CLAYFACE: 4 STARS. “not your typical origin or comic book movie.”
SYNOPSIS: Third feature in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe, “Clayface” is the origin story of one of Gotham City’s most notorious villains. “This is gonna be hard for you to believe. Matt Hagen can change his face.”
CAST: Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan. Directed by James Watkins.
REVIEW: An origin story that doesn’t spare the violence and gore, “Clayface” is a bloody good time that breathes the same fetid air as body horror flicks like “The Fly” and “The Substance.”
The DC standalone action of “Clayface” centers on rising movie star Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries). From the rough-and-tumble streets of Gotham City to the big screen and an Oscar nomination, things are going great until he has an ill-advised dalliance with local crime boss Markos Szabo’s (David Dencik) girlfriend (Joana Ribeiro). In revenge Szabo takes a razor to Hagen’s face, rendering him disfigured and unrecognizable.
Scarred and with his career in tatters he looks into an experimental treatment to regain his old looks and identity offered by Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie). “Even if it kills me,” he says, “I’ll be better off than I am now.”
The miracle nanocell serum yields results, and Hagen’s movie star good looks return, but, as Dr. Corr says, “The procedure is causing troubling… physical changes.”
As the grisly side effects manifest themselves, his body shapeshifts into living clay, making him able to absorb and change into his foes.
As his life and body transform, his vain quest is overtaken by a thirst for revenge. “You want to know how I feel?” he asks. “The people I trusted betrayed me. The justice system failed me. They stole my career, my money, my life…! I’m a monster.”
Dark, violent and grimly entertaining, “Clayface” isn’t the same old from DC. It’s a body horror film that goes surprisingly hard, capped with a charismatic performance from star Tom Rhys Harries.
It’s a multifaceted role for the Welsh actor as he metamorphoses from movie star to monster. As his identity and sanity slip away, his shift from charismatic actor to desperate victim to vengeful villain is seamless. Those transformations are made tragic (despite his dreadful behavior) by Harries’s deft work.
Adding to the overall vibe are practical effects that give the movie a gooey, visceral Cronenbergian feel that make for vivid, cringe-inducing visuals.
A twisted tale touched by human tragedy and revenge, “Clayface” is not your typical origin or comic book movie, but it is a welcome addition to the DC Universe.
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