Remember when Sony did those incredibly pointless Spidey villains spin-offs that nobody went to see except for the Venom movies for….some reason?! And remember how some of you actually enjoyed those Venom movies in an “ironic” way, even though that entire trilogy was nothing but big, dumb messes with tonal inconsistences, bizarre directing and acting choices, and having virtually no identity of their own whatsoever?! Well, here’s DC Studios equivalent of that except you can actually enjoy it in an UNIRONIC way, strictly because it is actually a smart and clever movie with a perfectly controlled tone, directing and acting choices that are actually ON point, and a film that has an actually identity of it’s own. To put it simply, if you wanted to see an actual good Venom movie that does NOT star Logan Marshall-Green, Clayface has you covered.
Premise: Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an actor whose face is disguised, and he turns to a scientist (Naomi Ackie) who transforms his body into clay, but begins to lose his sanity as he is unable to recognize himself.
The key to Clayface working as well as it does is by applying the formula that has worked for most modern horror films: win big by playing small. It’s no secret that Clayface has a budget that’s much smaller than your usual superhero film, reported to be around $30 to $44 million at best. However, it’s able to use it’s limited budget to it’s fullest advantage, proving the right amount of grossness and gnarly nature that feels appropriate for it’s story and titled character. Sometimes all it takes is only limiting yourself to a handful of tricks and you get some rather impressive results. While you do feel the budget restraint somewhat in it’s first two acts, by the time we get to the final stretch, it goes into full unleashed mode and does NOT hold back whatsoever.
What also helps wonders is the lead performance by Tom Rhys Harries. He’s completely buyable as the A-list Hollywood movie star that Matt Hagen has build his reputation as throughout his career AND his total transformation into one of Batman’s rose gallery baddies, using his new powers to get revenge on those that destroyed his lives. Even if you don’t 100% buy his motivations to want to get back on everyone that backstabbed him, you won’t be able to deny that it’s so damn satisfying to watch him return the favor. He also has pretty good chemistry with Naomi Ackie’s Dr. Corr, the woman that is responsible for Matt’s transformation and the only source of happiness that he has after he becomes the monster that he never believed he was destined to be. I’m so gonna dread the day when Batman has to go up against this version of Clayface.
Although Clayface does work pretty well as a “Venom but done right” experiment and fits perfectly in the same realm of compelling side adventures with Batman’s foes such as Joker, The Penguin, and Birds of Prey (That movie rocks! Don’t @ me!), it does feel lacking when you compare it to other recent horror flicks with limited budgets. Perhaps had this film came out a decade ago, it wouldn’t be as noticeable. But considering the 2020s had given us instant original horror classics such as Sinners, Obsession, Weapons, Talk To Me, and The Substance, all films of which were made with pure pennies compared to 99% of blockbusters today, it is understandable to be tad underwhelmed that Clayface isn’t quite in the same league as that.
And this also might be the least interesting version of Gotham City that we have ever seen in any live-action Batman medium. Nothing in here represents the Gotham City we have been accustomed too in any way, shape, or form. You could’ve replaced this with literally any other city and it wouldn’t make a difference whatsoever. And that’s not even taking away the fact that Batman is no where to be seen here. Between this, The Penguin, and the ungodly long wait for The Batman: Part II, our favorite Caped Crusader has been slacking off as of late (Can’t wait to see How It Should Have Ended’s next superhero parody!).
Also, while the slow burn direction of seeing the journey of Clayface in his final finished form is quite satisfying for me considering how compelling of a character Matt Hagen is here, for those that are expecting the actual Clayface itself to gain the majority of screentime will be very dissapointed here.
To give it a hint, Clayface himself has just SLIGHTLY more screentime here than the spider-women did in Madame Web! (At least here, it works for the development of the main character and not just in some random flashbacks sequences that could’ve been completely cut out of the finished film entirely!).
In the end, I still don’t think we needed a Clayface movie in the DCU before say we got Wonder Woman or even freaking Batman but for what we got here, it’s pretty damn good. It’s able to work as an engaging villain origin story, an intriguing character study, AND an enjoyable B-level horror flick all at the same time. The special effects are great, it moves at a good pace, and it doesn’t wear out it’s welcome, making for an enjoyable night out at the movies AND for a solid Halloween pick for the fall season.
If you happened to be that one sane individual that wanted to see a live-action R-rated version of the both “Feat of Clay” episodes from Batman: The Animated Series, you got your wish here!
