Over the course of the past couple of months, DC Studios has been on quite the roller coaster. Between a box-office flop, a relatively well-reviewed and commercially embraced TV programme, and a massive media merger in the form of Skydance’s acquisition of its parent company, the studio has weathered a series of developments that might have destabilised any other studio, regardless of its attributes or strengths. Yet, DC Studios remains standing, with one additional project on the horizon as news of the aforementioned merger continues to unfold. With DC being specifically highlighted for its immense potential as a brand, the studio’s latest output, Clayface, will undoubtedly face greater scrutiny than any of its Warner Bros. peers, serving as a means not only to gauge audience reception but also to assess where the DC Universe (DCU) stands with wider audiences.
Conceptually, Clayface has immense potential to work both as a horror film and as a proof of concept for a DCU that embraces diverse storytelling. A story conceived by Mike Flanagan, backed by a major Hollywood studio and supported by a wealth of source material, should have been a slam dunk for both the film itself and DC Studios. Yet, as evident in the finished product, things quickly come apart in its wonky execution.
A Promising Premise Undermined by Shoddy Execution
For starters, the movie looks cheap. While its budget is significantly lower than what films in this genre traditionally command, that alone is no excuse for its lacklustre visual presentation. A film, particularly one carrying the added responsibility of being part of a larger cinematic universe, should still be able to deliver a compelling cinematic experience regardless of its financial limitations. A comparison with Obsession, another film operating on a relatively modest budget, only makes Clayface’s shortcomings more apparent. Despite its limited resources, Obsession boasts a striking cinematic look that will no doubt go down as one of the year’s most memorable.
On that note, the crucial face-swapping effect, which comes into play whenever the titular character takes on the form of other characters, is laughably unfinished. Rather than immersing audiences in the film’s central gimmick, the shoddy execution only serves to pull them right out of the experience. Fortunately, some of the practical effects fare considerably better, with one particular standout sequence taking place aboard a plane, involving turbulence, a confined space, and a pair of scissors. It’s an excellent example of how a filmmaker does not need much to deliver a tremendous amount of tension, provided they understand how to make the most of their surroundings.
Body horror, as a subgenre, possesses immense potential, but there are several factors that can make or break its effectiveness. Clayface manages to hit some of the necessary marks, which would have been perfectly fine had the story itself been compelling enough to sustain the experience. Unfortunately, that is where the entire film begins to come apart.
Tom Rhys Harries Shines Despite Weak Writing
As mentioned, the concept itself is genuinely compelling. Taking considerable inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series, Clayface has a premise that lends itself remarkably well to the body horror genre. The film follows Matt Hagen, a rising Hollywood star whose meteoric ascent is cut short when a local crime boss leaves him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team and desperate to reclaim his former appearance, Hagen turns to an experimental treatment that miraculously restores his looks, only for its horrifying side effects to compromise his grip on reality and set him down a destructive path of revenge. It is a premise with plenty of substance, exploring the lengths to which someone might go to reclaim their identity, their livelihood, and the very face that once defined them.
The idea is further elevated by an excellent lead performance from Tom Rhys Harries, who brings enough charisma to the role to make Hagen’s predicament compelling. Unfortunately, the film’s writing does little to complement his efforts. Between romantic dialogue that occasionally reaches Star Wars: Attack of the Clones levels of awkwardness, side characters and antagonists who feel painfully generic, and character motivations that are often frustratingly unclear, Clayface struggles to give its central premise the narrative foundation it desperately needs. What could have been an excellent standalone body horror story instead veers dangerously close to the sort of superhero-adjacent character study that has made several of Sony’s Spider-Man villain spin-offs perennial punching bags on the internet. For a film with such a promising concept and a capable lead actor, it is a remarkably frustrating misfire.
Clayface Highlights the DCU’s Struggle to Find Its Identity
Ultimately, Clayface is yet another frustrating reminder that the DCU is in the midst of an identity crisis, one that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later before it derails the franchise’s long-term prospects. Even a project that should, in theory, stand apart from the rest of the pack is not spared from the incessant, diegetic needle drops that have increasingly become associated with James Gunn and filmmakers operating in his creative mould, a filmmaking tendency that was particularly egregious in Supergirl.
There is a growing sense that, despite the DCU’s supposed commitment to embracing diverse storytelling, too many of its projects are beginning to feel cut from the same cloth, regardless of their genre, tone, or rating. And that is perhaps the most worrying aspect of Clayface: not that it fails to deliver on its own considerable potential, but that it increasingly feels like another product of a franchise struggling to distinguish a cohesive brand identity from a consistent creative voice. If the DCU is serious about proving that its characters and stories can thrive across a diverse range of filmmaking styles, then it needs to start trusting its filmmakers to bring something genuinely distinctive to the table. Otherwise, the promise of a more creatively diverse DC universe risks becoming little more than another marketing slogan.
