Director James Watkins turns DC’s first theatrical horror movie into an A24-style origin story. Even without Batman on screen, a lived-in Gotham and a heartbreaking lead performance make this the best DC movie yet.
Clayface is a sign that DC under James Gunn has one major problem: the adult content might just be too good.
We’re only a couple of years into James Gunn’s DCU, and the number of adult projects already far outweigh the ones made for general audiences and families. I’m talking about Superman and Supergirl. When you compare those to the mass amount of adult projects that’ve released so far (I personally like to count The Suicide Squad, but let’s pass on that), you still have so many R-rated stories.
And I don’t mean just R-rated in the sense that there’s a little bit of nudity or cursing. No, these are really hard-R, mature projects like Creature Commandos, Peacemaker Season 2, Lanterns, and now Clayface. Clayface is an even further outlier because it’s a horror movie, and that’s a whole discussion worth getting into.
Body Horror With an A24 Feel
Clayface is DC’s latest movie in James Gunn’s DCU. It’s the first R-rated theatrical project to be released, and it’s DC’s first-ever horror movie to hit theaters.
But is this movie scary? No. I’ll just get that out of the way right now because I really want people to go see it. Is it something you can take your kids to see? That’s also a definite no, because it’s still a body horror movie. When I say this movie isn’t scary, I’m saying it isn’t scary to me. I’m someone who really likes horror movies, and I have a high tolerance for the genre. Scary movies just don’t scare me. If you were avoiding it because you thought it was going to be too terrifying, don’t worry. It does have some body horror, but I believe in you. You can handle it.
Focusing on the story itself, director James Watkins makes Clayface feel like an A24 project. It feels like a film that’s really trying to show how one really bad day, or just the slow downfall of someone, can create a true villain.
At the end of the day, I actually found myself feeling sorry for Matt Hagen throughout the movie. His whole life was ruined, and all he wanted to do was get it back. What started as a revenge quest quickly turned into a villain’s origin story.
I never would’ve thought they’d find so much depth for a character like Clayface, and that’s what I really loved about it. Even though this movie had such a low budget, it doesn’t look like a cheap movie at all. It actually looks great, and that’s crazy to me. I’m honestly wondering how you can make a movie look this good on such a low budget when you have other movies with massive budgets that don’t look nearly as good as this.
DC’s Villain Advantage
Within the DCU, one thing that DC truly has going for it is great villains. In particular, Batman has the best Rogues’ Gallery. When we talk about villains in comic books, the names you think of are Joker, Mr. Freeze, Sinestro (especially after Lanterns), and more. In terms of comics, you’re typically going to be thinking of Batman’s villains first.
Even the ones that aren’t typically front-page villains for general fans have been so good. Look at The Penguin series, and now Clayface.
This shows that James Gunn’s DCU doesn’t have to just run on mainstay DC heroes. Instead, this universe can be built on the villains that some people may not even know about, and that gives DC a huge advantage.
I can’t think of a single Marvel project outside of Infinity War where the villain was the main character. Even then, that was still an Avengers movie. But look at this: this is Clayface, and there’s no Batman. Yes, while watching the movie, I was thinking, “Where’s Batman? Would he be involved in any of this?” I honestly don’t think he would. Even if he were active at the time, it isn’t at a scale where he’d have to interfere. Still, for what Clayface eventually becomes, he’d definitely end up on Batman’s radar down the line.
The Layers of a Lived-In Gotham
Gotham looks truly lived-in here, and it’s a place I can’t wait to see explored more. You really feel it in the simple moments, like when he’s just walking through the city, or in the different scenes where you’re seeing the nightclubs, the courthouses, and the overall environment. It just feels real and lived-in without feeling over the top. You look at the city and immediately know it’s Gotham because you’re seeing the rich sides of it with the mafia and the mob bosses, and then you’re seeing the low sides of it where people are at their worst. I love the range of that and the fact that we actually get to see the different layers of Gotham.
I was looking around the frame thinking, “This is actually Gotham.” It feels close to Matt Reeves’s version, but with an identity that aligns more with Clayface. They both have their own distinct color grade and feel. This is within James Gunn’s DC Universe, and the cool thing is that every project releasing so far has its own identity. He isn’t making it where every movie has to have the exact same color grade or the same look. Instead, he’s telling the filmmakers, “Hey, this is your movie, make sure it has its own visual identity.” Between Superman, Supergirl, Lanterns, and Clayface, each project has its own distinctive look. When you look at them, you know they’re their own movies, and I love that about this universe.
Overall, this is truly a movie that I can’t wait to watch again, and I’m already finding time to go back to the theater.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually want a Clayface sequel before I even want a Batman movie. Prior to this, The Batman starring Robert Pattinson was my favorite DC movie, but now this actually takes the cake, and Batman isn’t even in it.”
James Gunn, James Watkins, and the team at DC made one of my favorite DC movies of all time, and I don’t find myself saying that often. If you haven’t seen Clayface, definitely go check it out.
Now, I just have two questions for you: what DC character do you want to see next in James Gunn’s DCU, and how does this make you feel about the DCU moving forward? Let me know what you think in the comments, and let me know if you’ve seen Clayface yet!