“That’s my revenge inside of you.”
It is a well-known fact that I’m a huge DC Comics fan. Specifically, I’m a massive Batman fan. That means that a lot of people don’t trust my opinion on anything Batman or DC Comics related. Well, listen to me this time around and believe me whenever I say that Clayface (2026) is a very good film. It has been pitched as a body horror movie, and there’s definitely a lot of that in this film, but it is ultimately a film about revenge…..violent, brutal, gory revenge.
The film stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen/Clayface, Naomi Ackie as Dr. Caitlyn Corr, David Dencik as Szabo, and Max Minghella as Detective Borelli. The film also features a number of excellent supporting actors including Joshua James, Joana Ribeiro, Nancy Carroll, Jake Curran, and Corey Johnson. Of the cast, I was only familiar with Corey Johnson before seeing this film. He’s an excellent character actor that has been all over science fiction, action, and horror. He did a great job in this film, as did the rest of the cast. The movie was directed by James Watkins and Mike Flanagan and Houssein Amini.
The film opens with Matt Hagen, an up-and-coming actor from Lucas Heights, a low-income and crime-stricken district of Gotham City, who has just been nominated for an Oscar. Ecstatic about the honor, Matt goes out on the town with his friend and fellow actor Corey Bowery (James), and ends up having a one-night stand with a young woman named Mia (Ribeiro), who happens to be the girlfriend of a local crime boss named Szabo. Matt and Mia wake up the next morning to find themselves surrounded by Szabo and a number of his goons. As punishment for sleeping with Mia, Szabo slices up Matt’s face. He then becomes a victim of the corrupt Gotham City justice system, where Szabo makes it look like Matt sexually assaulted Mia. Matt loses his fame, his money, and his friends. Ostracized by pretty much everyone, including his agent, and suffering from numerous botched surgeries, Matt returns to Lucas Heights. He comes across an experimental scientist named Dr. Corr, who is working on nano-cell research and begs her to help him. She eventually agrees to help Matt. The initial tests miraculously heal Matt’s face. Despite warning him to wait until she does more research, Matt attends a premier, hoping to show off the fact that he is back and ready to be a star. His face begins to melt at the premier. He rushes back to Corr’s office and overdoses himself on the nanites. He recovers completely, feeling even better than he did prior to his attack. As time passes, however, he and Dr. Corr begin to realize that he can change his face and body when his emotions are unsettled. People connected to Szabo and his attack on Matt Hagen begin to die at the hands of an unknown murderer. Matt begins to have feelings for Dr. Corr, despite her being in a long-term relationship with Detective Borelli. Borelli begins to hunt for the mysterious killer. Watch Clayface to find out what’s really happening in Lucas Heights!
This is a very good film. It has some very tense moments and a wonderful blend of practical and CGI effects. Without giving away too much, just know that we do get to see Clayface in all of his glory…..eventually. The film does a great job of building up to Clayface’s ultimate reveal. I also liked the fact that Szabo is believable as a legitimate, immediate threat to the Lucas Heights area, but not a crime boss on the same level as Penguin, Carmine Falcone, or Sal Maroni. There’s also no mention of Batman in the film, which was refreshing to be honest. There was no attempt to ramrod him into the story.
As far as this film being a body horror flick, I’m on the fence. Yes, there’s plenty of body horror in the movie, and one particularly unnerving scene on an airplane that I won’t ruin here, but I viewed this film as a dramatic thriller, heck, even a sci-fi revenge film, more than body horror. The bottom line, though, is that this film is really good. It never makes you feel sorry for Matt Hagen. He has a run of bad luck, and instead of seeking redemption by making great movies, he goes on a revenge tour. It doesn’t make you feel sorry for the antagonists in the film, either. Yes, it had pacing problems and, yeah, I hated that one particular character is offed in the film, but it is definitely a very solid movie that introduces us to one of Batman’s more unique villains.
Go see Clayface. You will not regret it! Thanks for checking out my post.
