DC's R-rated body-horror film Clayface opens in theaters; reviews split on quality
Photo: The GuardianDC Studios released Clayface, a Rated R body-horror film directed by James Watkins, in theaters on Friday, October 23. Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen, a movie star who gradually takes on the Clayface identity of a Batman villain first introduced in 1940. The film runs 1 hour 48 minutes, with a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, and features Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll and Joshua James. It arrives after last year's Superman reboot and this summer's Supergirl, which underperformed at the box office.
The New York Post leads with the film's gore, warning it could scar kids for life, and compares it to Joker, calling it disgusting but fun. The Guardian leads with a negative verdict, calling it very gory but not very good and finding its Gotham City setting, Liverpool, unconvincing. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter both praise it, Variety calling it good, gross fun and THR calling it a big bet that pays off. All four agree the film leans heavily on gory horror. Their main difference is quality: only the Guardian calls it middling, while only the Post raises concerns about younger viewers.
How the sides differ Right sources stress gore and warn it could scar kids; the left source calls it gory but weak; alternative sources praise it as fun.
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The Guardian leads with the film's gore and a negative verdict, calling it middling and tying it to DC's recent box-office struggles. It finds the Liverpool-set Gotham unconvincing.
Variety and The Hollywood Reporter lead with praise, calling it good, gross fun and a big bet that pays off. They focus on its horror style and its standing apart from the DC franchise.
The New York Post leads with its gore, warning it could scar kids for life. It compares the film to Joker and The Substance and calls it disgusting but fun.