Clayface Secret Screening Reactions Contradict Those Overwhelmingly Positive First Reviews
Early reactions praise the R-rated film’s graphic violence, disturbing imagery and gothic romance as DC Studios takes a darker comic-book approach.
- DC Studios' horror thriller Clayface opens in United States theaters on Friday, October 23, 2026. Directed by James Watkins, the film explores the dark origins of a Gotham City villain through graphic, R-rated body horror.
- After a violent encounter with a crime boss leaves actor Matt Hagen horrifically disfigured, he turns to scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr for experimental nanotechnology treatment. Her work restores his features but triggers an uncontrollable transformation consuming his humanity.
- Lead actor Tom Rhys Harries delivers a performance combining 'charm with an unsettling sense of menace,' according to film critic Peter Gray. Viewers have also praised the film's 'shockingly gruesome' body horror and commitment to a grim psychological narrative.
- Entertainment personality Brandon Davis called the film 'freakishly awesome,' while Steven Weintraub, editor-in-chief of Collider, labeled it 'an awesome addition to the DCU.' The project signals DC Studios embracing visceral horror over traditional franchise tropes.
- Comparisons to body horror classics like The Fly reflect the film's uncompromising intensity. By positioning Clayface as a standalone experience rather than franchise housekeeping, Watkins demonstrates that comic book adaptations need not follow a single formula.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Rocky Mountain Outlook
Movie Review: 'Clayface' arrives as a pretty good R-rated revenge thriller-horror romance
Someone rather bluntly popped up on X recently to ask Hollywood writer-producer James Gunn a pointed — and here sanitized — question: “Who asked for a ‘Clayface’ movie??” Gunn, the guy behind the seriously weird “Guardians of the Galaxy” franch
Film Review: Clayface; DC embraces its monstrous side in a brutally violent and surprisingly tragic horror thriller
For all the spectacle and larger-than-life personalities that have traditionally defined comic book cinema, there’s something refreshing about a superhero universe willing to embrace the ugliness of its own mythology. And in the case of Clayface, ugliness is very much the point. Unrelentingly bleak, frequently grotesque and entirely uninterested in providing audiences with the usual...
‘Clayface’ Review: DC Comics Horror Movie Is Good, Gross Fun, With No Franchise Homework Required
We are now three movies into the so-called DC Universe — branding that so far doesn’t appear to have cut through to any but the most devoted of nerds. Last year’s “Superman” reboot was respectable enough, this summer’s “Supergirl” a bit less so, but the prospect of a larger story world connecting them hardly sets the pulse racing. A comparatively obscure comic-book adaptation, “Clayface” is considerably more interesting all round, in large part …
Batman villain Clayface gets new life. Top-notch body horror turns Oscar star into a goofy clay demon. Classic monster movie gets a modern makeover, writes a delighted Sebastian Lindvall.
The DC Universe gives itself a visceral "body horror" by telling the metamorphosis of the worried Clayface, one of Batman's sworn enemies With the exception of Joker incarnated by Joaquin Phoenix, rare
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources lean Left, 45% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
