Manny the Movie Guy Reviews ‘Clayface’: Mike Flanagan Brings the Creeps to DC’s First Horror Movie

Rating: 3 out of 4 Clay Kisses 💋💋💋

Hollywood has always been obsessed with reinventing your face. In Clayface, that obsession becomes full-on body horror, and let me tell you, it is creepy.

Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen, a handsome, up-and-coming actor who fled a troubled past in Gotham to chase his dreams in Hollywood. When he’s attacked and disfigured, his career is over almost overnight. Desperate to stay relevant, he injects himself with a mysterious substance and discovers he can reshape his face and his body. Then the nightmare really begins, as he slowly becomes a living, shifting monster made of clay. Naomi Ackie co-stars, with Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan and David Dencik rounding out the cast.

The Mike Flanagan Stamp of Approval

What sold me on Clayface is that it carries the Mike Flanagan stamp of approval. The man behind some of the best horror storytelling of the past decade came up with the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Hossein Amini, and you can feel his fingerprints all over it. This isn’t a villain origin story built on punches and explosions. It’s about identity, vanity and the terror of losing the one thing that made you somebody. What happens when the face that made you famous is gone?

Director James Watkins, who gave us Speak No Evil and The Woman in Black, knows how to keep the dread simmering. The transformation scenes made my skin crawl, and the film leans into the grotesque without ever losing sight of the tragic man underneath the clay. Tom Rhys Harries gives it everything, playing Hagen as both pitiful and terrifying.

This is DC Studios’ first true horror movie, and I have to give them credit for taking such a bold swing. It feels nothing like your typical superhero fare, and that’s a compliment.

Why Not 4 Kisses?

As much as I enjoyed the ride, Clayface isn’t perfect. The middle stretch sags a bit, and by the final act, the film drifts into more familiar comic-book territory just when I wanted it to get even darker and stranger. I left wishing it had gone all the way.

The Verdict

Still, Clayface is a creepy, stylish monster movie with real scares and a surprising amount of heart. Horror fans and DC fans alike will find plenty to sink their teeth into.

I’m giving Clayface 3 out of 4 Clay Kisses. Mwah!

Clayface opens only in theaters Friday, October 23.

I’m Manny the Movie Guy for NBC Palm Springs.