Well that was a bit different from what the trailers indicated. But that’s not a bad thing, as long as you can let go of expectations.
The Clayface trailers leaned heavy into dark, foreboding horror with a heavy body horror element. The film itself was a bit more generous in the genres it pulled from, more along the lines of Seven than The Fly due to the good hunk of crime thriller in place.
Rest assured, gore fans, there’s plenty of cringe-inducing body horror to be had in various parts throughout the film. There’s also a solid psychological horror angle, as we get to see what happens to someone’s mind as they literally lose themselves in their buried feelings.
Without question, the performances are solid. Especially near the end as Hagen keeps switching appearances (that’s not a spoiler, it’s a feature of the character… it was never a question of “if” it would happen, just “when”). Not just Tom Rhys Harries performance, but everyone reacting to him throughout the film (but especially in the climax of it all).
The body morphing effects are done well and, often, in interesting ways in reaction to the environment and Hagen’s inner emotions. Most of the time, once things really get going, the transitions are blink of an eye fast… which is disconcerting in its own way, but not the painful American Werewolf in London kind of bone cracking I was expecting we’d get at times. (Though we did get that at least once, come to think of it, kind of…)
The pacing is a bit slower than I thought it would. Thing do move along, but it’s a more steady, somber pace for most of the movie as things slowly fall apart and then come back together for Hagen.. and then really spiral into madness.
If you’re familiar with Mike Flanagan’s stuff, you’ll see a number of familiar themes here. He wrote the initial story and co-wrote the screenplay… so his fingerprints are definitely in the clay. And that kind of pacing is, along with the emotional stakes on display, are kind of his thing.
I haven’t looked at the reviews, but I’ve seen some headlines indicating bad ones and seen some other commentary complaining about the lack of Batman in this.
Now, bad reviews because of improper expectations set by the trailer, I can kind of get… but as a reviewer, you have to review the movie you’re getting, not the one you thought you were going to got. It’s fair to comment on questionable marketing decisions, but you have a choice of whether you’ll let that ruin a good movie or if you’ll be able to take things as they are.
The lack of Batman thing, though… that’s just childish and a bit crazy. This was never marketed or talked about as a “Batman” film. It’s always been billed as a horror film set in Gotham City. And it does that pretty well. If you want to see Batman in a movie, you’ve got a whole lot to pick from over the years. This ain’t one of them and if that’s going to be your main point of hate-spewing, well, you’re just looking to cause problems to satisfy some villain arc you want for yourself. Check into Arkham.
Overall, I found this a very solid film that delivered on a few more types of horror than I expected, with the added bonus of “crime thriller” seasoning. It is, most certainly, a tragic tale of falling from grace and giving in to the monster inside of you.
- Clayface – October 22, 2026
- Infirmary – October 19, 2026
- Tragedy Girls – October 18, 2026
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