Clayface (2026) Review!!

Synopsis – Rising Hollywood star Matt Hagen descends into a horrifying revenge-filled monster when scientific ambition strips him of his identity and humanity.

My Take – With the announced ‘The Brave and the Bold’, the film set to introduce the DCU’s Batman, still nowhere on the horizon, CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran instead offer a Batman villain origin story as the third big-screen entry in their new universe, following Superman (2025) and Supergirl (2026). But more than simply giving Gotham’s most versatile rogue his own spotlight, the film distinguishes itself through a markedly different tone and genre.

While its predecessors were straightforward PG-13 superhero adventures, this is one is a grim, blood-soaked character study and origin story that fully earns its R rating. Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil, Eden Lake) and written by Hossein Amini (Drive), from a screenplay initially developed by Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, Oculus), the film wastes no time establishing that it has little interest in playing things safe.

Despite some bumps in the script, it largely succeeds as an entertaining and well-executed ride, balancing gnarly body-horror set pieces with a string of electric performances that smooth over many of its rougher edges. Like Joker (2019) before it, the film proves that a Batman villain can comfortably carry a feature without the Caped Crusader lurking in the background, something that Morbius (2022) famously failed to achieve without Spider-Man.

What impressed me most, however, was how effectively it balances its darker ambitions with an appreciation for the character’s inherently theatrical and larger-than-life qualities. The film embraces the operatic excess that has always made Clayface such a compelling figure, while also capturing the unique atmosphere of Gotham itself.

From familiar landmarks to subtle nods that feel lifted straight from Batman: The Animated Series, there is a genuine affection for the source material that enriches the experience without ever making prior knowledge feel essential. You can walk into this one knowing little about the character and still have a great time, provided you have an appetite for classic monster flicks and plenty of gore.

Sure, it will not redefine the superhero genre or dramatically reshape the DCU, but it never sets out to do either. Sometimes a monster movie simply needs to deliver the goods, and this one delivers it with conviction. That willingness to take a sharp left turn feels perfectly in keeping with Gunn and Safran’s vision for the DCU, a franchise that appears far more comfortable coloring outside the lines than the MCU’s increasingly uniform house style.

The story follows Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), a rising Hollywood star whose life appears destined for greatness after landing an Oscar nomination. Returning to his hometown of Gotham City for a late-night television appearance, Matt spends a reckless night of partying that ends in the company of Mia Torrez (Joana Ribeiro). What he fails to realize is that Mia is involved with Markos Szabo (David Dencik), a feared mob boss who takes a brutal dislike to their encounter.

Before long, Matt is viciously attacked, his face mutilated beyond recognition, and his reputation destroyed when Mia, acting on Szabo’s orders, publicly accuses him of assault. With his career in ruins and his future slipping away, Matt turns to ambitious biotech scientist Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), volunteering for an experimental treatment involving cutting-edge AI-driven nanotechnology. At first, the procedure appears to be a miracle, restoring everything he thought he had lost.

But the cure soon reveals a horrifying cost as Matt begins suffering increasingly disturbing mutations that transform him into a shape-shifting monster. As his condition spirals out of control and a trail of gruesome deaths spreads across Gotham, Caitlyn’s fiancé (Max Minghella), one of the city’s few honest detectives, finds himself investigating a string of murders that all seem to lead back to Matt.

Knowing where Matt ultimately ends up, a revenge-driven descent feels like the natural trajectory, and the film makes no attempt to soften him into a sympathetic antihero. We may initially root for him, but the narrative is far more interested in charting his moral collapse than offering redemption.

At its core, the film functions as a Hollywood horror story about a man so desperate for fame, validation and identity that he willingly sacrifices himself in pursuit of them. Sunset Blvd. (1950), Mulholland Drive (2001) and Birdman (2014) have explored similar territory, while Joker (2019) likewise followed an entertainer’s transformation into a Gotham-born menace. The film’s closest relative, however, is arguably Sam Raimi‘s Darkman (1990), in which Liam Neeson‘s Peyton Westlake is mutilated by mobsters and pursues revenge using experimental science and synthetic disguises.

The parallels are hard to miss: a ruined face, a failed scientific breakthrough and a man consumed by vengeance. But where director Raimi embraced pulpy comic-book operatics, here, director James Watkins keeps things relentlessly bleak. The body horror is unmistakably indebted to The Fly (1986), with shades of David Cronenberg looming over nearly every grotesque transformation.

The film wants to make audiences squirm, and it succeeds, delivering a parade of peeling flesh, surgical mutilation and stomach-churning mutations. The now-infamous airplane bathroom sequence, in which Matt attempts to cut open his own eyelids with a pair of scissors, is every bit as horrifying as the trailers suggested. It may not reach the outrageous extremes of The Substance (2024), but it is difficult to imagine anyone leaving the theatre feeling remotely comfortable.

The film is equally effective when embracing the character’s inherent theatricality, most notably during a deliriously entertaining dance-fight sequence in a Gotham nightclub. Beyond the grisly body horror and the dark humor, the film’s most compelling element is its twisted emotional core, particularly the tragic relationship between Caitlyn and Matt. Their dynamic, evoking a warped variation of Frankenstein and his creation, becomes increasingly disturbing as the story unfolds and provides much of the film’s emotional weight. The world surrounding them is also convincingly realized as well.

Admittedly, it does not feel dramatically distinct from the Gotham seen in filmmaker Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022), a connection made more noticeable by Reeves‘ involvement as a producer. Yet the film’s greatest strength may be its refusal to rely on Batman himself. Despite unfolding in Gotham City, no Dark Knight arrives to save the day. There are no appearances from Robin, Nightwing, Batwoman or Batgirl. Instead, the film remains focused on a contained and character-driven story about superficiality, insecurity and the horrifying consequences of toxic behavior left unchecked.

Yes, that focus does not always pay off. Matt Hagen feels somewhat underdeveloped as a protagonist, and the film occasionally buckles beneath a predictable screenplay and moments of heavy-handed dialogue. Themes of fractured identity are introduced but never explored as deeply as they deserve, with observations about actors struggling to find their “real” selves often feeling more stated than examined.

As a result, the tragedy at the heart of the story never lands with quite the force it should. By the end, it is difficult not to wonder what might have emerged had Mike Flanagan, whose work so often blends horror with rich emotional drama, remained behind the project as both writer and director.

Fortunately, Tom Rhys Harries has the screen presence to overcome many of the script’s shortcomings. He convincingly charts Matt’s descent from charismatic movie star to increasingly unstable monster, bringing enough pain and vulnerability to keep the character compelling. Naomi Ackie is equally strong, grounding the film’s tragic central relationship and generating much of its emotional weight. Max Minghella delivers a solid turn as Gotham’s honest detective, while David Dencik is suitably menacing as mob boss Markos Szabo. Supporting players Eddie Marsan, Ruby Sear, Joshua James, Jake Curran and Rob Brydon round out the cast with welcome contributions. On the whole, ‘Clayface‘ is a gruesome, darkly funny comic book horror thriller that thrives on its body horror, pulpy genre sensibilities, and strong performances.