Written by Alayna Arias, Staff Writer
The newest villain led movie made by DC Studios hit theaters October 23rd of 2026.
Although Clayface is a lesser known character in the DC comics, the movie made a big impact on its audience. In the DC comics Clayface is known as a bittersweet villain.
Matt Hagen was a hard working actor who strove for greatness, but a horrible car accident ended up mangling his face. He mourned his acting career, thinking he would never be on a screen again, but then discovered an experimental cream that would temporarily reshape his face to the version of him before the accident—or anything else he could think of.
A series of unfortunate events led to addiction, and he was forced to take a large dosage of the cream, birthing Clayface. He could shape himself into anyone he ever dreamed of—except for himself, the only person he ever wanted to be.
Clayface is a body horror film directed by James Watkins and starring relatively unknown actor Tom Rhys Harries. It earned a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.5/10 on IMDb. The film depicts the origins of Clayface as a villain, but with a bit of a twist. The film was written by Mike Flanagan, and although he followed the original origin story, he followed it very loosely. Instead of a car accident, Matt suffers an attack, and instead of an experimental cream, a desperate scientist tries to prove herself.
There are vastly different opinions on the movie. On one end of the spectrum people love it, but on the other end, people hate it. Some argue that the concept was great, but it wasn’t given justice in the execution. There’s lines in the film that make the audience cringe, the ending felt rushed to make space for the forced romance, and the writing felt odd at some moments, leaving an underwhelming feeling at the movie’s end.
Other fans loved the new interpretation of this villain who is usually in the shadows, praising it as spectacular, especially since the director didn’t hold back on the body horror. The film showcased Clayface’s descent into a horrifying, revenge filled monster when a scientist strips him of his identity and humanity. Fans are glad that DC Studio took a chance to step back from the copy-and-paste hero movies, and embrace the darker side of its franchise. The movie was filmed in a captivating way that made the fans feel immersed in the scenes alongside the actors. The depth they added to the characters was like any other DC film, and many fans congratulated the actors for their fantastic acting.
Although the movie wasn’t DC’s biggest hit, fans are hoping they continue down this path. Fans can’t wait to see Clayface integrated into new movies, fighting against the heroes.