This week’s film is “Clayface,” starring Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie. Directed by James Watkins, “Clayface” takes a risky approach to the superhero genre, notwithstanding the fact that horror films continue their dominance of late on the big screen. Watkins is an established horror alum with directing credits including “Speak No Evil” and “The Woman in Black,” and DC Studios leader James Gunn gives him a long leash to deliver a graphic body horror film wrapped around a doomed gothic romance.
The character Clayface has a history as moldable as his powers, but the story is always grounded in an elaborate comic book revenge tale. Originally, the villain was born from jealousy of a passed-over horror actor who puts on his old mask to murder a new film crew. In later comics set in Batman’s Gotham City, the character’s powers come from exposure to radiation or a face cream with shapeshifting properties. In this edition, Clayface is a successful actor named Matt Hagen who is grossly disfigured by a mob leader after a celebratory night leads to an act of infidelity. Matt seeks out plastic surgeons to regain his movie-star good looks, but he is exploited by a slimy lawyer. After several failures, Matt goes off the rails after encountering a stacked deck in the criminal justice system. Desperate, Matt seeks out and falls for a scientist experimenting with nanotechnology. The regenerative tech not only gives Matt his face back, but also whole-person shape-shifting capabilities, which allow him to pierce the mob underworld to exact his revenge.
With more skin peeling than David Cronenberg’s “The Fly,” this film is not for the faint of heart. But terrific performances by the lead cast, solid character development, and a kinetic final act illustrating the full gamut of Clayface’s powers deliver a better-than-expected result. So, on my ski trail rating system, “Clayface” earns my intermediate BLUE ski trail rating.
“Clayface” is playing in theaters with a runtime of one hour and forty-eight minutes. The film is rated R for strong bloody mutilation/body horror, violence, language and multiple nose jobs gone wrong.
