After the DC Cinematic Universe stumbled a little bit with the underperformance of Supergirl, it did feel like they managed to gain back some of the audience thanks to their HBO Max series, Lanterns. The focus for James Gunn has been to lead with creator-led stories, if someone has a good idea and a good pitch, they’ll make it. Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Bly Manor, Doctor Sleep, Midnight Mass) was the main creative force behind this film, leading the pitch and having written the script that got James Gunn to approve the project. Flanagan would also have directed the film, but instead chose to direct The Exorcist: Martyrs.

Clayface shows the origin of the Batman villain. Matt Hagan is an actor at the top of his game, after he hooks up with a mob boss’s girlfriend; the mob boss brutally attacks him, leaving his face heavily disfigured. Hagan decides to take a chance on an experimental cure, it works but has side effects that leave him altered.

This obviously isn’t the first time we’ve tried to do one of these villain origin films. Sony tried it many times with the likes of Venom, Morbius and Kraven, and DC has done it before with Joker. None of those films feature the primary protagonist associated with the villain, and particularly the Sony films tried to make the lead character ‌more likeable and feel like a hero in the universe rather than a villain. Flanagan has done a lot of work in his career so far writing interesting characters that get to explored more in series rather than films. The film intially does a good job at making you like Hagan and feel sorry for him, but as the film goes on feeling less and less sorry for him, and more and more unlikeable.

James Watkins took over directing duties when Mike Flanagan exited the project to make his The Exorcist film. Watkins has directed a few smaller horror films including the likes of The Woman in Black and Speak No Evil, as well as directing one of the most impactful episodes of Black Mirror, Shut up and Dance. The film might lack a little bit of specific style, and it’s hard not to specifically compare it to The Substance. The body horror is very effective, making it difficult to watch when you specifically see Hagan’s face being sliced open, or he cuts off a chunk of his hand. But it manages to use this aspect well. The most effective scene is a terrific, creepy, fun nightclub scene where he transforms into multiple people to infilitrate the gang, using some creative ways to kill people along the way, I imagine this was something in Flanagan’s script.

Tom Rhys Harries isn’t an actor I’m particularly familiar with aside from apparently seeing him in an episode of Doctor Who and in a role in The Gentlemen. I think particularly in the horror genre, you can give oppurtunities to lesser known actors, and build a strong cast around them to lift them, something I think any blockbuster can do. He certainly has proved that he can lead a film, and it would be fantastic to see him return in this role in a future Batman film in the DCU, even if it’s the main villain role.

The supporting cast do a solid enough job. Naomi Ackie gets the most screen time playing the doctor behind his treatment who he gets entangled with. I’m glad Ackie has managed to prove her talent after appearing in The Rise of Skywalker, but has since gone on to star in this and the likes of Mickey 17 and Blink Twice. She makes for an interesting character who is intially relucant but can’t turn down the chance for the big break in her career. You also get the likes of Eddie Marson, Rob Bryden and Max Minghella who don’t have an especially large amount to do.

I think one of the biggest missed oppurtunities is some of the visuals with this world. It’s clear they’ve tried to use a lot of practical effects where possible, and for the most part they look absolutely fantastic, and really help add to the horror and grotesqueness of the film. Where the film faulters and really doesn’t work for me is some of the CGI. It at times cheaps out, particularly when Hagan suddenly changes to look like someone else, there’s no transformation in it, he’s not moulding himself, it’s just a sudden flash, it works particularly in the nightclub sequence but any other time it just feels cheap and loses part of the point of the character in my opinion. I also think the film follows a relatively common problem of feeling slightly small, often feeling like there was no more than 10 people in a room for a scene that’s supposed to feel big. I’m willing to let that slie on a film that has a smaller budget than some of the others that fall into doing that.

Overall, Clayface is a really effective body horror with strong moments and one of the most memorable scenes of the year. Decent performances, make this probably the best of these comic book solo villain origin films. It certainly won’t be for everyone and I imagine even DC fans could be put off by this, but ultimately this feels like the type of project Gunn promised would be common place in his universe, which is something I would like to see more of.

What did you think of Clayface?

Apologies for the little delay in reviews, I am still here. Sometimes with work it’s been a little bit busy to keep up to daye with the latest films or I feel like I’ve missed the boat on particular films. With it getting more to the latter stages of the year, and bigger films are coming out, I will try to get them out as much as my schedule allows. Thank you for reading, I appreciate the support.

Let me know in the comments below and be sure to follow on all social media @floodersfilms