Courtney Howard // Film Critic
CLAYFACE
Rated R, 1 hours and 48 minutes
Directed by: James Watkins
Starring: Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Joana Ribeiro, Joshua James, Nancy Carroll
There’s half of a satisfying, good film buried within James Watkins’ CLAYFACE. Had the creatives behind DC’s body horror movie about a man-turned-monster properly developed its themes, emotional stakes and narrative motor, perhaps it would’ve been top tier. We’ll never know what could’ve been. At least this incarnation blessedly doesn’t skimp on the grotesque gore, bloody brutality and bleak undertones. As compelling as it is confounding and as fun as it is frustrating, it’s amongst the year’s most perplexing pictures.
Twenty-something actor Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) has it all: marquee idol good looks, millions in the bank, a devoted childhood bestie named Corey (Joshua James), and an enviable superstar career on the rise with a recently bestowed Oscar nomination. However, his playboy antics land him in a world of trouble with Gotham’s infamous mobster, Markos Szabo (David Dencik), after knowingly sleeping with his moll, Mia (Joana Ribeiro). Markos and his goons disfigure Matt’s face in rage-fueled retribution. They also launch a highly orchestrated character assassination against Matt in the media, which causes a toppling domino effect, from his agency dropping him to Matt becoming a total societal pariah. Matt’s financial accounts have also been bled dry by greedy plastic surgeons and his shady manager Frank’s (Eddie Marsan) bad business dealings.
Yet, just when all hope feels lost, Matt comes across an article on Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie) touting a potential cure through nanotechnology. The sweet-hearted scientist has pioneered a miracle injectable that can alter cellular structure and fully restore Matt’s attractive appearance. With both being each other’s last resort for success and reintegration into elite circles, they begin the nano-cell therapy. He experiences drawbacks with his face occasionally melting like a botched Botox job under psychological duress (while at a movie premiere and, later, on a turbulent flight). But it has its rewards once he embarks on a vengeful quest against those who betrayed him.
The metaphorical monster dwelling inside every man manifests to a literal degree here – and Watkins, along with screenwriters Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, sufficiently bring that clever, if not familiar, idea out within most of their male characters. Despite being undervalued and only utilized by the trio as a means to an end, Caitlyn’s cop fiancé John (Max Minghella) is the lone pure soul. Gotham’s usual grit and grime is given a colorful, vibrant glean, replete with saturated neon lights, an inviting golden glow and lens flares that frequently serve to soften characters’ harder edges. Cinematography Rob Hardy and production designer James Price give Gotham a face-lifted personality, designing the urban environments as a place where dreams can be made into reality and love can be found just as easily as everything can be broken. The circular staircase and dark, rain-slicked back alleys feel like distant homages to Hitchcock and classic noirs, augmenting the atmospheric pull of Matt’s predicament. Costume designer Keith Madden also draws influence from classic cinema, putting Mia in a teal silk dress inspired by Michelle Pfeiffer’s SCARFACE seductress.
All the sequences centered on the body horror aspects of Matt’s newfound powers are not only indelible, but captivating in their aesthetics and craftsmanship. Harries, whose looksmaxxer appearance gives the internal dramatics a motor, imbues his character with innate charm, vulnerability and strength. Watkins, editor Jon Harris and the VFX teams appear to be having a grand time, making us squirm in our seats. Matt’s defacing and the graphic plastic surgery shots are just a stomach-churning taste of the horrors to come. The turbulent airplane bathroom scene where Matt uses nail-clipping scissors to reopen his fused-shut eyelids is skin-crawling. His shape-shifting discoveries range from delightfully gross to genuinely heartbreaking, especially when elevated by Volker Bertelmann’s pitch-perfect score. The nightclub infiltration sequence late in the film, where – through face-morphing technology, pristine cuts and brilliant action choreography – Matt’s abilities to mimic come to full fruition, is accompanied by a zippy, electrical charge and a funky track by Perk Badger.
Still, there are an equal amount of bad creative decisions that weigh the proceedings down. Women are depicted pretty abysmally. The inclusion of Matt’s dead mom (to whom he says a little prayer after landing his coveted award nomination) primarily informs his character, rather than building a presence which tethers him to his subsequently disappearing humanity. His longtime agent Hilde (Nancy Carroll) shows no loyalty whatsoever. Mia lies about being sexually assaulted by Matt and, while she is supposed to be reprehensible, it feels icky especially in an environment where misogynists already scoff at the “believe women” movement.
Caitlyn’s arc is perhaps the most frustrating as all her initial agency is slowly stripped away from her, turning her into a boring, rote love interest by the end. The movie is indeed bleak, but the fact the filmmakers forget to flesh out her journey by completely ignoring her set-up for a rich internality is extremely disheartening. Ackie elevates the lackluster material, time and time over, but she’s not a miracle worker as it’s clear the narrative isn’t there to support her performance as it should.
Following a tightly constructed, soaring 2nd act, the film’s final act and epilogue are surprisingly sloppy as we don’t know what, nor whom to root for once Matt inevitably concludes his mission. The filmmakers struggle with how to extricate themselves from the corner they’ve painted themselves into concerning the love triangle between Matt’s flirtations with Caitlyn, her potential reciprocal Florence Nightingale-esque feelings towards her patient and her duty to stay in a fairly stagnant relationship with John. All of this is under-heated and undercooked. John’s a superfluous threat to Matt, at best, and Matt’s insistence that he be with Caitlyn is incel-adjacent behavior, which puts us in a precarious place having rooted for him thus far.
While this film isn’t exactly a game-changer for DC as many in their stable of villains have met with horrifying transformations, it feels a little refreshing to see the brand embrace the body horror aspects head-on with such gusto. It’s a shame those behind it couldn’t be bothered to creatively engage with its broader thematic ties and the intriguing concepts it posits and then maddeningly abandons – dwelling on identity, justice, body dysmorphia, power structures and caste systems. And while overall it’s tonally disjointed, what’s there is decent enough.
Grade: C
CLAYFACE is in theaters on October 23.
