previous weeks. Hough said the dance was a little “timid” and “careful” compared to the music and admitted it was a “low” in Stiles’ journey on the show.
Ballas surely did not go easy, giving Stiles a 4. That, paired with 7s from Inaba and Hough, along with an 8 from Tonioli, earned Stiles a 26/40.
Harry Shum Jr. & Jenna Johnson — 40/40
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson did a Saw-themed contemporary dance for Horror Movie Night. Tonioli loved how much fear was interpreted in the dance. “Everything … perfection,” he said.
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Inaba said Shum’s dance was the “contemporary we’ve been waiting for.” She called it “impactful at all the right moments” and said she wants to see it again! Hough applauded the acting Shum added to the dance, as well.
“I’ve been judging a long time and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like that,” Ballas said, while also specifying several parts of the dance she “loved.” The dance earned four 10s, the highest score of the season so far: 40/40!
Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik — 28/40
For their paso doble, Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik performed a routine inspired by Sinners. Inaba said it was Ali’s “most powerful” dance yet, although she admitted that the “skirt slightly overpowered you at times.”
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Hough raved over Ali’s “riveting” performance factor, but said the energy in her body throughout the dance is sometimes lost when she dances. Ballas admitted, “It had no recognizable paso doble,” but applauded Ali’s power and theatrics.
Tonioli agreed that “some passes were messy” in the dance, but loved the “intention” she brought to the dance floor. Ballas gave Ali a 4, but the other three judges scored her 8s, so she a earned 28/40.
Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy — 37/40
Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy were back to dancing together again after his suspension. This week, they did an Argentine tango inspired by 28 Weeks Later. Hough was on his feet and raved that it was “one of the best Argentine tangos I’ve ever seen on this floor!”
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Ballas applauded the “great footwork” and the twisting in Dewan’s body. “The emotion, you took me into that place,” she added. “There was a little hiccup somewhere over here, you got caught on your dress, but what I admire is you kicked off that dress and kept going!”
Tonioli also noticed the “little incident,” but said Dewan’s technique was “absolutely brilliant.” Inaba called Chmerkovskiy’s choreography “incredible” and praised Dewan for how she delivered it. “The dance as a whole was perfection,” Inaba confirmed, although she also noticed the “little stumble.”
Hough scored the pair a 10, while the other three judges gave it 9s, for a 37/40 total.
Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold — 37/40
For their dance inspired by Annabelle: Creation, Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold did a contemporary routine. Ballas raved over Arnold’s choreography. “Your musicality, your narrative, and the way you executed when you’re on your own was great. Well done,” she told Wood.
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Tonioli said the pair “killed” the routine and raved over the “storytelling” on the dance floor. Inaba crowned Wood “the contemporary king,” letting him know, “All of the movements were so difficult, you made it look so easy and so effortless.” Hough also gushed over how incredible the routine was.
With 10s from Hough and Inaba, an 8 from Ballas, and a 9 from Tonioli, Wood and Arnold scored a 37/40 total.
Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach — 35/40
Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach were tasked with performing a jazz routine inspired by The Invisible Man. The Paralympian was dealing with pain in his left leg, which is amputated above the knee, but powered through.
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“The drama of it all! You were like a shapeshifting fiend,” Tonioli said. “You did a great interpretation! What a performance, as always.” Inaba urged Frech to focus on his acting moving forward, noting that the storytelling wasn’t quite there.
Hough agreed. “You are so captivating to watch, so athletic, the tricks, the lifts, so impressive,” he said. “But tonight was about storytelling and I missed a little bit of that. But you are incredible. I love watching you.” Ballas disagreed, though, and said she understood the storyline. She also praised the lifts and tricks in the routine.
Hough, Ballas, and Tonioli scored the dance with 9s, while Inaba gave it an 8, for a 35/40 total.
Jackson Olson & Emma Slater — 35/40
For their Joker-inspired routine, Jackson Olson and Emma Slater danced a contemporary.
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“It was kind of weird, but in a good way. To see you embody this character and really go dark, even the movement quality, was so accurate,” Inaba told Olson. Hough praised Olson for “committing to that role so amazingly,” although he noted that “some transitions out of lifts were clunky here and there.”
Ballas agreed that some of the lifts could have been “more sure-footed,” but noted that it was a “challenging routine” and said it was “well done.” The dance scored three 9s and an 8 from Ballas, for a total of 35/40.
Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess — 26/40
Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess brought Bram Stoker’s Dracula to life with their Viennese waltz.
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“Seeing you dance is so impressive because you’re such a big guy and the way you glide across that floor, it was so smooth,” Hough said, but added, “However, the frame … it still gets hunched. It has to be wide, it has to be big.”
Ballas said Cameron’s acting skills were “great,” but had a lot of critiques about his posture and technique. Tonioli called Cameron the “prince of darkness,” but warned him not to “lean in when you lead.” Inaba actually disagreed with Ballas because she felt the acting was the “weakest” part of the number.
Unfortunately, Cameron fell on the leaderboard, earning 7s from the three judges and a 5 from guest Ballas, for a total of 26/40.
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov — 36/40
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov topped the leaderboard last week, and hoped to run it back with their Argentine tango, inspired by Black Swan.
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Ballas said there was great “usage of the floor” and told Glenn she’s “graceful” in everything she does. “I totally enjoyed it!” she admitted. Tonioli made sure to praise the way Glenn hit all her moves “so beautifully,” which he noted is “so hard to do” in the Argentine tango.
Inaba felt that Glenn seemed a little “tight” in part of the dance, although she loved the intensity. Hough pointed out all the great technical moves in Glenn’s dance and said he “loved it.” With four 9s from the judges, Glenn earned a 36/40 for the dance.
Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas
To close out the night, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas did a contemporary to “Cry Little Sister” from The Lost Boys.
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“Only you can make the horrible look beautiful,” Tonioli said. “You have a fantastic lyrical quality and you’re a magnetic performer.” However, he urged Higgins to “get it through the floor” in contemporary dances.
Inaba said she loved how much Higgins is able to make everything “so angelic and beautiful.” She did have a critique, but forgot what she wanted to say! Hough told Higgins she’s an “incredible performer,” but had notes about how she can point her feet and extend her arms more.
“I like the dynamic parts where you use the height changes. It was powerful,” Ballas confirmed. “What I would like to see from you if when you put the pivot of the foot, you need to rotate your feet a little bit more for flow.”
Inaba scored the dance a 9, Hough and Inaba gave it 8s, and Ballas gave her son a 7. That resulted in a total of 32/40.
Who was eliminated on Horror Movie Night?
The end of the night brought a double elimination. The couples announced safe (in no particular order) were: Connor Wood/Rylee Arnold, Amber Glenn/Pasha Pashkov, Harry Shum Jr./Jenna Johnson, Jenna Dewan/Val Chmerkovskiy, Ezra Frech/Daniella Karagach, Maura Higgins/Mark Ballas, and Julia Stiles/Ezra Frech.
So that left Tyler Cameron/Sharna Burgess, Jackson Olson/Emma Slater, and Tatyana Ali/Jan Ravnik as the last three standing, although not necessarily the bottom three.
The two pairs eliminated were: Jackson Olson/Emma Slater and Tyler Cameron/Sharna Burgess.
Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Episode 8, Monday, November 2, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+
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