I suppose the DC Universe has had enough of heroes flying through the sky and looking magnificent. This weekend, Warner Bros. SA. wants us to watch a man’s face melt. Yes, Clayface releases in cinemas today. And this time, DC has turned one of Batman’s stranger villains into the centre of a full body-horror film.
How terribly uncomfortable.
The film follows Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries. He begins as a young actor whose rise from the streets of Gotham has taken him all the way to Hollywood. But just as his career begins to take off, a local crime boss leaves him horribly disfigured. Can you imagine the horror of that? Anyway, his team abandons him, his career falls apart and Matt agrees to an experimental treatment that promises to restore his face.
Yes, you guessed it, this is not going to end well.
The treatment appears to work at first, but it also gives Matt the ability to reshape his body and take on different appearances. Now, under normal circumstances, that sounds useful for an actor. You could play every role, fire your agent and never wait for the makeup department again.
Unfortunately, the procedure also damages his mind and sends him down a path of revenge.
DC describes the film as a horror thriller, which means audiences should not expect another colourful superhero adventure where the city receives minor damage and everyone makes jokes afterwards. James Watkins directed the film. He previously gave us The Woman in Black, Eden Lake and Speak No Evil. So, he certainly understands how to make people uncomfortable. Mike Flanagan created the original story and wrote the screenplay with Hossein Amini. Matt Reeves, James Gunn and Peter Safran are among the producers.
That is quite a collection of people who know their way around Gotham, horror and emotionally damaged men. Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, David Dencik and Eddie Marsan join Harries in the cast. But this is very much Matt’s story, and early reviews have praised Harries for making the character feel tragic rather than simply disgusting. Although from what critics are saying, the film does not hold back on the disgusting part. Clayface is being described as a revenge thriller, romance and body-horror origin story. Other reviews have compared its transformations to films such as The Fly and The Substance. So perhaps avoid buying anything too complicated from the cinema snack counter.
But the film’s existence is interesting for another reason. Clayface is not exactly the first DC character most people expected to receive a solo film. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman have names that can sell tickets without much explanation. Clayface looks like something Batman would fight for 20 minutes before moving on to the person responsible for the actual plan.
And that may be why this works.
The character arrives without the weight carried by DC’s biggest heroes. There are fewer expectations and no need for the film to spend half its running time preparing audiences for another crossover. So no need to complete any franchise homework before watching it.
Thank goodness for that.
You can walk into the cinema without remembering which timeline survived, who met Superman or whether Batman was watching from a nearby rooftop. The film can simply concentrate on Matt Hagen and the horrible choices that transform him into Clayface. I also think making the character an actor was a clever decision. Actors build careers around their faces. Casting directors, cameras and audiences examine every expression. Matt loses the face that made his career possible, then gains the ability to wear almost any face he wants.
Now that might sound like a gift, but it also raises a troubling question. If you can become anyone, what happens to the person you were before?
And there it is. A comic-book film with something stranger on its mind than saving the world. DC could have introduced Clayface as another villain waiting for Batman to punch him. Instead, it has given him tragedy, romance and enough unstable flesh to make everyone shift in their seats.
We may not have asked for a Clayface movie. But sometimes the strangest characters leave the strongest impression. Even when their faces refuse to stay in place.
Get your tickets now, you really don’t want to miss this one!
Watch the trailer here:
