After working hard for his whole life, rising star Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is finally getting the recognition he deserves. With an Academy Award nomination and some exciting new roles on the horizon, he is on top of the world and nothing will could ever bring him down. That is until he makes a catastrophic mistake that results in a face changing accident. Knowing that this is his money maker, Matt turns to scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie) and convinces her to help him. But instead of fixing him, the trial alters Matt’s life forever, causing him to become something that is not human.
This summer’s Supergirl outing was such a disappointment that I did not have high hopes for Clayface. That being said, I was still mildly curious because we’d finally be introduced to somebody new. How many iterations have we had of Batman and Superman? At last we’d be able to learn more about a lesser known character and where they got their start in the DCU. This sentiment alone was what kept me interested and I have to say how pleasantly surprised I was by the film.
Since the shake up, we have focused on various heroes that we have come to know and love. Now the shift falls on a villain and what a villain he was. Rhys Harries not only carried this film with everything he had, he really impressed me with his performance. Every choice he made was understood and warranted, even when they started getting darker. Often I complain about the lack of proper backstory and the reasons why they delve into madness don’t always make sense. Rhys Harries answered all my questions and then some. He started off as being completely beautiful and charming and the escalation was executed perfectly. As an actor, I cannot wait to see what he does next.
While I understood the importance of Ackie’s Corr and her relationship with Matt, I did not think their chemistry was convincing enough. They did start off on a promising note and I really liked their friendship. The romantic part of it all just seemed to come out of nowhere and it didn’t sit right with that Caitlyn’s fiancé John Borrelli (Max Minghella) was still in the picture. Another underdeveloped character, he served as a plot device more than anything else.
The overall plot was engaging and captivated me from the get go. I thought the pacing was reasonable and it built the tension in an effective way. The darker elements were depicted well and the body horror was truly something else. I’m not one to be squeamish, but I did have to look away at a couple of moments. I don’t think DC has ever leaned so far into this kind of material before and I was all for it. And instead of being unsure about the special effects used for these particular sequences, I thought they were really cool.
I know there’s not much to go off of, but Clayface is the best new DC film to date. Every choice that was made was the right choice and I could have easily sat through more. I hope this isn’t the last we see of Matt Hagen as I believe there is still so much of his story to be told.
Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️
