DC Studios’ “Clayface” is a horror thriller from director James Watkins, starring Tom Rhys Harries in the title role of the cult favorite villain from Gotham’s rogues gallery.
Matt Hagen’s meteoric rise from Gotham street kid to Hollywood leading man is tragically cut short when a local crime boss’s actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team and with nothing left, Matt seeks out a cutting edge treatment that miraculously returns him to his former self… but also unexpectedly affects his grip on reality, spiraling him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.
What We Thought:
Guys, what I’m about to say is as shocking to me as it is to you, Clayface might be the surprise of 2026. It is an absolutely bonkers flick that I can’t stop thinking about. The idea of a standalone DC Comics villain film had already been with Joker, but let’s be honest, everyone knows The Joker. How many people outside of the DC fandom will know who Clayface is?
That’s what the movie does best, you don’t know need to know anything about the character, his ties to the Batman universe or anything comic book related. Other than the story taking place in Gotham, the average viewer probably wouldn’t even guess this body horror flick had anything to do with The Caped Crusader. This movie version combines various Clayface characters from the comics to make its own entity. In this movie the character goes by Matt Hagens, an actor who ends up becoming Clayface. In the comics Clayface began as an actor named Basil Karlo (the Golden Age of comics). The second Clayface (Silver Age) was named Matt Hagens, but he was a treasure hunter. If you don’t know any of that, it’s irrelevant to the film anyways.
The first half of the movie introduces us to Matt Hagens, an actor who’s about to become a critically acclaimed star. At a club he dances with a woman who has ties to the underworld and soon finds himself being attacked by a mob boss and his goons. Matt loses everything, his career, his agent, his friends, his money, his entire reason for living. He sees an ad for an experimental nanotech treatment and convinces the scientist he needs it. At first things seem to be working well, but Matt starts to lose his grasp on reality and this is where the film goes off the rails (in a good way). If you thought Joker’s origin story was brutal, get a load of this movie.
If you’re wondering why a film based on a comic book character is coming out in October and not during the summer blockbuster season it’s because Clayface is a horror movie. It’s a 100% body horror flick that would make David Cronenberg proud. Once Matt embraces his revenge fantasies, it’s a gruesome, hand clapping, seat squirming body horror flick. If you liked The Substance, you’ll dig Clayface. It’s brutal and will have you questioning what you’re even watching and man did I have fun with it. Horror icon Mike Flanagan co-wrote the screenplay and it’s directed by James Watkins who did Eden Lake, The Woman in Black, and the Speak No Evil remake. If you’re like me and enjoy body horror then this is right up your alley.
I can’t tell you the last time I genuinely enjoyed a DC film. Even their bigger films like Man of Steel didn’t do a whole lot for me. Maybe it’s because I had such low expectations for Clayface or maybe it’s because it’s actually surprisingly good, but for whatever reason I had a genuinely fun time watching it. Sure the first hour or so isn’t as good, but once he becomes Clayface (and enters the club and goes bananas on everyone there) it becomes a good time at the theater. Everyone around me had fun. Everyone around me were genuinely shocked that we all walked out having positive things to say about it. It’s Rated R because it’s violent and has some nudity so it probably won’t go crazy at the box office because the under 17 crowd can’t buy tickets. It probably won’t do well because most people are hesitant about anything DC is putting out associated with James Gunn’s universe and deservedly so. But I’m hoping word of mouth gets people to go and I’m hoping it being released around Halloween gets the horror fans to turn up as well. I had a blast with it and I can’t believe I’m saying that.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
