I’ll be the first to tell you that when a Clayface movie was announced, I definitely thought, “Who was asking for this?” Perhaps it is because my first introduction to the character was Batman: The Animated Series, and the character scared the hell out of me as a kid. But more so, it was probably the fact that this would be the third film in the DCU, and that, as a character, many wouldn’t be familiar with (outside of those who read comics and/or watch Batman media), Clayface seemed like an unusual choice. That said, I enjoyed Clayface much more than I expected to.
The film follows actor Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), a star on the rise who has been taking the world by storm after his latest acting gigs. However, flirting with the wrong woman at a nightclub ends his career when her mobster boyfriend decides to give Matt a new face. Naturally, Matt wants to go after the people who did this to him, but in a city as corrupt as Gotham, a fair trial (even for a civil suit) is hard to come by – especially when organized crime families pay off the jury.
Unsure of how to get his life back on track, as all the legal fees have bled him dry and he has no more money to attempt reconstructive plastic surgery, Matt happens upon a video interview with Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), a scientist whose work could help his healing process. However, Dr. Corr’s work is far from human clinical trials. Despite this, Matt still wants to try Dr. Corr’s treatment. While it initially yields effective results, an incident on a red carpet causes Matt to inject himself with more of Dr. Corr’s substance than he’d used previously, and the aftermath is terrifying.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Clayface. To put it frankly, I have been underwhelmed by what the DCU has offered so far. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) with a screenplay by Mike Flanagan (The Life of Chuck, Doctor Sleep) and Hossein Amini (Drive, The Snowman), Clayface is enthralling. It’s the kind of movie you can’t look away from – although I am sure that some people will want to close their eyes for how grotesque the film can be at times. Many unsettling moments will have you squirming in your seat, and the movie is all the better for it.
Of course, much of the film relies on having a tour de force performance from its lead, and Tom Rhys Harries delivers. Harries easily embodies Matt Hagen, expertly going from most wanted actor of the moment to the masked man trying to cover what his face has now become. There’s an earnestness to his performance that grounds the film in many ways, and watching him take on the tall task of Matt’s journey with ease was a delight. In addition, his chemistry with Naomi Ackie is palpable.
Ackie holds her own as Dr. Corr – not that that is a surprise, as Ackie has done so time and again in her previous roles. Together, Ackie and Harries tackle each character’s grief with the utmost care. You can easily understand their motivations because they’ve both lost people and things that meant the world to them. Arguably, Ackie’s Dr. Corr is the heart of the film as the real-world tether that keeps everything in place until she can’t any longer.
Now, the film isn’t perfect. As an avid comic book reader and having watched many comic book-based films, I’ve come to expect that there will be no perfect adaptations of specific stories or characters. Yes, some have gotten closer to perfect than others. Still, usually things are changed to meet the studio’s needs, to appeal more to a general audience, or because the particular story is too difficult to adapt. I don’t think that is necessarily the case for Clayface, but perhaps because I’ve seen better from both Flanagan’s and Amini’s work, I expected something more.
The other negative I had was Gotham City’s lack of personality. Now, the film isn’t entirely set in Gotham from start to finish, but most major events take place there. There was an opportunity to craft a distinct version of the well-known fictional city that I think was missed. It could have been any other city, and no one would have batted an eye. For most of the movie, it was missing the visual grittiness most associate with Gotham. In most adaptations, whether comics, movies, or TV shows, Gotham typically functions as a character in its own right. So, it was disappointing to see that aspect missing in the movie.
That said, it didn’t fully diminish my enjoyment of the film as a whole. Sure, the movie could have better balanced its horror, humour, and humanity, particularly in the third act. But thankfully, for the most part, the performances make up for what the film lacks in the narrative and sometimes clunky dialogue.
Of course, we need to talk about how the film looked. Gotham’s lack of personality aside, the moments where viewers begin to see the side effects that Matt deals with are pure horror. Many moments will certainly make you uncomfortable and queasy. There are many disturbing and downright disgusting moments throughout. As uncomfortable as the scenes were, I found myself enthralled and could not look away. Coupling makeup and practical effects with visual effects made a world of difference, especially for scenes like the one with the cuticle scissors. Paired with composer Volker Bertelmann’s intense and operatic score, that scene (and others) had me feeling like I was the one about to take a small pair of scissors to my own eyelids.
Although I would have loved it if we had more time to expand on the ideas hinted at or mentioned in the script, such as losing yourself, the fickleness of the entertainment industry, and body dysmorphia, Clayface has many things going for it. With pitch-perfect performances from Harries and Ackie, impressive practical and visual effects, a stunning score, and a great blend of horror and humanity, Clayface is a film worth watching (even if some scenes may make you nauseated). While it might not be perfect overall, it is an intriguing villain origin story that is sure to please those who enjoy a little darkness and horror (and grossness) in their comic book movie adaptations.
Leave a Reply