Clayface (2026) Review

The rebooted DC Universe franchise has been off to a pretty rough start, with Superman being bogged down by about a million different side characters and plot threads, and Supergirl being an all-around mess. Luckily, Clayface, which serves as the third DCU film, is by far the best the franchise currently has to offer. Director James Watkins, who is known for Eden Lake, The Woman in Black, Bastille Day, and Speak No Evil, and writers Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, clearly understood the comic book source material well enough to deliver a competent and engaging feature. After the mixed reception of the first two DCU films, it now seems like producers and DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran finally have a well-deserved critical hit on their hands.

Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a rising actor who was just nominated for an Oscar. Matt seems to be on top of the world, until a brief fling with actress Joana Ribeiro) leads her vengeful gangster partner Markos Szabo and his henchmen to disfigure his face with a scalpel. Desperate to look handsome again, Matt seeks out Gotham City scientist Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who manages to rebuild his face, but he soon learns that the miracle cure came at a cost, as he just might be turning into a monster. Harries is nothing short of superb as Hagen, portraying the talented young actor as someone who goes from having everything to finding himself at the bottom of the abyss with such tragic gravitas that Matt always remains sympathetic, even as his monstrous side begins to take over. Warner Bros. and DC Studios also need to be commended for greenlighting a film with a morally ambiguous protagonist who gradually sinks into further depths of depravity, making Clayface truly work as a character study of how far someone can go when they feel they have lost everything.

In addition to being the third film in the DCU, Clayface is also the first film in the series to actually have a focused script which was not over encumbered by countless other plot threads, and its clear focus as a romantic revenge story will certainly help viewers to remain invested in the plot. Hagen uses his powers of shapeshifting and invulnerability as he sets out to destroy his enemies, while also developing romantic feelings towards Corr. Ackie is also on top form as the conflicted Corr, a brilliant and conflicted scientist who cares about Matt, but who is also married to officer John Borelli (Max Minghella), who is growing increasingly suspicious of the actor. The talented Minghella is highly impressive as the no-nonsense Borelli, a cop who has clearly seen the worst humanity has to offer throughout his homicide investigation career, and Ackie has strong enough chemistry with both Harries and Minghelli to make Corr’s mixed emotions seem palpable. David Dencik is also brilliantly creepy as the vile Markos, a character so reprehensible that viewers will quickly want him to receive his comeuppance. Unlike last year’s Superman, which tried to introduce as many side characters as possible, Clayface only focuses on a small group of central characters, helping the plot to remain focused at all times.

Clayface absolutely embraces its R rating, with everything from Matt’s disfiguration to the vengeance he later dishes out being shown in graphic detail. The gore is depicted through a mixture of practical effects and CGI, which are both highly effective. And while it was tragic to watch Matt being tortured with a scalpel, it was also hilarious to later see him ripping out someone’s tongue in a fit of rage and then desperately mimicking the dead man’s voice to convince his secretary behind the door that everything is okay. This is a film which perfectly balances horror and humour, something which many lesser productions never quite get right. But the budget of Clayface is much smaller than the budgets of most superhero blockbusters, which means there are very few action set-pieces, so anyone expecting to see city-wide destruction sequences or huge battle scenes will be disappointed. But the smaller budget certainly helps Clayface to feel much more like a grounded and believable story, even when the fantastic elements kick in.

Ultimately, this is a much smaller and lower stakes story which just happens to take place in the DCU, making it a welcome alternative to the much larger-scale comic book movies viewers are accustomed to seeing. The gritty and grungy production design also helps Gotham City to feel real and lived-in, as opposed to the futuristic and idyllic Metropolis depicted in Superman.

It really would be safe to say that Clayface is currently the best film in the DCU, with its strong performances, focused script, and competent horror elements helping it to stand out against its counterparts. Put simply, this is a film which horror and comic book movie fans cannot afford to miss.

Movie Rating:

Clayface trailer