For the past 5 or so years, every fantasy and comic book villain has been given the cinematic origin story treatment. There have been a few successes along the way, but they've been outweighed by the massive failed attempts to make them into misunderstood anti-heroes. I always said that DC Comics has the richest line up of villains that range from born evil to circumstantial evil or to the classic man becoming the monster. The Joker is probably the most prominent example of a mixture of all 3, but Clayface is one of the most deadliest, underrated and tragic villains of all. His story was brilliantly told in the Batman: The Animated Series and I was truly excited at the prospects of how his story would translate to screen. I was blown away with the results and let me tell ya, this film did not recoil from the unique body horror aspects of the character. The story itself may not have been the most groundbreaking, but its the atmosphere, the pain of desperation and the eventual fall from grace that is the point of the film.
Tom Rhys Harries brings a kind and relatable feeling as Matt Hagen / Clayface. I loved that he was a more humble man that loved his work as an actor, but wasn't too full of himself. We all make mistakes when celebrating and that's when he falls into the all too familiar trap of success and fun without caution. His initial depression and pain was truly heartbreaking as he fought to comeback from a horrific attack and I really empathized with the guy as his world started falling apart. Once he gets his miracle scientific cure, that's when you start to see the darkness build in him as his quest for vengeance, although satisfying, begins to awaken the monster in him. Tom did a great job delivering the emotional weight of every discovery and the psychological damage. I dug Joshua James as Matt's fellow actor and bestfriend, Corey Bowery. For the time we spend with him, he really was one of the last good things in his life that kept him grounded. Naomi Ackie was fantastic as Dr. Caitlyn Corr. Her genuine concern for him was refreshing as she never treated him as a science experiment. She always brought out the humanity of Matt and I enjoyed their chemistry the most. Max Minghella was great as the good hearted detective and Caitlyn's boyfriend, John Borrelli. I enjoyed his fearlessness as a Gotham City Police Officer because of all the known corruption around the department. Eddie Marsan is always a gem to witness on screen and as Matt's business manager, Frank Fitzpatrick, he was particularly slimey. David Dencik was great as the main antagonist of the film, Markos Szabo. He was perfectly dirty, ruthless and the way he disfigures Matt was truly disturbing.
The score by composer Volker Bertelmann was fantastic. The “Clayface Theme” is reminiscent of Danny Elfman's Darkman theme as it carries that same tone of gothic tragedy. It is especially brilliant during the final scenes of the film. The practical make-up effects that blend so well with the digital enhancements were so good in this film. The body horror element was truly the showcase as it led to some of the most gruesome visuals I've seen this year so far. The airplane sequence is not for squeamish, but I found the climatic club office scene to be the most brutally inventive. So far the DC Cinematic Universe has taken some swings and this was by far a homerun as they take one of the most iconic villains and truly give him a tragic horror story worthy of his pedigree. Definitely one of my favorite horror films of the year. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
