Courtesy of Warner Bros./DC
After “Supergirl” cratered this previous summer time following the colossal success of final yr’s “Superman” (sarcastically, I loved the previous greater than the latter, although I perceive I’m in rarefied air), James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe is trying to showcase the model’s vary past massively budgeted tentpoles. Their newest effort, “Clayface,” scales issues down significantly, handing the reins to director James Watkins and dealing from a narrative by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini to ship one thing just a little nastier and extra intimate than the same old superhero spectacle.
I can definitely admire the ambition, notably the shortage of compulsory world-building that has turn into so synonymous with these interconnected cinematic universes. Clayface isn’t precisely a marquee villain in the identical league because the Joker or the Riddler, which supplies the filmmakers appreciable latitude to mess around within the sandbox with out worrying about how each improvement may have an effect on the subsequent half-dozen DC tasks. Sadly, whereas “Clayface” isn’t notably involved with its place within the bigger DC Universe, it doesn’t appear terribly keen on growing a compelling world of its personal, both. What emerges is a disappointingly low-stakes body-horror thriller with loads of grotesque imagery however little dramatic weight to accompany it. Even Gotham Metropolis, one of the vital recognizable fictional settings in in style tradition, is stripped of the ambiance and persona which have made earlier iterations so memorable. To borrow the title of a fellow body-horror movie from which this one attracts some inspiration, “Clayface” may use just a little extra substance.
In any case, there’s solely a lot face-drooping and flesh-melting Watkins can throw on the display earlier than the narrative wants to provide us a motive to care concerning the poor bastard experiencing it.
That unlucky soul is Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), a bona fide film star having fun with the height of his profession. Just lately nominated for his first Oscar and getting ready to headline a serious musical manufacturing, Matt seemingly has all the pieces going for him till an evening out along with his good friend (Joshua James) takes a very ugly flip. After discovering the actor in mattress along with his girlfriend, a robust Gotham kingpin (David Dencik) decides to settle the rating by taking a switchblade to Matt’s face, completely disfiguring the very factor that made him a star.
The fallout is swift and cruel. Matt’s skilled prospects evaporate virtually in a single day, and the individuals who as soon as profited from his success, together with his agent and lawyer, promptly abandon him. It’s a doubtlessly fascinating setup concerning the disposable nature of superstar and an business that locations a lot worth on bodily look, notably when that look turns into inseparable from a performer’s livelihood. But “Clayface” barely scratches the floor of these concepts earlier than transferring on to the subsequent grotesque improvement.
Determined to reclaim some semblance of his former life, Matt turns to Caitlyn Coor (Naomie Ackie), a scientist growing extremely experimental, AI-powered regenerative nanocells. The remedy theoretically has the power to restore the harm to his face, however the outcomes are something however miraculous. Earlier than lengthy, his pores and skin begins to sag, his jawline droops uncontrollably, and his complete face threatens to slip proper off his cranium.
Naturally, Matt’s answer is to double down and inject himself with buckets of the stuff, ultimately buying skills not not like Mystique from “X-Males,” permitting him to morph into just about anybody he pleases. The science behind this transformation is doubtful at greatest, however Watkins is significantly extra profitable when he leans into the bodily and psychological indignities of Matt’s deteriorating physique moderately than the mechanics of his newfound powers. One notably efficient sequence finds Matt trapped inside a turbulent airplane toilet, desperately utilizing a pair of scissors to take away extra pores and skin that’s inflicting his eyelids to shut. It’s a splendidly revolting little bit of filmmaking that captures the helplessness of somebody whose personal physique has turn into an unpredictable enemy.
I want the remainder of “Clayface” have been as creative, or a minimum of as within the implications of Matt’s predicament. For all the eye paid to his bodily transformation, the screenplay offers surprisingly little consideration to his emotional one. His desperation is comprehensible, however there’s no significant character arc to anchor his more and more erratic habits, nor a lot examination of what dropping his identification may really imply past the quick horror of his look. The movie has all of the substances for a tragic villain origin story, but hardly ever bothers to develop the tragedy.
It’s particularly irritating when you think about that “The Penguin” already offered a terrific blueprint for taking a comparatively unconventional Batman antagonist and constructing an engrossing character research round him. That collection understood that the legal underworld, the supporting gamers and the protagonist’s personal insecurities have been simply as necessary because the recognizable comic-book mythology. “Clayface,” by comparability, feels disjointed and surprisingly undernourished, dashing by developments that may have given its story some much-needed texture.
A subplot involving Caitlyn’s companion (Max Minghella) trying to infiltrate the Gotham Metropolis Police Division and expose its corruption, as an illustration, appears like the muse for a completely totally different film, one that may have helped set up a stronger sense of Gotham’s institutional rot. As an alternative, it’s one other thread competing for consideration in a movie that struggles to make its central battle compelling. The supporting characters are equally underserved, typically functioning extra as narrative conveniences than folks with their very own motivations.
Harries does what he can with the fabric, notably when Matt’s vainness offers solution to panic and humiliation, however the screenplay seldom affords him a chance to make the character his personal. There’s surprisingly little spark to somebody who’s alleged to be bigger than life, each earlier than and after his transformation, and the movie’s reluctance to discover the darker corners of his persona makes his descent really feel extra mechanical than tragic.
I nonetheless admire what DC is trying with these leaner, extra self-contained tasks, particularly when the choice is one other bloated blockbuster preoccupied with teasing the subsequent installment. There’s one thing refreshing a few comic-book film prepared to get this ugly and function on a smaller canvas. However artistic freedom alone doesn’t make for compelling storytelling, and “Clayface” errors the novelty of its premise for a completely realized character research. Watkins definitely is aware of easy methods to make the flesh crawl, however beneath all that melting pores and skin, there’s treasured little holding the film collectively.
CLAYFACE is now taking part in in theaters.