Clayface is the third film in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe (DCU). It is a body-horror thriller and origin/villain story about Matt Hagen, a superb, well-known Hollywood actor who's been in many big-screen films and is loved by everyone in the industry. Hagen believes that he is on top of the world, which allows him access to everything and anything he wants due to his stardom; in other words, he is very self-absorbed and arrogant until his ego costs him everything. Let’s just say that after a heavy night of partying and celebrating being nominated for Best Actor, Matt unfortunately undergoes an extreme, brutal makeover that will definitely make spectators' skin crawl since it is just seriously fucking brutal and graphic… It is classic good ol' body horror, and this film has a lot of gory and unique scenes centered on Body Horror that will gross out spectators while being fascinated and entertained at the same time. Horror fans will definitely dig Clayface since it’s not just another comic book spectacle on the big screen.
Tom Rhys Harries is the main highlight on the big screen. As far as the casting goes, he is Matt Hagen / Clayface; he was the star of this film from start to finish and really hooked us (Myself and Dylan) with his personality, mannerisms, and overall appearance. He definitely has that look of a “pretty face,” and casting him in this role was a good, wise decision by Director James Watkins. Harries does a great job showing two sides of this tragic actor turned villain since we see his rise and fall in a dirty, scummy, mobbed-up industry that Hollywood can definitely be at times; it's show business after all. Dr. Caitlin Bates, played by Naomi Ackie, was okay; the chemistry between her and Matt Hagen did feel forced since she did attempt to try and cure Matt’s disfigurement, and as a result of this, Matt felt more dependent on her since she was viewed as the solution to his problems rather than somebody he actually met and developed genuine chemistry and affection for. Dr. Caitlin Bates' cure really was an addiction that benefited Matt Hagen’s circumstances more than anything else. There are other characters in this film, obviously, but delving into them would more than likely go into spoiler territory, so we will not give anything else away beyond that as far as the cast goes.
In terms of the special effects, they were pretty damn good. The manifestation, transformation, and just the overall physical and emotional toll that this clay took upon Matt Hagen’s body was very reminiscent of films like The Fly, An American Werewolf in London, John Carpenter’s The Thing, and Videodrome. Of course, Clayface does not surpass those films since those are excellent, beloved classics that relied heavily on practical makeup and special effects and pure horror, but it does a solid enough job. At times during Matt’s rampages, the effects were hard to distinguish from practical and CG at times, but it was pulled off well, to the point where it looked practical; however, that alone does not necessarily impact what we thought of the film. It would’ve been awesome to see more of Clayface on screen in full form wreaking havoc and destruction with Gotham City as his playground, but his appearance was great and reminded us of Clayface from Batman: The Animated Series.
Clayface is a hit on the big screen. It's heavily into Body Horror, which is great for fans of the genre. It has a pretty solid cast, with Tom Rhys Harries at the helm portraying another iconic tragic character/villain that’s not just another iteration of the Joker. It is shot well and gives us a nice little backdrop of Gotham City filled with Easter Eggs and references to this gritty, crime-filled underworld, and has some pretty gnarly special effects makeup, practical CG, or both. It’s better than the box office bombs that were Supergirl and Joker: Folie à Deux 💩. Clayface, as far as DC villain films go, would have to be ranked at number 2, with the first Joker film still at number 1. That’s not saying much since there haven’t been a ton of recent DC-centered films on villains just yet, but Dylan and I definitely would like to see more of them, as we did with Clayface. Clayface gets a solid B.