Clayface: A body horror comic book film oozing with wasted potential

Since its announcement as part of James Gunn’s newly formed DC Universe, the concept of a body-horror comic adaptation focused on a B-tier Batman villain has been quietly intriguing.

This review contains mild spoilers for Clayface.

Certainly, Clayface is a bold concept and marks a definite statement of intent from producers Gunn and Peter Safran that has to be commended. Yet, in practice whilst there is an attempt to realise the potential of such a premise, it also shies away from the total commitment it really requires. What we’re left with is a film split between two worlds: part R-rated gorefest, part held back somewhat by over-conventionality.

Quite possibly the most notable aspect of Clayface is that it’s a film of two halves. We are thrown into Matt Hagen’s world from the get-go but the first act moves at such a breakneck speed that it’s hard to even grasp who Matt is. This is no fault of actor Tom Rhys Harries (who I can gladly say I was ahead of the curve on since his appearance in Doctor Who) but there’s a definite focus on plot over character here. This leaves the lead somewhat underdeveloped, aside from small hints that are never quite elaborated upon and are almost certainly the victim of cut content.

Whilst a Batman ’89 or The Batman would be able to infuse the mob with a certain camp quality and cartoonishness … I’ve never seen gangsters this boring

Further still, whilst the film may hinge on the plot during the opening stages, it becomes rushed to the point of feeling more like a checklist of things to cover before the inevitable gory action. The inciting incident – intended as an intimidating display of gang violence – is particularly egregious in this regard: not only does the film do little to establish its world beforehand, but fails to properly deliver on the shady underworld that is such an intrinsic part of Batman’s Gotham. Whilst a Batman ’89 or The Batman would be able to infuse the mob with a certain camp quality and cartoonishness becoming of a comic book adaptation, I’ve never seen gangsters this boring, especially from a Batman project.

The switch up thereafter to more of a slow burn approach is somewhat jarring but is a welcome change and saves the film from what would otherwise be a slog to get through. The gradual body alterations complete with some pretty disgusting moments and the establishment of a revenge killing spree for Matt are also satisfying to watch.

Whilst the shift to a revenge thriller is welcome, the plot around it becomes a bit too self-serious and at times feels like a lesser HBO Max series

Nonetheless, it still feels like Clayface is trying to get somewhere that it doesn’t really want to be. It half attempts a love triangle and it tries (unsuccessfully) to establish the Clayface transformation as a metaphor. Whilst the shift to a revenge thriller is welcome, the plot around it becomes a bit too self-serious and at times feels like a lesser HBO Max series.

Thankfully, it’s at the backend that the film finally starts to have fun with the concept. A particularly strong club fight scene makes for both the most enjoyable and most comic-book-esque part of the film with its mix of campy humour and exhilarating action. The ending is also strong, delivering the recognisable mud monster of the comics and foregoing the obligatory post-credit scene to conclude the film with an equal parts tragic and objectively cool conclusion.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Clayface manages to pull everything back in the final act. However, whilst a significant improvement, the fact that the film only really starts to get going at this stage only makes its missed potential more apparent.

Clayface lacks the flair, the moodiness and the noirish tendencies that something like this requires

The horror hits more than it misses, but what the film really lacks is a sense of direction and atmosphere: it lacks the flair, the moodiness and the noirish tendencies that something like this requires. Furthermore, I can’t really see a vision tying it all together, like that of The Batman.

Indeed, it is unfortunately near impossible not to compare this to Matt Reeves’ The Batman, a truth which hurts the film immeasurably. Reeves simply has the talent and panache to construct a successful genre piece that also functions within the logic of Batman, something which director-for-hire James Watkins struggles with.

Like Joker, I think Clayface arguably suffers from the lack of Batman altogether. Any Gotham-based story requires a character like Batman (a literal ‘pyscho’ in a bat suit) to make its campy logic plausible. Especially here, where Matt requires a suitable juxtaposing figure, in a film which desperately needs that level of camp to inject some life into it, the absence of Batman is particularly notable.

Is that to say Clayface isn’t a good film? Absolutely not. It’s a fun time and it scratches a certain itch when it comes to seeing body horror on the big screen. It also does ultimately justify itself, but even so, it’s hard not to feel left wanting by the time the credits roll.

★★★ ½