A hyper-realistic, $4,000 face mask: Deeply disturbing?

The image: File this one under more unsettling technology from Japan. A Japanese startup called REAL-f is creating and selling "three-dimensional photo forms," or frighteningly realistic masks of human faces. (See the images at right and below.) The masks are created from a vinyl chloride resin, which is stretched over a mold and then modeled after several photos of a person's face, taken from a variety of angles and positions. The company's "unique production technology makes sure that even details like the iris and blood vessels are replicated accurately," says Serkan Toto at TechCrunch. To get your hands on a mask, you'll have to pony up close to $4,000 dollars — but at least the Mission Impossible scenarios are endless.

The reaction: "Are these masks impressive? Yes. Unsettling? Very yes," says Max Eddy at Geeoksystem. That may be, says Tecca's Mariella Moon, but a realistic face you can wear anywhere? It'd pretty much be "the best Halloween mask ever." Sure, I want one says Robert T. Gonzalez at io9. But "would I ever sleep in the same room as my mask? Absolutely not." Check it out:

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