‘Clayface’ review: “Joker meets John Wick” in a freaky, ferocious DC thriller
The best way I can describe Clayface is simple: Joker meets John Wick, with a disturbing dose of body horror. That was my reaction to a movie I enjoyed a lot. It is dark, brutal and willing to get downright freaky, but those qualities are a big part of what makes it such an entertaining trip into Gotham’s shadows.
Director James Watkins takes a character associated with Batman’s rogues gallery and builds a horror thriller around him. Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen, an actor whose promising career is shattered after a crime boss leaves him disfigured. An experimental treatment offers a chance to reclaim his appearance, but its consequences send him down a dangerous path.
It is a premise that gives the film something compelling beneath the bloodshed: a man desperate to recover the life he believes has been taken from him.
My Joker comparison comes from the psychological downward spiral. There is something unsettling about watching a person’s pain, humiliation and anger consume more and more of his identity.
The John Wick side of the comparison is the revenge-driven intensity. Once that anger takes over, the movie has a vicious energy that makes its violence feel relentless.
Those comparisons describe the feeling of the film for me. Clayface still has its own identity, particularly when the horror turns inward and Matt’s body becomes something he can no longer trust.
That is where the movie gets under your skin. The fear goes beyond what someone might do to him. It comes from what he is becoming.
Harries gives the story a human center. His performance makes Matt’s desperation accessible, which helps the transformation carry emotional weight. A monster movie becomes much more interesting when you can still recognize the wounded person inside the monster.
Naomi Ackie, who plays Dr. Caitlyn Corr, adds another important dimension. Their connection gives the story moments of intimacy amid the ugliness and helps keep its emotional stakes in view.
As much as I enjoyed Clayface, viewers should know what they are walking into. The film can be genuinely freaky, and it is very violent. The bloody imagery and disturbing physical transformations make this a movie for audiences comfortable with graphic horror.
Its R rating fits the experience. Anyone expecting a light comic-book adventure could be in for a considerable shock. For me, that commitment works. The horror feels central to the character’s story, and the willingness to follow it into uncomfortable territory gives the movie its bite.
There is plenty of horror experience behind the camera. Watkins previously directed The Woman in Black and the 2024 Speak No Evil. Clayface comes from a story by Mike Flanagan, who shares screenplay credit with Hossein Amini.
Matt Reeves is also among the producers, an interesting connection for fans of his work bringing Gotham to the screen.
One especially clever detail involves Harries’ voice. According to an interview published by DC, he worked with dialect coach Sonia Fields on how Matt changes his accent depending on his surroundings. As his circumstances change, his Gotham roots become more audible.
The effects have a hands-on component, too. Watkins told Dread Central that practical prosthetics helped the actors respond to something physically present during filming. It is a fitting approach for a story built around the terror of a changing body.
What stayed with me about Clayface was the combination of tragedy, revenge and grotesque horror. It gives the audience a reason to care about Matt before pushing his story into increasingly disturbing territory.
I had a great time with it. The intensity, the central performance and the willingness to get weird make it an easy recommendation for viewers who enjoy their comic-book movies dark and their horror unapologetically nasty.
