A Review of Clayface, a new DC Universe film by Director James Watkins
*DISCLAIMER: SPOILERS WILL BE LABELED*
*These are all my personal thoughts and opinions*
Whiskey’s Garage
Film Talk
Volume 7
26/10/2026
Clayface By James Watkins
Release Date: October 23rd, 2026
Runtime: 1:48
Budget: ~ $30 million
Director: James Watkins (Speak No Evil, Eden Lake, The Woman In Black)
Starring: Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan
Synopsis: “Rising Hollywood star Matt Hagen descends into a horrifying, revenge-filled monster when scientific ambition strips him of his identity and humanity.” - IMDb Description
With the success and enjoyment I had of 2019’s Joker, I had high expectations for another DC Batman villain standalone story. I’ve personally been looking forward to Clayface ever since I saw the preview in the theatres a couple of months ago. Although Clayface isn’t nearly as popular a character as the Joker, I was still very excited to see what they could do with this. I personally really enjoy the route DC has been taking with the villains from Batman's universe, creating these standalone films, giving the characters their own story completely away from Batman, but still based within the universe. Historically, DC universe movies (aside from the Batman ones) have not been well received. With blunders like Suicide Squad (2016), Justice League (2017), and Green Lantern (2011) on the resume for DC movies, they have a lot of work to do now to earn a good reputation. However, they are working their way back with recent successes like the James Gunn remake of Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad (2021), Superman (2025), and Joker (2019), and there is lots of hype around Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II (2028), which is bringing Robert Pattinson back as Batman again. This brings us to Clayface, the newest DC film and another standalone villain story, this time directed by James Watkins. I attended opening weekend for this one, and my full thoughts and review are below.
I had fairly high expectations heading into Clayface, maybe too high. Unfortunately, I felt a little disappointed walking out of the theatre. It’s not bad, but it’s not great, and it could have been a lot better. The story feels really rushed a lot of times, and other times it feels very slow. They didn't balance the pacing well at all. It felt like they had a lot of information and backstory they wanted to throw at you right off the bat to set the stage, but they flew through it, not giving it any real meaning or letting the characters build. Being only 1:48 long, they probably could have extended this to build the characters deeper and get you invested. A few scenes felt awkward, with dialogue feeling unnatural, and that took away from the immersion they were trying to build. This story is more about Matt Hagen dealing with what is happening in his life rather than Clayface as a villain, and it’s very similar to Joker in that regard. It seems this is the route DC is taking with these films, to make the villain a person with feelings and justification for what they do. It sets out to make you care about them, feel for them rather than focusing heavily on kills and villainous activities. Whether it was on purpose or not, the story also really leans into the harsh world of acting, and how fake everyone can be around you. This was an interesting touch, whether it was purposeful or not. Unfortunately, this story falls a little flat, and I found it hard to get super invested in Matt Hagen as a character. I thought Tom Rhys Harries did a pretty good job with the role, giving a solid performance, but some of the other actors cast took away from it, specifically the mob boss character. I’m not sure if it was just the script he was given to work with, or if he is just a weak actor, but it was really bad. Every scene he was in felt like a drag due to that performance. Aside from the acting, I thought they did a pretty decent job balancing all the plots and relationships between characters going on throughout the movie. The sets were cool and gave Gotham the dark, gritty aesthetic it’s known for. The standout of this movie for me was the use of certain camera shots. This film is a body horror, so it’s focused heavily on Matt Hagen dealing with the changes and weird things happening to his body, and the camera work did a great job of making you feel that. There are many shots reflecting off of mirrors or surfaces, making you feel Matt's emotions while looking at himself, along with many scenes that make him feel like an outcast, hating his new body. The makeup and effects did a good job of depicting the molding face and body well, for the most part. When Clayface did kill, it wasn’t super well done in my opinion. I guess you could say the kills were semi-creative, but it didn’t really land for me. Overall, it’s just a very average movie. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great, it’s just average. The story was okay, but the pacing took away from it, however, the cinematography and (most) makeup effects brought it back. I don’t think it’s a blemish for the DC universe, but it’s not a shining star either. I do hope they continue to create these standalone villain stories, but they could have done better with this one.
RATING - How well I think the movie is made. The dialogue, the production, the acting. Objectively, how good of a film it is. Out of 100%
ENJOYMENT - How much I personally enjoyed the film. Subjectively and based on the genre heading into it. Out of 100%
IMMERSIVENESS - How captivating I felt the film was. How well it brings you into the world they are building and makes you forget reality. Out of 100%
Rating: 65%
Enjoyment: 67%
Immersiveness: 50%
PROS:
Makeup
Sets & Aesthetic
Camerawork
CONS:
Pacing
Acting
OSCAR NOMS (Thoughts)
Highly Doubtful
