Clayface (2026) Movie Review: You Wanna Know How He Got These Scars?
Film & TV5 November 2026
AuthorJoel Harley
M
uch of the appeal of a comic book universe is in its almost infinite malleability. Worlds where a story as dark as Batman: The Killing Joke can co-exist with something as hopeful as Superman For All Seasons. It’s how Jon Bernthal’s Punisher managed to pop up in a Spider-Man movie and not seem (too) out of place. Such logic has now wrought Clayface, the rebooted DC cinematic universe’s first proper horror film.
James Gunn’s nu-DC has been a fairly bright and breezy affair so far, in his good-natured Superman movie and Craig Gillespie’s punky (and over-hated) Supergirl. A darkness, briefly glimpsed in TV projects Creature Commandos and Lanterns, now takes centre stage with Clayface.
Following in the footsteps of the villain-centric Joker, Morbius and Kraven the Hunter, this origin story reveals how Hollywood hunk Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) became shape-shifting menace Clayface. It’s a bold take – a Gotham City without any sign of Batman. And those hoping for a glimpse of where the DCU is headed will likely be left frustrated by the film’s refusal to bring on the Bat. With Robert Battinson’s alternate universe version taking precedence, the Dark Knight is pretty much off-limits… and it shows here. This, then, is a supervillain spin-off no-one was asking for. But is that any better than a supervillain spin-off no-one wanted to make? Those burned by Joker: Folie à Deux will probably attest that it is.
As the film begins, Matt is riding a career high. He’s in high demand, tipped for an Oscar, and headed home with the gorgeous Theresa (Ruby Sear). Ignoring his best pal’s warning that Theresa is in bed with the local mobster, Matt takes her back to his own. Big mistake. Markos Szabo (David Dencik) sees all, and Matt hasn’t even had time to sleep off his night of passion before the gangster strikes. One round of thug-inflicted surgery later, and Matt’s face is left in ribbons. So too, his reputation, dragged through the mud by Szabo’s lawyers and PR people.
At his lowest ebb, Matt approaches the ambitious Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who’s developed an experimental treatment capable of repairing damaged tissue and skin. Their resultant work succeeds, but it’s not without its side effects. And, as Matt learns the depth of his Hollywood friends’ betrayal, he begins to transform into something else entirely. As the bodies pile up, Caitlyn’s cop fiancée (Max Minghella) starts to suspect that something is amiss, but can he connect the dots before Hagen reaches his final form?
As Joker did with ‘70s Scorsese, so Watkins leans into all the trappings of ‘80s and ‘90s body horror. Fully earning its 18 rating (there’s even a boob!), the film features graphic sequences of surgical gore, face-melting metamorphosis and intense violence. It bears more in common with Sam Raimi’s Darkman than any of its DC forebears, from the face-swapping fun to the brutal bloodshed. As Gotham gangsters go, Szabo isn’t a particularly interesting one (he’s what the kids might call a Temu Carmine Falcone or Sal Maroni) but he comes with a colourful crew of uglies in tow, straight out of a Dick Tracy cartoon. Following a sluggish start, the film has good fun tearing them all to bits - as does Matt, as he starts to hit his stride.
Making inventive use of the character’s power set, Clayface finds a fine balance between gruesome horror and bone-cracking action. Its horror sequences net us a literal Eddie Marsan jump scare and the most inventive use of Rob Brydon you’ll ever see in a film…. Let alone a DC one. The emerging romance between Matt and Caitlyn rings less true, although this sense of inauthenticity ultimately works to the film’s favour, come the final act. If only its bigger swings had been less telegraphed; Matt’s shapeshifting is fun, but it rarely succeeds in wrong-footing the audience, packing few surprises when all’s said and done.
Clayface is another solid entry in Gunn’s DC Universe. While undeniably sloppy in places, it’s successful in breaking the mold to deliver a supervillain spin-off that stands on its own two feet.
