Rising Hollywood star Matt Hagen descends into a horrifying, revenge-filled monster when scientific ambition strips him of his identity and humanity.
I had never heard of Clayface before the trailers for this film were released. I wasn’t a comic book reader as a kid; I wrote stories and made 8mm films instead. After watching the trailer, I was intrigued, especially after learning that he is a classic Batman villain from DC Comics. Since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the reins of DC Studios, their first two films, “Superman” and “Supergirl,” weren’t exactly well received by critics or fans. Of the two, I’d say “Superman” was better, but not by much. “Supergirl” was especially disappointing, so my early enthusiasm for “Clayface” began to fade.
While Gunn and Safran produced the movie, James Watkins directed, with Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini writing it, which immediately raised my hopes. Watkins has delivered several good horror films over the years, including “Eden Lake,” “The Woman in Black,” and the American remake of “Speak No Evil,” the acclaimed 2022 Danish-Dutch thriller of the same name. Mike Flanagan has also given us “The Haunting of Hill House,” “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” “Midnight Mass,” the latest TV iteration of “Carrie,” and “Doctor Sleep,” which I consider a far stronger sequel than Stanley Kubrick’s overrated adaptation of “The Shining.”
“Clayface” centers on rising movie star Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries). Matt is in the middle of shooting a new movie, has just been nominated for an Oscar for his previous film, and is on cloud nine. To celebrate, he and his childhood best friend, Corey (Joshua James), fly from Los Angeles back to Gotham City for a weekend in the city where they both grew up. While at a nightclub, Matt meets the mysterious Mia (Joana Ribeiro) and is immediately taken with her. When Corey warns him that she is the girlfriend of Gotham mob boss Markos Szabo (David Dencik), Matt ignores him and the two hook up for the night.
Matt wakes up the next morning in his expensive hotel room, where he is greeted by Markos and his henchmen. Determined to make an example of the actor, Markos has his men restrain Matt while he brutally mutilates his face. The attack leaves Matt severely disfigured and effectively destroys the life he had built. As a result of his disfigurement, he is dropped by his Hollywood agents and friends, and nasty stories, initiated by Markos, spread like wildfire, painting Matt in a very bad light. His career disappears almost overnight, and he eventually finds himself homeless on the streets of Gotham. He comes across an online video of Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), an ambitious, unconventional scientist whose determination to push the boundaries of medicine gives Matt Hagen a glimmer of hope. He volunteers as a human test subject for Dr. Corr’s experimental skin graft therapy.
Corr injects his disfigured skin with a bright pink nanocel serum. At first, the treatment seems miraculous, restoring his face flawlessly, but the nanocells malfunction and start to evolve with minds of their own. Instead of providing a cushion to hold his face together, the nanocells simulate a biological infection throughout his bloodstream, forcing the microbial colony to develop a life of its own. The nanocells cause Matt’s flesh to sag and stretch into a malleable, clay-like form, giving him full cellular instability, meaning he can take on and heal from traumatic wounds and change shape into anyone, but at the expense of his fading physical identity and his grip on reality.
I had no idea what to expect from “Clayface,” since I knew nothing about the character or his circumstances in advance, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The film is rated R and doesn’t shy away from body-horror elements. Some scenes were so explicit that the older couple sitting next to me kept covering their faces during some of the movie’s more extremely graphic scenes.
Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen, the titular character who starts as a rising star, making his way from The Narrows, a poor, crowded neighborhood of Gotham City, to a Hollywood leading man, only for his meteoric rise to be abruptly cut short after his disfigurement. In the opening scene, he is shooting a movie when they pause filming to listen to the Oscar nominations, and he’s nominated for Best Actor for his previous film. Everyone cheers him on, and he asks for a moment alone; he steps aside and quietly breaks down in tears of happiness, telling his late mother he finally made it. It’s a touching scene that shows how grounded and empathetic he is, and how grateful he is for his rise to fame and for the people around him who helped him get there.
Watching his life get torn down by fabricated stories is heartbreaking. But worse still, some of his lifelong friends turn their backs on him altogether. Director James Watkins forgoes big-name stars and instead uses lesser-known actors, and it works for the film. The performances throughout are top-notch, but Tom Rhys Harries steals the show with a heartbreaking performance that shows his emotional range, from humbled movie star to outcast, then seeking revenge against those who tore his life apart without hesitation. And here’s the thing: while he’s seen as the bad guy, I found myself sympathizing with him. His anger may lead him to commit terrible acts, but its source is understandable. Like Harvey Dent and Victor Fries, Matt begins as a decent man whose life is shattered by forces beyond his control. He gradually becomes a tragic monster, channeled through intense physical horror.
Harries captures the tragic desperation of a Hollywood star losing his identity to extreme physical transformation, and he is 100% relatable throughout. While his disfigurement by the mob is tragic, the film pulls no punches in showing his mind completely fracturing into a violent villain fueled by delusion and revenge. I have to give the filmmakers kudos for relying on highly effective, stomach-churning practical make-up effects rather than pure CGI. Director James Watkins has crafted a lean, mean B-movie that doesn’t bog itself down with heavy DC Universe set-up. Take note, Hollywood: this is how you make a true origin story. Even if you’re not a DC fan, “Clayface” is thoroughly enjoyable, but it is not for the squeamish.
In Theaters Friday, October 23rd
