“Clayface” A Satisfying Revenge Thriller from DC Studios
The DCU (DC Universe) has already been like a roller coaster. While the universe’s first movie, last year’s “Superman,” was a decent hit (and I generally liked it), this past summer’s “Supergirl” ended up being a massive misfire (the less to say about that movie the better). Now, DC fans are hoping that the next DC movie, “Clayface,” brings things back up and, despite a couple moments that can slightly take you out of the movie a little bit, “Clayface” will definitely appease fans!
“Clayface” follows Matt Hagen, an aspiring former Gotham street kid who rises to become a promising Hollywood leading man. His career and life are violently shattered when a local crime boss leaves him horribly disfigured. Consumed by a loss of identity and driven by an all-consuming need for vengeance after an experimental procedure, Hagen embarks on a brutal mission to destroy everyone responsible for what happened to him.
Audiences have responded to the DC Universe horror movie “Clayface” with highly enthusiastic praise. While general critics were more split, everyday fans - particularly horror and comic book buffs - have embraced the movie as a refreshing and genuinely disturbing entry into the superhero/comic book genre.
I really enjoyed that DC Studios leaned heavily into the David Cronenberg-style of body horror. Rather than feeling like a typical comic book movie, it incredibly embraces a gritty, R-rated monster movie aesthetic filled with great practical transformations and the melting skin effects. This grounded, practical approach made the physical deterioration and disfigurement of Matt Hagen more unsettling.
You can easily connect with the tragic, personal nature of Matt Hagen’s downfall. The story focuses on an actor losing his identity and vanity, turning his descent into a psychological thriller about body dysmorphia, desperation and revenge rather than a typical generic villain origin. Actor Tom Rhys Harries also does a great job flawlessly shifting between a charming, easy-going Hollywood actor, a vulnerable victim in severe pain and a terrifying, vengeful monster.
One of the best moments in the movie takes place after the experimental procedure when
Hagen is on a turbulent flight and the experimental nanotechnology inside him begins reacting violently to his panic. Coiled with unbearable tension, the sequence ends with a very intense moment where he uses a pair of small scissors to cut open his own fused, melting eyelids. And, the moment that will easily appease DC fans is when we see Hagen mutates into a massive, grotesque, shifting clay monstrosity that looks incredibly ripped straight out of “Batman: The Animated Series” and the visual effects for this moment are incredible.
The overall audience response to “Clayface” has been overwhelmingly positive with general audiences and DC fans embracing the movie much more enthusiastically than critics. Released as a hard-R body horror within James Gunn’s DCU, it has quickly established itself as one of the surprise hits of the fall season.
Cast: Tom Rhys Harries (Matt Hagen/Clayface); Naomi Ackie (Dr. Caitlyn Corr); David Dencik (Markos Szabo); Max Minghella (John Borrelli); Eddie Marsan (Frank Fitzpatrick); Nancy Carroll (Hildie Love); Joana Ribiero (Mia)
Writer/director: Mike Flanagan (Amazon’s Carrie; The Life of Chuck; Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher; the upcoming The Exorcist: Martyrs) (writer); Hossein Amini (writer) (Disney Plus’ Obi-Wan Kenobi); James Watkins (Speak No Evil; The Woman in Black)
MPA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity and brief drug use (running time 108 minutes)
Writer Mike Flanagan said the film takes inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series (1992) episodes Feat of Clay: Part 1 (1992) and Feat of Clay: Part 2 (1992) which also told the origin of Matt Hagen's Clayface.
Producer James Gunn has gone on record stating that he had no plans to make a Clayface film. But Gunn was won over by Mike Flanagan's pitch and each subsequent draft of the script that he turned in.
Writer Mike Flanagan couldn't direct the movie due to his commitments to the Carrie (2026) miniseries and The Exorcist: Martyrs (2027).
The film was originally meant to be in the DC Extended Universe and was rumored to be part of Matt Reeves' "The Batman Crime Saga". But it was announced as part of the DC Universe. Nevertheless, Reeves serves as one of the film's producers.
This is the first horror film in the DCU.
The filmmakers were inspired by The Fly (1986) and the animation style of Will Vinton to make this movie.
Though it's not spoken in the film, Caitlyn's company is shown to be named Corr Renu. In the animated series and subsequently the comics, Renu (or rather, Renuyu) is the name of the substance responsible for giving Clayface his powers by granting him the ability to mould his face, much like the experimental treatment Matt goes through.
Matt Hagen's Clayface character first appeared in Detective Comics #298
The third Batman spin-off film starring with a supervillain after Catwoman (2004) and Joker (2019).
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