A Different Kind of Monster: "Clayface" Gives DC a New Identity
After months of being one of 2026's most anticipated films, James Watkins' Clayface has finally oozed its way into theaters just in time for the end of spooky season. The new DCU has been on a roll lately, with its surprise smash hit Lanterns concluding just weeks before this film’s release. I’m happy to say that DC has maintained its momentum because this film shocked me in all the best ways. Unlike most action-comedy superhero movies coming out nowadays, Clayface decides to lean into a different genre, resulting in skin-crawling body horror. Horror has always been foundational to comics as a concept, specifically around the Golden Age of comics in the 1950s. With the sudden reemergence of low-budget horror films such as Obsession and Backrooms killing it at the box office, this movie came out at the perfect time.
James Watkins' Clayface is heavily based on Marv Wolfmann and Michael Reaves episode "Feat of Clay" from Batman: The Animated Series. It stars self-made actor Matt Hagen, whose hubris results in a local crime boss scarring his face. Deformed and disgraced, Matt calls upon struggling scientist Caitlyn Corr to provide him with a treatment that will give him back his career. As the two bond, Matt’s treatment leaves him changed both physically and mentally. Now Matt doesn’t need a costume and script to be anyone he wants.
Tom Rhys Harries’s portrayal of Matt Hagen steals the show with a compelling performance that adds real depth to the film. Rhys plays Matt as a person, not just a monster. I’m glad the DCU is giving lesser-known actors the chance to shine, and Harries proves he has the talent to make the most of it. Hagen's fall from grace is believable and enhanced by his frequent scene partner, Naomi Ackie’s character, Caitlyn Corr She is a new addition to the Batman mythos, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she were to reappear in future projects to assist the Dark Knight. Her addition not only allows us to understand what’s happening to Matt; it also allows the movie to contain stakes whilst making Matt out to be a dangerous and unstable threat. The two leads carry this film on their backs from being a low-budget superhero flick to a horror one could be called as psychological as it is physical.
Writer, Mike Flanagan proposed his idea for a solo Clayface horror film back in 2021. Although sadly he wasn’t able to direct this project due to scheduling conflicts, his initial script was the basis for this film’s plot. It’s a passion project that was slowly developed with care, and I think it’s all the better for it. The film commits to the horror genre in ways other comic book movies haven’t dared. The prosthetics by Dixie George and Adrian Rigby achieved elements of realism that make you empathize with Matt Hagen’s struggle after he’s unjustly disfigured. After his treatment, the movie implements much more CGI, and it really does do the character justice, even if some scenes look a little underbaked. With a budget of 40 million dollars, this film had to be clever about where it used digital effects. The average superhero film costs roughly 200 million dollars to make. So it’s crazy to think that this film’s success will allow similar future projects to be even more ambitious. I hope that this inspires more comic book movies to take risks and commit heavily to specific genres.
A concept I wish this film put more of a focus on was Matt’s fractured sense of identity. Even before the incident, there are remarks made about Matt’s troubled childhood in Gotham. On top of that, Matt remarks on playing a role his entire life. As his condition worsens, these ideas are only emboldened by Matt’s newfound ability to fit any role he desires. I wish there was more of a focus on Matt’s previous roles; perhaps he thinks of them as a part of him after they increased his popularity and even lead to an Academy Award. I think Matt’s over-reliance on associating himself with his characters would have made his fall from grace simultaneously more gradual and more brutal.
Although this film is a treat Its far from the perfect. As stated before, the digital special effects in certain scenes are a little overambitious for the movie’s budget. The method in which Matt changes identities can be seen as a little silly, but the direction definitely took advantage of large crowds and large sets to make the effect more akin to losing someone in a crowd. I’d say a much more pressing issue would be the script. For a film with such an emphasis on immersion and filmmaking, I was taking out of the movie several times some truly baffling lines of dialogue.
I think it’s important to remember that unlike a lot of superhero media recently, this movie wasn’t made in response to another film’s success. Director James Watkins' confirmed that certain parts were inspired by Eyes Without A Face, a French-Italian horror film from 1960's. I vastly prefer artists having a distinct creative vision for an interpretation. Films such as The Flash and Justice League always made DC feel like it was attempting to catch up to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead of thinking of creative ways to compete, they just followed trends to attempt to leach off of similar demographics. Given Clayface’s identity as a Batman villain and the lack of said hero in the film, I was reminded of Sony’s Spider-Man villain movies such as Venom, Morbius, and Kraven The Hunter. They always felt reactionary or unoriginal, and if it wasn’t either of those, they were unintentionally hilarious. Sanitizing its characters to appeal to a wider audience and never taking advantage of the obscene potential that made its characters popular in the first place.
Ultimately, Clayface succeeds because it commits to a clear creative vision instead of sanding down its stranger, more unsettling ideas. It may stumble with some effects and dialogue, but its body-horror approach gives Matt Hagen’s story a distinct identity. The film feels unlike the many superhero projects it could easily have imitated. I hope its success encourages DC and other studios to take more risks with comic-book adaptations: smaller budgets, stronger directorial voices, and genres that let each character’s story stand on its own.
