Clayface Review: A Cheesy Body Horror Throwback That Earns a 3.1 out of 5

Clayface, the latest film in the DCU, is cheesy, it isn't the best written movie, and I had a great time with it anyway. This is a review without spoilers. James Watkins directs, Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie star, and it's a body horror film. Mike Flanagan wrote the initial story, and the project was first brought to Matt Reeves, who still has a producer credit on it.

When you hear all of that, you wonder what this can possibly be. I'll be upfront: if you aren't already looking forward to this film, I don't know if it's going to be for you. I don't think it's going to win over people who go in asking what this is.

Clayface plays like a late '90s movie I'd have found on cable as a teenager

What Clayface reminded me of was the kind of movie I'd stumble on when I was barely a teenager, flipping through Showtime or HBO, or back then Cinemax. The example that comes to mind is The Punisher with Dolph Lundgren. It's that kind of movie. Is it the best written movie? No. Is it a little cheesy? Yes. Is it a lot cheesy? Also yes.

I took the silliness in stride, and I took the idea of this almost late '90s type of movie in stride too. That's a big part of why I liked it. If I'd caught it on cable back then, I'd have been asking someone the next day whether they saw that Clayface movie the night before, because it was pretty cool.

I also know you can't win no matter what. Going in, I expected to hear that of course I'd hate it, because supposedly I hate everything James Gunn does. Then I give this one a pretty fun review, and there will be a thousand people calling me a shill. So take it as you will, but this is coming from someone who sat down in the theater not knowing what he was going to get.

Tom Rhys Harries carries Clayface as Matt Hagen

What I got was a movie with Tom Rhys Harries carrying the film. He clearly had a lot of fun with the role, and you can see it in his Matt Hagen. The story follows an actor on the cusp of greatness, one of the biggest stars in the world, who then has something horrific happen to his face, the thing his career depends on.

He's cast out by everybody, including his own circle, and he's been done wrong by many people. He's angry and trying to fix his face. Naomi Ackie plays a scientist who is down on her luck, working on something that could potentially be revolutionary. Put the rest together and you get a Fly meets Darkman type of story. After the surgery, Matt realizes he can manipulate his face, and the question becomes what he does with that, revenge wise.

The thing I was curious about, and I think people will ask, is whether this is the story of a villain or something like Maleficent, where he turns out to be a good guy. I'll just say I think you'll be happy if you're a Clayface fan. I didn't go in with a lot of information on the character, but I liked what I was seeing.

My two criticisms: Clayface isn't gory enough, and Gotham feels like any city

The film does get gory, but I don't think it was gory enough. I talked it over with a friend afterward, and we both came away saying the same thing on that point.

The other major criticism is Gotham. I was curious what Gotham was going to be, because depending on the movie, the city is almost another character. Here it doesn't serve as a character. It's a city that happens to be called Gotham, and that was a bummer.

A standout supporting turn and a spectacular club scene

One of the standout performances for me came from the actor who plays the detective, who is also the fiance of Naomi Ackie's character. I thought he was solid, doing a lot of subtle work in this movie, and I liked that.

Still, Tom Rhys Harries has to take you through this as Matt, and he does. He makes you understand where Matt comes from and what his intention is, and that's when you're either in or you're out. Either you want to see the cool things happening as he pursues his revenge, or his mission, or you're over it. There's a club scene in here that is spectacular. The club scene is the best part of the whole movie, and there are a couple of moments where you're ready to go along for the ride.

I was pleasantly surprised. Going in, I didn't know if they could make the whole thing work. I thought the trailer was good enough, but I worried they'd rely on the gore. There's gore, but they don't rely on it, and it's not the only thing. You're either in the story and you care about the characters, or you don't. I can see many people saying they checked out once a certain thing happened. For me, I was locked in and enjoying it.

Why I land on 3.1 out of 5 for Clayface

Overall, I'm going with 3.1 out of 5 for Clayface. I enjoyed this movie, I recognize what it is, and I would see it again. I thought it was decent and I had fun with it.

I guarantee two kinds of responses are coming. Some people will say the movie is terrible, that it's cheesy and they couldn't take it. Others will say they know exactly what I mean, that they were locked in, on board and knew what they were getting. I understand and appreciate both. What I'd ask is that people not be predictable and not assume I only gave it a three because I'm supposedly tough on James Gunn.

Go see it for yourself. If you hate it, you hate it. If you love it, you love it.