BY EVAN RANDO
“Clayface,” directed by James Watkins, starring Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie is the newest installment in James Gunn’s extended DC universe, and it’s a muddy one.
Synopsis
Harries plays Matt Hagen, an up and coming actor who is on cloud nine after receiving his first academy award nomination. Hagen’s fortune quickly shifts after an entanglement with the fiance of Gotham City crime boss Markos Sabo, played by David Dencik. The actor is attacked and left horribly disfigured. A face that once turned heads in admiration and enamorment now draws the same attention, but in fear and disgust.
Desperate, Hagen turns to doctor Caitlyn Corr, played by Ackie, an excommunicated scientist whose work in cell regeneration may provide Hagen the miracle he needs. Corr agrees to give Hagen an experimental and unapproved procedure, and against all odds it works. Hagen is quick to get back into his celebrity lifestyle, but the side effects of this procedure prove to be quicker. Our protagonist is left in a disgustingly wicked battle against not only his own body, but those who wronged him before.
Review
I, like most fans of the genre, have grown tired of the formulaic and cookie cutter nature of these superhero flicks. So when I heard “Clayface” was going to be an R-rated body horror film, inspired by the works of industry staples such as David Cronenberg, I figured this may have been just what the doctor ordered for DC studios. However, I held some slight concerns about how the general audience would react to a film about a D-list Batman villain that doesn’t even bother to mention even the name of the titular character. Nonetheless, my interest was definitely piqued.
“Clayface” will satiate a certain bloodlust that the modern superhero audience has been desperately lacking. It’s filled with enough blood and gore to make it stand out amongst a heap of comic book slop, and admittedly that blood and gore is great. All the scenes involving Hagen descending into an amalgamated mess of clay and goop are beautifully grotesque and squirm-inducing. One scene in particular involving eyes, an airplane bathroom and a pair of scissors is sure to bring even the most desensitized of viewers to heavy discomfort. When you look past the gnarly visuals and practical effects, the movie starts to show some serious flaws.
It doesn’t matter how hard this film tries to divert from its inherent genre, it’s still a comic book movie that shares a lot of the same problems that studio-heavy productions have been plagued with. This film sacrifices so much intriguing material and potential for the sake of still being able to appeal to a larger audience. They show their hand just enough for you as an audience member to be impressed or grossed out, but never seem to be willing to completely dive into what it truly wants to be.
This movie could be a complete full course entree of atmospheric weirdness and stomach turning body horror, however it chooses to only let those elements be small side dishes in what is a meal stuffed with rushed story beats and hollow characters.
The first 30 minutes of this film are paced poorly, with many plot points thrown in and glazed over without a second thought. Never once does the film let you sit with a scene and think on it. Combine this with some truly cringe worthy dialogue that couldn’t even be salvaged by the great performances from our lead actors, and I was left with a sort of whiplash type feeling I couldn’t really shake. Was this a bad movie with some good parts? A good movie with bad parts? I honestly can’t tell.
“Clayface” is a film that doesn’t know what it wants to be and I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about it. On one hand, I feel obliged to give this movie some flowers for going out and taking a swing. It’s important for films to keep trying to push boundaries especially with a genre so chock full of cliches, but if you really want to reinvent what this category of movie can be, you gotta commit to the bit all the way. Unfortunately, “Clayface” shied away from going all in on that risk.
With all that being said, I’m giving DC Studios’ “Clayface” a strong 2.5 to a light three on stars.
