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Opening in theaters on October 23 is ‘Clayface,’ directed by James Watkins and starring Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan.
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Initial Thoughts
Clayface is the name given to a series of villains in the Batman comic book universe, going back to 1940 and the original, an actor named Basil Karlo. A second-tier nemesis in the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery, Clayface arguably became most famous in his second incarnation as Matt Hagen. That’s the name used here, although instead of a treasure hunter as in the comics, he’s an actor like Karlo – but he can still eventually form his face and body into whatever shape he wants.
Hagen’s transformation from a successful actor into a monster living in the sewers of Gotham City is the basis of ‘Clayface,’ directed by James Watkins (‘Speak No Evil’) and written by horror auteur Mike Flanagan (‘Carrie’) and Hossein Amini ('Drive'), from a story by Flanagan.
Ostensibly an origin tale for this Batman villain in the rebooted DC Studios universe – which has yet to cast Batman himself, so no, he’s not here or even mentioned – ‘Clayface’ remixes the character’s comic book lore, adds a healthy slathering of body horror, and sprinkles some camp on top. It's fun in a lot of spots but feels sort of pointless, with a conventional narrative that eventually ends up like 108 minutes of throat clearing.
Story and Direction
Matt Hagen (Harries) is an up-and-coming actor who finds out that he’s been nominated for an Academy Award. Elated, he and best pal Corey (Joshua James) go home to Gotham City and hit the town for some clubbing. Matt ends up getting high and going to bed with a beautiful actress named Mia (Joana Ribeiro), only to learn the hard way that she is the squeeze of local mob boss Markos Szabo (David Dencik), who slices up Hagen’s face, leaving him mutilated and nearly unrecognizable.
Since this is Gotham, justice is not served: Szabo gets off and no one – not the cops, nor any witnesses – is willing to stand up to the crime lord. In short order, Hagen loses everything: his money, his apartment back in Coast City (i.e. Los Angeles), his agent, and his business manager (Eddie Marsan). He finds out that the latter and others have betrayed him. And his face is not healing, despite half a dozen plastic surgeries that force him to go outside in a mask ‘Eyes Without a Face’-style.
Then Hagen meets Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who’s working on nanotechnology that can repair damaged tissue even though her own funding has been cut off. Illegally using Hagen as a human test subject, she injects him with her nanobots – and within weeks, his face begins to heal, at least at first. But several incidents in which his features seem to literally melt off his head – including his first attempt to return to a red-carpet premiere -- drive Hagen to desperately inject himself with an overdose of the bots.
That at first seems to stabilize him and even make him feel physically terrific, but soon leads him down a dark path in which extreme emotional responses allow him to take any shape he wants – and begin enacting gruesome vengeance on those who wronged him.
Stylishly directed by James Watkins – who did a surprisingly good job with the American remake of the brutal Danish film ‘Speak No Evil’ – ‘Clayface’ works best during all the body horror material that has been at the forefront of the movie’s trailers. The movie certainly wrings some genuinely squeamish moments out of Hagen’s transformation, the mutation of his body, and the ways in which he slaughters his enemies, including one moment that inventively pays unmistakable tribute to, of all things, ‘The Godfather Part II.’ There is lots of blood and gore in ‘Clayface,’ and those scenes are where the movie comes fully alive (with terrific work by visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton) .
But the rest of the narrative, aside from the visuals and Watkins’ steady eye behind the camera, is frustratingly generic and surface-level despite hinting at thematic depth and resonance. Ideas about identity, image vs. substance, celebrity culture, and dangerous technology (yes, the nanobots are a form of AI – how timely!) all get a handwave as the film proceeds through the usual paces: the protagonist starts out on a high, has his life collapse around him, acquires something that brings him back, and then pays an even worse price. It’s as routine as an old VH1 ‘Behind the Music’ documentary.
Films like ‘The Fly’ (1986) and ‘The Substance’ provide the DNA here, along with the comics and perhaps -- especially in terms of Hagen's final form -- the ‘Feat of Clay’ episode from ‘Batman: The Animated Series.’ The third act shifts tones abruptly, sliding into near-camp territory as Clayface launches a cleverly staged assault on Szabo’s headquarters. But even here there’s a lack of internal logic: does Hagen reshape his features with his hands or can he transform his appearance (and even his clothes) in the blink of an eye? Is he bulletproof? Are the nanobots evolving? The story never makes it clear.
It’s one of many underdeveloped aspects of ‘Clayface,’ including the potential romance that begins to form between Hagen and Corr and even the setting of Gotham City itself. For its first appearance in the DC Studios universe, Batman’s hometown just presented as a typical urban cesspool, underpopulated (due to a relatively low budget, no doubt) and lacking any kind of identity. This is Gotham, one of the most important locations in the DC canon, and it’s just kind of there, even if Watkins and cinematographer Rob Hardy shoot it well, adding saturated bits of color to the grime and murk.
That sums up ‘Clayface’: it’s just kind of there. It works well enough as a horror programmer (one scene in which Hagen changes faces while sleeping, as Corr monitors him, is genuinely chilling) and there are lots of crowd-pleasing moments of gore and violence. But it leaves no lasting impression.
Cast and Performances
We’ve got to give it to Tom Rhys Harries: for a guy with a pretty face he sure does let it get messed up beyond all recognition. Harries is certainly up for anything physically, and he delivers a decent amount of empathy, but in the end Hagen never comes fully alive. Is he truly just a surface-level, pretty-boy actor or is there real depth and pain there? Is he a vengeful monster or is that the nanotech talking through him? We never really get enough out of him to tell. Harries does a great job with a persona that is a shapeshifter in more ways than one.
The same goes for Naomi Ackie. She’s always a warm, engaging presence onscreen, but Dr. Caitlyn Corr remains frustratingly out of reach. She’s there to provide the catalyst and guide for Matt’s transformation and descent, yet the film turns her into an undercooked love interest as well. Fortunately, Ackie is skilled enough to keep us involved even when she’s just a pawn.
The rest of the cast go through their paces. Max Minghella comes off okay as Ackie’s dutiful fiancée and one of Gotham’s rare upstanding cops, but the lead villain is unremarkable and his gang come across as campy leftovers from a 'Dick Tracy' movie. The film at least has some fun with their demises.
Final Thoughts
‘Clayface’ is sure to raise questions about just what James Gunn and Peter Safran are doing with their DC Studios project, now that they’re three movies and two TV shows in. Although they stated that their films would largely stand on their own two feet (of clay?), that DC Studios logo at the top of the movie carries a lot of baggage.
‘Clayface,’ while certainly an okay time at the movies for under two hours, doesn’t have the gravitas to support that baggage. In the end, it feels small and perhaps insignificant. James Watkins does deliver some nasty shocks and a number of unsettling images, and Tom Rhys Harries shows off real chops. It's the modern equivalent of a B-level horror movie, while also giving us the beginnings of a villain before we even know who the heroes are.
‘Clayface’ receives a score of 67 out of 100.
What is the plot of ‘Clayface’?
After being brutally disfigured by a local mob boss, rising movie star Matt Hagen volunteers as a test subject to restore his original face but experiences a series of horrifying psychological and physical side effects that transform his body into living clay.
Who is in the cast of ‘Clayface’?
- Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen/Clayface
- Naomi Ackie as Dr. Caitlyn Corr
- Max Minghella as John Borrelli
- Eddie Marsan as Frank Fitzgerald
- David Dencik as Markos Szabo
- Nancy Carroll as Hildie Love
- Joshua James as Corey Bowery
- Joana Ribeiro as Mia Torrez
- Jake Curran as Patches
- Corey Johnson as Cadillac Sal
- Rob Brydon as Vic Chissler
Movies and TV Shows Starring Batman Villains:
- 'Catwoman' (2004)
- 'Joker' (2019)
- 'Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)' (2020)
- 'Joker: Folie à Deux' (2024)
- 'The Penguin' (2024)
- 'Clayface' (2026)
