by Rowan Wood, Contributing Writer
DC is running laps around Marvel right now. Not only are they not as concerned about deep interconnectivity or continuity, but they are demonstrating a clear flexibility to showcase different genres, creative voices, and tones. It might not work every time, but it’s always interesting.
Personally, I am of the opinion that canon shouldn’t be strict, and should be interpreted much more loosely – every new project should provide exactly the information you need pertaining to its characters or events, and that is the only thing that should be taken as fact for this specific film or show. Everything that is not relevant can be taken or left. They can build on each other, but asking an audience to continue adding layers and layers of complex lore on top of the stories they dedicate their time to, as Marvel has been doing for the past six years, doesn’t seem entirely fair
The third film in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s self-styled “DCU” is Clayface, which is about as big a departure as you can get from last year’s Superman. It’s a hard R-rated horror movie, filled to the brim with shocking violence and goopy gore. It’s exploring a completely different aspect of this new world, and it’s all the better for it. In a way, it does what Sony’s Spider-Man villains spin-offs (Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter) fundamentally failed to do: tell a self-contained story with compelling characters and a unique hook that sets it apart from the rest of the superhero movie pack. This is a movie with a very particular audience in mind, and it seems to know exactly how to get them hooked.
I am a proud part of that audience, and I was on board from the jump. Even without anyone attached, a Clayface movie is an excellent idea; with modern visual effects and makeup capabilities, if the creative team is committed to the body horror, there could be something special there. Even if the manner in which he is disfigured is a firm departure from the beloved iteration of the character from Batman: The Animated Series, the potential of the character is virtually unlimited, especially when the creative team chooses to adapt the character’s ability of changing his shape and pretend to be other people. That adds a whole new dimension of fun and mischief that is key to keeping the character somewhat light-hearted, despite the inherent tragedy of who and what he is.
But the writer/director pairing is what really caught my attention. The film came from a pitch by horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan, who is credited as co-writer of the screenplay; if you know me, you know that Flanagan’s involvement is an easy shortcut to get a movie or a show on my radar. He did not opt to direct (likely so he could work on his television adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie), and so James Watkins, the director behind the 2024 remake of Speak No Evil, joined the project and brought it over the finish line. Watkins is clearly skilled behind the camera and knows exactly which shots to use to elicit maximum discomfort and squirm.
This version of Clayface begins with Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), an up-and-coming actor. Everything’s going great for him; he’s even just been nominated for an Academy Award. Unfortunately, a bad mistake in a nightclub leads directly to his facial disfigurement at the hands of Gotham City crime boss Markos Szabo (David Dencik). Unable to continue his work as an actor and financially ruined after a series of botched surgeries, Matt approaches scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie) and elects to be the first human subject for her experimental nano-cell treatment. It goes just about as well as you’d expect.
The second half of Clayface is where the film really shines. Armed with new abilities that he doesn’t fully understand and can’t completely control, Matt embarks on a revenge mission against those who have wronged him, and this is by far the best part of the film. It’s also the most violent, creepy, and downright disgusting. At some points, it feels like a perfect introduction to the body horror sub-genre; after all, this is a major studio release and inspired by one of the most iconic comic book franchises of all time. Still, I admire the commitment – this film keeps the camera trained on gore and viscera that most would shy away from, and I respect the hell out of that. It sends a clear message: DC is willing to go there, and I hope they keep up that streak in the future.
I mentioned earlier that the film (and the character) is deeply rooted in tragedy, and never is that clearer than when Matt is struggling with losing himself. It is clear that this transformation began long before his Clayface days – even as an actor, attempting to preserve his personal identity while coping with a meteoric rise to fame, there is a part of himself that is getting lost in the process. It’s only after he begins the medical treatments that that change becomes more literal, and he begins to suspect that this might be his path. If he has the ability to act on his worst ambitions and get away with it, why shouldn’t he do it? What does he have left to rely on? It hammers home the vacuous nature of fame, how it sucks away the humanity and leaves the artifice that the world is able to project itself onto…like a mound of clay to mold as we see fit.
Even when the film strays away from its better instincts, it’s still a blast. The performances are good, the atmosphere is top-notch, and you’re never left wanting for anything other than what the film has promised you. What you see is what you get…even if it’s Matt Hagen’s rubbery flesh disguised as someone else.
Clayface is for the freaks and the sickos. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m enjoying this superhero movie, but I wish there were more melting faces and brutal carnage,” then this is the movie for you. It represents a turn in the right creative direction for the nascent DC Universe, and at the very least, will go down in history as one of the most audacious and horrifying comic book movies of all time.
Rating: Liked It
Clayface is currently playing in theaters.
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