‘Dancing With the Stars’ recap: Halloween night tricks and treats

No guyliner expense was spared for the heavily costumed and zombie-faced extravaganza that was Halloween at “Dancing With the Stars.” And Week 7 really brought out the smoky eyes, spooky-looking trees and upped the production value in the glitterverse, while as host Tom Bergeron said, “Boys and ghouls wage terror on the dance floor.”

Erin Andrews was back from World Series duty. Len Goodman also returned (in a coffin, no less), to assume his head judging duties on this side of the Pond just in time to send fear into the hearts of the stars and pros.

Derek Hough was able to maintain his perfect win record in the Dreaded Team Dance as his Team Itsy Bitsy’s “Black Widow” freestyle dance earned him and Bethany Mota, Michael Waltrip, Lea Thompson and Janel Parrish 36 additional points. Team Creepy performed a fun carnival-style routine to “Time Warp” from the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” but the judges cited Alfonso Ribeiro, Tommy Chong, Antonio Sabato Jr. and Sadie Robertson for being out of sync and only scored them 32 points.

We also mourned another ballroom team as they passed beyond the glitterverse and into the great beyond: Antonio Sabato Jr. and his pro partner Cheryl Burke. Sadly, Antonio’s chiseled intensity and endless dimples could not muster up high enough judges’ scores to keep the actor in Mirrorball contention. At least he went out with his chest bared as the “world’s strongest man” during his Team Creepy dance.

But who killed during Week 7, and who’s set to be killed? Here’s how the remaining teams stacked up:

Gaining momentum into the final stretch are Bethany Mota and Derek Hough. Derek felt Bethany had a breakthrough after last week’s tango, which exhibited a maturity heretofore unseen from the YouTube star. But an unfocused Bethany needed some sort of jolt to keep the energy levels up during rehearsals. Derek took Bethany through the paces. And despite the lack of focus, Bethany was able to hone it in with laserlike precision for their high-production value of a routine, which kind of looked like that Jennifer Lopez/Tarsem movie “The Cell” with Queen of Hearts hair. The judges praised Bethany for not letting the massive production (or that Bride of Frankenstein ’do) overpower her performance. Bruno called it “a paso doble painted on a grand operatic scale … you two were the embodiment of the flames of passion.” Carrie Ann said Bethany “was exactly what Derek envisioned.” Len, however, felt the dance “got a bit lost in the whole production” and was the one 9 in otherwise “perfect” routine. Bethany and Derek earned a 39 for their paso, plus a 36 for their team dance. Total: 75 out of 80.

Frustrations abounded for Lea Thompson an dArtem Chigvintsev. Lea was feeling the pressure after slipping from second to fifth place, and Artem was feeling the pressure from all the critiques he was getting from the judges. And the pressure to do well and get back on track was evident in their technically proficient but verve-lacking Argentine Tango, set to “Necessary Evil” by special guest Nikki Yanofsky. The judges found the dance performed more from the head than the heart. Julianne reminded them to give themselves a break. “Don’t forget the fun of it, okay?” Bruno thought it was efficient and accurate with “just the right touch of evil.” Lea and Artem received a 34 for their Argentine tango, and a 36 for their Team Itsy Bitsy dance. Total: 70.

There was a lot for Alfonso Ribeiro to celebrate this week. His son turned 1 on Monday! He’s having another baby! All his tricks and treats work, even after Witney Carson hit him in the jaw, bumped him in the nose, and kneed him in the nether regions! They did a proper rumba to “Ghost” by Ella Henderson, which she performed live! Bruno called the dance “captivating, involving, convincing, full of content and full of intention.” “I was so impressed by the integrity of the routine,” Carrie Ann said. “The magic is happening.” Len was pleased Alfonso and Witney “didn’t mess about cleaning windows.” “It was a proper rumba!” Alfonso and Witney received a respectable, if somewhat low 36 for their routine, plus 32 for their team dance. Total: 68.

In order to celebrate the Halloween theme and Janel Parrish’s creepy television series, the actress and Val Chmerkovskiy decided to do their Viennese waltz to the theme song of “Pretty Little Liars.” And of course, Janel did a great job channeling the villainous Mona in her routine (replete with the hood and the signature “shhh”), and finished with the requisite “killing” of Val at routine’s end. Bruno loved the murderous role, but told Janel she needed to “continue a line in the space.” Carrie Ann, on the other hand, “liked the fluidity of motion” but thought the developpe had to point a little harder. Julianne and Len, however, did not think there was enough Viennese waltz conent in the routine. Julianne felt “the Halloween theme got away with you a little bit” while Len, in retrospect, thought it was “a lovely fluid dance, but there was no Viennese waltz. It’s the truth, you blonker.” Janel and Val received a 31 for their waltz, and a 36 for their team dance. Total: 67.

Mark Ballas was possessed by the spectre of creative block while trying to come up with a theme-appropriate paso doble for Sadie Robertson. It didn’t help that he had to battle the army of creativity-squashing “Duck Dynasty” cameras first. But eventually Mark took inspiration from the undead and put on creepy contacts for a zombie-infested graveyard routine. Sadie played a bit too cutesy with that teddy bear, but the graveyard concept was cool, Mark really got into it with his outfit and contacts (“You’ve never looked better,” Julianne teased. Mark remained stone-faced), and I liked how the zombies dragged Sadie away at the end. The judges, however, felt the concept was too much zombie invasion, too little dance content (which, funnily, is my criticism of “The Walking Dead” as well). Carrie Ann wanted to see more paso power and strength. Len thought, “the theme of the whole thing got in the way of the whole dance.” Mark looked as though he wanted go zombiepocalypse on the judges. It’s a tall order: Please the “proper” judges while also adhering to the theme of the show (and be sure to please the audience). Sadie and Mark received a somewhat low 30 for their paso, and a 32 for their Team Creepy dance. Total: 62.

Fun facts: Tommy Chong is the oldest celebrity to make it this far into the “DWTS” competition. He’s also whipped a person before. The “Up in Smoke” star and pro partner Peta Murgatroyd wanted to keep their mojo up during their quickstep to “That Old Black Magic.” But the physicality of the routine, as well as the second team dance, was weighing really hard on the 76-year-old’s knees. But Tommy is a consummate performer, and he turned out and turned it up for his dapper routine and lived up to the “Tommy the Great” moniker. Len said Tommy was “easy on the eyes.” Julianne thought Tommy did it again and lauded him for being “Light on his feet.” Bruno found him “surprisingly … good in hold.” Carrie Ann thought it was Tommy’s best routine, save for getting off tempo a few times. Tommy and Peta received a 28 for their quickstep, and a 32 for their Team Creepy team dance. Total: 60.

Michael Waltrip was having trouble starting out of the gate this week. Emma Slater was trying to show the NASCAR driver jive steps, but Michael just wasn’t’ getting it. And as much as they tried to hide it with fiddles and fringe and a rocking pair of knee-high red boots, there was no denying that this Western-themed jive was dead and needed to be buried. Julianne kept in the theme of Halloween and called it “a nightmare.” Bruno likes a roll in the hay a much as anyone, but “the thing of it was there wasn’t any jive.” Carrie Ann said “that was a freestyle, but was supposed to be a jive.” “In driving terms, you’re running on empty now, and that’s what it was,” Len said. Michael and Emma were stuck in reverse, and earned a scary-low 20 for their jive. Thankfully, Michael’s no small part in the Team Itsy Bitsy dance helped give his bottom line a power boost – and his first-ever 9 scores. Total: 56.

Which still keeps Michael and Emma in last place, but at least it’s not by as much.

What do you think, ballroom fans? Is Bethany going to run away with this competition? Boo to the judges for being so harsh on a theme night? Should scary clown masks be banned from all glitterverse functions from here on out? Have you ever seen so much guyliner in your life?