Movie Review: CLAYFACE

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: October 24th, 2026 / 01:26 AM

CLAYFACE movie poster | ©2026 DC/Watner Bros.

Rating: R
Stars: Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Ruby Sear, Eddie Marsan
Writers: Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, story by Mike Flanagan
Director: James Watkins
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release Date: October 23, 2026

Clayface is a canonical antagonist (though sometimes ally) of Batman who first appeared in DC Comics all the way back in 1940. The Matt Hagen incarnation of the character (the one we get here) was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff in 1961. The notion that Matt starts out as an actor was presented later within BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (1992-1995).

The live-action movie CLAYFACE is set in present-day Gotham City, though there’s no appearance by or even mention of the Caped Crusader. Some of the good news here is that this movie doesn’t need Batman. CLAYFACE stands perfectly well on its own as a science-fiction character study/tragedy with major body horror elements.

Directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with the story by Flanagan, CLAYFACE introduces us to handsome, personable, up-from-the-streets movie star Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) just as he’s learning that he’s been nominated for an Oscar.

Everything is coming up roses until Matt and his best friend Corey (Joshua James) go to a club. Matt attracts the ire of mob boss Markos Szabo (David Dencik) and winds up with a badly mutilated face. When Matt tries to press charges, thanks to Szabo’s connections, his reputation is savaged as well. Unsuccessful plastic surgeries and an unscrupulous lawyer (Eddie Marsan) drain Matt’s finances, until he’s in a fleabag apartment on Skid Row, with a distressing appearance, no resources and not much of a life.

Then Matt chances upon an interview with Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who claims her groundbreaking work in tissue regeneration using nanobots has been stolen by her investors. Believing he’s got nothing to lose, Matt offers himself unconditionally as a test subject. The good doctor has ethical and legal reservations, but Matt’s plight touches her – and the opportunity to continue her research is tempting.

At first, the treatments are a rousing success, but soon weird side effects occur. One of these is Matt’s new ability to change his appearance to perfectly double any other person; another is his uncontrollable tendency to turn into organic sludge when he’s emotionally overwhelmed. It’s unclear if homicidal rage is yet another side effect, or just an aspect of Matt’s existing personality triggered by events.

The filmmakers set a beguiling rhythm in CLAYFACE, zipping between visceral shocks and moments of gratification. We’re on Matt’s side for most of this, with Harries charming and affecting vulnerable. When he tricks his enemies, and us as well, it starts out as fun.

Seeing Matt slowly descend into moral monstrosity is arguably even more disturbing than the graphic surgeries, THE SUBSTANCE-like bodily distortions and the ferocious violence. As we recoil, we realize just how much we’ve come to like Matt and how much we don’t want him to succumb to what feels as inevitable as the destiny of the protagonist in a Greek drama.

Besides handling the sliding flesh and gore effectively, director Watkins gets a lot of mileage from his mixture of showbiz glitz and gangster grit, keeping CLAYFACE stylish throughout.

Ackie is persuasive as the erudite, caring doctor and much of the supporting cast does topnotch double duty as their original characters and as Matt copying them.

Where most movies end before fadeout, CLAYFACE sticks the landing emphatically, concluding as its final few shots cement why Clayface turns wholly to villainy. It’s a bravura cap to a strong movie that probably needed the franchise pedigree to get made at all but doesn’t require any previous acquaintance with DC lore to resonate as it does.

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