Director: James Watkins
Writer: Mike Flanagan, Hossein Amini
Stars: Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, David Dencik
Synopsis: Rising Hollywood star Matt Hagen descends into a horrifying revenge-filled monster when scientific ambition strips him of his identity and humanity.
In a world increasingly obsessed with pharmaceutical quick fixes, medical treatments that offer shortcuts, and social media that preys on human insecurities, a movie like DC Comics’ Clayface feels startlingly relevant. The result is a comic book adaptation that recalls moments of inspiration that would make David Cronenberg blush and offer a stamp of approval.
Unfortunately for Clayface, the grotesque imagination is far more compelling than its standard and fairly predictable storytelling.
The story follows rising Hollywood star Matt Hagen (The Return’s Tom Rhys Harries), whose promising career is derailed when a brutal attack leaves him horribly disfigured and emotionally damaged. I mean, yeah, Hagen slept with Mia (Das Boot’s Joana Ribeiro), one of the girls involved with a Gotham mob boss (David Dencik), leaving us to wonder whether he’ll rise or fall.
And, for what I can only assume is because of the state of American healthcare, Hagen turns to experimental medicine to restore his good looks. If he restores his appearance, Matt hopes to build on his Oscar nomination and keep up that Hollywood heat. And with society’s obsession with facelifts and GLP-1s, Hagen will try anything to restore his Hollywood dreams.
So, Matt learns that Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie of Sorry, Baby fame) is developing a treatment involving nanites that, like a salamander, can rapidly heal damaged skin tissue. Corr is forced to help Hagen because her fiancé, Detective John Borrelli (The Social Network’s Max Minghella), wants to use the actor to put Gotham’s most violent crime lord away for good.
Clayface adapts the DC Comics character who first appeared in Detective Comics #40, a year after that pesky Caped Crusader debuted. With director James Watkins (Eden Lake), a screenplay from screen king Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass, Carrie), and Academy Award nominee Hossein Amini (The Wings of the Dove), the film has an impressive pedigree.
Yet the film is a fairly predictable revenge story, as expected from a major studio like Warner Bros. Discovery playing it safe and betting that familiar waters will ensure a future franchise (and keep those streaming shelves stocked). Unfortunately, it undercuts the originality of a superhero film in a genre that desperately needs a much-needed jolt of creative adrenaline.
For some reason, Flanagan and Amini’s script never ventures beyond the shallow end when exploring themes of vanity and ambition, all of which deserve deeper examination. The dialogue is awkward and borders on ham-fisted. Something feels special here that had potential, but the studio’s apparent emphasis on simplicity comes at the expense of psychological complexity.
I will say Watkins’s ability to embrace ugliness as a driving force nearly saves the film, with disturbing scenes that show the consequences of transformation. On the surface, that’s a departure for the DC Comics brand, but it has more to do with the source material than anything truly inventive. At the very least, that gives the film, and star Hagen, a distinct identity.
And while that almost saves the film, which will most likely satisfy a fervent fanbase, the inconsistent visual effects and a lack of emotional depth undermine the ambitious creativity Clayface strives for.
You can watch Clayface exclusively in theaters starting October 23rd!
