Clayface Is DC Comics’ Scariest Horror Movie Ever: Review

TL;DR

Before you orderOffer from Amazon

Get audio and creator gear delivered free with Prime

• Fast, free delivery on millions of items
• Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
• Member-only deals all year

Start your free Prime trial →Free trial for eligible customers · Cancel anytime

As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.Hide

A Consequence review describes DC Studios’ Clayface as a gruesome, standalone horror film led by Tom Rhys Harries, whose character gains shapeshifting abilities after a violent attack and experimental treatment. The review praises the practical-feeling effects and Harries’ performance but says the protagonist’s character arc is limited and the film’s connection to DC’s wider plans remains unannounced.

DC Studios’ Clayface is a graphic horror origin story about actor Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries, whose disfigurement and experimental treatment leave him able to take on other faces. In its review, Consequence praises the film’s body horror and Harries’ performance, while arguing that its thinly developed lead and uncertain place in DC’s wider universe limit its impact.

The review says the film opens with Hagen as a successful young actor whose confidence leads him into a dangerous encounter with Mia, played by Joana Ribeiro. Her boyfriend, Gotham crime boss Markos Szabo, played by David Dencik, attacks Hagen and carves up his face. With his career and appearance destroyed, Hagen seeks help from scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr, played by Naomi Ackie, whose treatment reverses the damage but brings unsettling side effects.

As Hagen’s body changes and he develops the ability to assume other people’s faces, the film shifts from medical and bodily horror toward revenge. Consequence highlights graphic surgery, a scene in which Hagen has to open his damaged eyelids, and later sequences built around his shapeshifting. The review says director James Watkins makes the effects feel convincing, though it is not clear which moments were created practically and which relied on computer-generated imagery. DC Studios head James Gunn has said the production uses many practical effects, according to the review.

The screenplay is by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, based on a story by Flanagan. Consequence credits Harries with handling the part’s shift from swagger to distress, but says the story gives Hagen little depth before his injury. Ackie provides a counterpoint as Corr, though the review says the character is largely defined by her relationships with men. Max Minghella plays her fiancé, a Gotham City homicide detective.

A Horror Test for DC Studios

The film puts a focused horror story at the center of a major comics property without relying on familiar superheroes, according to the review. Its main connection to DC is its Gotham setting and its adaptation of a Batman-associated villain’s origin; the review says no established heroes appear. That makes the film a test of whether DC Studios can support standalone genre films alongside its broader slate.

For viewers, the review’s assessment is mixed but clear: Clayface appears to work best as a gruesome story about a man adapting to a transformed body, rather than as a chapter that advances a larger shared-universe plot. Whether the film ultimately helps establish a separate corner of DC’s screen world may depend on its reception and on future decisions that have not been announced.

How Clayface Fits DC’s Slate

Clayface is based on a DC Comics character associated with Batman, but the review describes this film as an origin story with no familiar heroes. Its Gotham backdrop provides the clearest link to the wider property. Consequence says the film’s tone sits closer to Matt Reeves’ Batman universe, and notes that Reeves is an executive producer; that observation does not confirm that the movie shares continuity with Reeves’ films.

The review traces the project’s development to Flanagan’s interest in making a Clayface film, which it says dates back at least to 2021. In a 2024 interview cited by Consequence, Gunn said he was impressed by the quality of Flanagan’s pitch. Those details offer a reason the project moved forward, but do not establish how DC Studios plans to use the character after this film.

““On its own merits as a standalone horror movie about a guy becoming a mud monster, Clayface works pretty well.””

— Consequence reviewer

DC’s Continuity Plans Remain Open

DC Studios has not announced whether Clayface will connect to a particular Batman film series or appear again in another project. Although Consequence points to Reeves’ executive-producer credit and a tonal resemblance to his Batman films, those details do not confirm shared continuity. The review also cannot determine how individual effects sequences were made, beyond Gunn’s reported comment about practical effects.

The source material is a review, not a report on audience response, box-office results or the film’s eventual place in DC’s slate. Those outcomes cannot be established from the review alone.

The October 23 Theatrical Release

Consequence says Clayface opens in theaters Friday, October 23. Its reception will provide an early measure of how audiences respond to DC’s horror-focused approach, but the review does not report release-day results or any announced follow-up projects. Any later connection to other DC stories remains dependent on future studio announcements.

Key Questions

What is Clayface about?

The film follows Matt Hagen, an actor whose face is mutilated in an attack. After seeking experimental treatment, he develops the ability to take on other people’s faces and turns toward revenge, according to the review.

Who stars in Clayface?

Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, Naomi Ackie plays scientist Caitlyn Corr, Joana Ribeiro plays Mia and David Dencik plays crime boss Markos Szabo. Max Minghella also appears as Corr’s fiancé, a Gotham homicide detective.

Is Clayface connected to other DC films?

The review says the film has no familiar superhero characters and that its Gotham setting is its main connection to the DC property. No wider continuity link has been announced in the supplied material.

When does Clayface open in theaters?

Consequence’s review lists the theatrical opening as Friday, October 23. The supplied source does not state a year alongside that date.

Source: rss