In the film\u2019s contemporary reimagining, Hagen is a Hollywood actor whose career high is ended when his face is brutally disfigured by mobsters in revenge for sleeping with their gang boss\u2019s girlfriend. A desperate Hagen decides to put himself forward as a human guinea pig for the testing of an experimental formula containing microscopic AI. <\/p>\n
This treatment promises to regrow damaged cells and repair the body to its original form. At first the results are promising, but then, in response to emotional excitement \u2013 especially anger \u2013 his flesh begins to warp and take on an unpredictable life of its own. <\/p>\n
Following the comics, Hagen learns to shift his malleable face to mimic others. He uses these new abilities in a gory revenge rampage on the gangsters that assaulted him and wrecked his career. <\/p>\n
While Clayface doesn\u2019t live up to its genre-bending promise of a comic book body horror, it\u2019s not an unmitigated disaster. The film is entertaining and features enough imaginative sequences to forgive some of its more prosaic and one-dimensional aspects.<\/p>\n I was excited at the prospect of a supervillain story from writer and director Mike Flanagan. The horror impresario is responsible for some brilliant recent adaptations, including the peerless Haunting of Hill House for Netflix. I was also hugely impressed with his risk-taking, imaginative update of Stephen King\u2019s debut novel Carrie. However, Flanagan stepped back from the lead writing role \u2013 likely because of scheduling conflicts with Carrie. <\/p>\n He retains a co-writing credit. But there\u2019s little in this film that recalls Flanagan\u2019s sensitivity for character and the nuanced dialogue of his best work. A full rewrite by British-Iranian screenwriter Hossein Amini (the excellent Drive, the not-so-excellent The Snowman) may be partly responsible for the film\u2019s tonal uncertainty and an oddly noncommittal feel to much of the action. <\/p>\n The finished product seems to be grappling with the daring originality of its premise and the need for mainstream appeal.<\/p>\n That said, Clayface\u2019s lead, Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries, carries the weaker aspects of the script extremely well with an admirable commitment to his character\u2019s horrific transformations. The film\u2019s best scenes show Hagen confronting what could either be seen as an exciting new body with superhuman abilities or a terrifying total degeneration. <\/p>\n Harries\u2019 energetic performance produces some memorable sequences where Hagen wrestles with his unruly body, the best of which features a battle to keep his dysfunctional, goopy eyelids from sealing shut. Prosthetic effects are blended effectively with CGI \u2013 and horror fans should enjoy the effort and commitment from both the actor and the effects crew. <\/p>\n There are distinct shades of Coralie Fargeat\u2019s outrageous and brilliant mainstream body horror breakthrough The Substance<\/a> (2024). Clayface shares that relentlessly gory film\u2019s interest in the shallow vanity of celebrity and the lengths the protagonist goes to in order to preserve youth and beauty in a skin-deep world. <\/p>\n Also, the connection between Hagen\u2019s emotional state and his progressively warping flesh results in an interesting exploration of male mental health and its impact on the physical body. That a supervillain origin story tackles these kinds of themes is in itself quite admirable.<\/p>\nA strong lead for thin material<\/h2>\n
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