Gotham’s shape-shifting villain is oozing into theaters just in time for Halloween.
DC Studios’ Clayface arrives Oct. 23, and it’s shaping up to be the studio’s first full-on foray into body horror.
(Clayface via WB Pictures)
What Clayface Is About
The R-rated film follows Matt Hagen, a rising Hollywood actor, whose career collapses after a brutal attack leaves him horribly disfigured. Desperate to restore his famous face, he turns to an experimental treatment.
It works, at first, then sends him into physical and psychological turmoil as his body uncontrollably starts to morph into clay.
The Cast Bringing Gotham’s Horror to Life
Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt (aka Clayface), opposite Naomi Ackie as the scientist Dr. Caitlin Bates.
Max Minghella, David Dencik, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll and Joshua James round out the main cast.
Max Minghella plays a police detective dating Dr. Bates, though most of the supporting roles remain under wraps.
A Horror Team Behind the Camera
James Watkins, the director behind Speak No Evil and The Woman in Black, helms the film, bringing to life a screenplay from Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. The story is credited to Mike Flanagan.
Esteemed horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan is known for horror projects like The Haunting of Hill House and is adapting Carrie for television, and Matt Reeves is among the producers. DC Studios co-head Peter Safran has reportedly compared the film’s tone to David Cronenberg’s The Fly.
What the Trailers Have Shown So Far
A teaser landed in April, showing Matt bandaged in a hospital bed cross-cut with flashbacks and glimpses of his changing face. A second trailer in July leaned even harder into body horror as his grip on his shape-shifting abilities slips.
Fans online have called the footage unsettling in the best way, especially a scene where Matt wipes his face blank.
A Villain With a Long Comic History
Creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger introduced the original Clayface to the Batman comics as Basil Karlo, a deranged actor who killed the cast of a remake of his greatest movie. Later versions of the name went to other characters, including the scientist Preston Payne.
This film centers on Matt Hagen, so the actor-turned-monster thread carries over, now reworked as a story about fame, identity and what a person will risk to look like themselves again.
Where Clayface Fits in the DCU
James Gunn has confirmed the film belongs to the main DC Universe rather than Matt Reeves’ separate Batman world. It follows Superman and Supergirl as the third DCU release. Fans of David Corenswet’s Superman can find more to watch next.
The character debuted in Detective Comics #40 in 1940, and this version of Clayface also appeared in the animated series Creature Commandos. DC is also on the schedule at New York Comic Con this week, with a Jim Lee panel on Saturday.
With a Halloween-week release and a creative team steeped in horror, Clayface could be the scariest superhero movie in years when it hits theaters on Oct. 23.
Want more spooky season picks? See the biggest horror movies and shows arriving this October.
