Movies based on comic books are at a bit of a crossroads at this particular moment. The market has been saturated, quantity has overridden quality and “superhero fatigue” is a phrase that has officially entered the chat.
Well-known superheroes have proven they still have viability (Spider-Man and his $1 billion haul this year mean that the capes aren’t going away anytime soon), but if you’re a bit below the radar, the proposition is dicey.
So it’s a bold move for DC, as it tries to get its whole new cinematic universe off the ground, to center a whole move on Clayface, a character who doesn’t even crack the Top 10 of best-known Batman villains.
“Clayface” does try to stand out by turning a comic book origin story into a horror movie, but it lacks the conviction and quality to come across as anything other than a less-fun “Darkman” ripoff.
The plot focuses on rising movie star Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), who is poised for a breakout when he runs afoul of a Gotham City mobster (David Dencik) who wrecks his good looks with a switchblade.
After being horribly disfigured, Matt suffers a fall from grace that leaves him bitter and penniless when he stumbles across scientist Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie) whose experimental nanotechnology offers the promise of incredible healing powers.
Even though it has not been tested on humans, Matt’s desperation leads him to volunteer for Caitlyn’s treatment, which at first appears to be a remarkable success.
But while Matt regains his handsome face, there start to be some side effects, most of which are icky and gooey. As he starts to become more unstable, both physically and mentally, Matt begins a revenge tour against everyone who wronged him and went on to escape justice.
There are moments when this movie slips into gear and you see the heights it could achieve, gleefully mashing up yucky body horror with a revenge thriller. One such scene has Matt infiltrating a club using his newfound talents, causing much confusion and mayhem. Unfortunately, these moments are few and far between.
The cast leaves a lot to be desired, and director James Watkins can’t decide if he wants his movie to be grounded and emotional or a full-blown freak fest. By landing somewhere in the middle, the movie fails to make much of an impact in either direction and left me walking out with a shrug.
The ingredients for something interesting were definitely here (I would argue Zach Cregger does more with less with his take on “Resident Evil”), but like an underbaked cake, it just falls flat.
It’s possible we haven’t seen the end of this version of Clayface and may see him trading punches with some future iteration of Batman, but his first impression, like his ever-changing features, doesn’t give us much to hold on to.
“Clayface” is rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity and brief drug use.
