One of Those Faces: DC’s Clayface Film Review

Originally published October 23, 2026. This article reviews DC Studios’ body horror film Clayface.

---

Let’s face it: Making a Batman villain movie before we have even met the DCU Batman was a risky choice. But Clayface melts away any doubts that DC fans might have had — it’s a gripping look into the horrific transformation of one very desperate man. Fame always comes with a price. The question is, who’s willing to pay for it?

Now that Clayface is in theaters, we have our first look at the DCU’s Gotham City. We also meet Matt Hagen and witness his descent into villainy. It’s a harrowing journey of body horror that takes a classic Rogues Gallery villain and twists itself into a unique, standalone origin story. Walk the red carpet and read our Clayface review below.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Clayface.

---

Finding the Real Matt Hagen

“Having my face back isn’t elective surgery. It’s a matter of survival.” – Matt Hagen

• Director: James Watkins
• Release Date: October 23, 2026

From the start, Matt Hagen is a charming and charismatic man. He’s got that movie star quality that makes everyone follow his every move. With a humble background, growing up in Gotham City’s the Narrows, Matt has worked hard to reach his level of fame. At times, Tom Rhys Harries’ disarming performance even makes you question whether Matt’s relatability is a calculated affability but, ultimately, you can’t help but like the guy. And that’s why it’s all the more impactful to watch Matt Hagen fall.

Riding high off an award nomination, Matt gets entangled with a Gotham mob boss’ girlfriend. As punishment for sleeping with Mia Torrez, Markos Szabo tracks them down and has his thugs disfigure Matt’s face. A slash here and a stab there turns Matt’s face into a kaleidoscope of sagging skin grafts. For a world-famous actor, that’s the kiss of death. In no time at all, Szabo takes Matt down in a smear campaign, ending his rise to fame. Matt seeks out Dr. Caitlyn Corr, whose experimental Renu treatment could restore his face.

In the comics, Matt Hagen isn’t the only Clayface. He’s not even the first. So why not Basil Karlo? Perhaps Matt Hagen is a more believable, modern name. It ties into the narrative that Matt is just like one of us — that he could, in fact, be any one of us thanks to Renu.

---

The Man in the Mirror

“It’s just skin. It’s just a small part of who we are.” – Matt Hagen

• Clayface First Comics Appearance: Detective Comics #40 (Basil Karlo), Detective Comics #298 (Matthew Hagen)

Every part of Clayface feels vital to the story. Unlike Matt’s drooping eyes, there’s nothing extra to snip away. Quick cutaways help build tension as Matt becomes more nimble in his physical transformations. By the film’s end, he can blend into a crowd seamlessly, using the chaos of a choreographed dance and a bar fight to make his way into Szabo’s suite. Plus, the kills are extremely creative and mirror Matt’s shifting expertise of his powers.

Throughout the film, amber lighting is used to evoke Clayface’s earthy comic book color palette. Certain scenes, such as the sleep analysis segment, also make use of red lighting to build intimacy between Matt and Caitlyn as well as remind audiences of the sanguine horror brewing beneath Matt’s skin. While there aren’t many graphic facial transformations, that’s probably for the best. Horror does its best work when letting the viewer fill in their own blanks. Instead, face switches become jumpscares and ways for Matt to express his weary anguish with the swipe of a hand. As far as body horror goes, the airplane bathroom and sleep observation scenes are top tier, though Mia and Markos get extremely creative deaths thanks to Matt being at his full power.

Is Clayface an Antihero?

Fortunately, the final reunion between Matt and Caitlyn is a fake out. The film isn’t trying to redeem Clayface and it shouldn’t. We’ve just been introduced to the villain. He needs a chance to breathe, to morph, and to ascend back into Gotham from the sewers. For a first look into Gotham City and Batman’s world, Clayface is the right choice. It could only work with a low stakes super-villain like him rather than The Joker or Bane.

Actually, Matt isn’t even referred to as Clayface in the film. There’s still room for him to keep transforming.

---

One Bad Day for Clayface

“Playing someone else was the only time I let myself feel everything.” – Matt Hagen

• DC Fan Fact: In the comics, electricity is often the only method capable of incapacitating Clayface.

One of the strongest parts of Clayface is the genuine chemistry between Matt Hagen and Dr. Caitlyn Corr. At one point, he even says he’d be anyone for her. Now that’s dedication to the role. Their gradual attraction to each other helps ground Matt’s turbulent physiology. While it’s not entirely believable that holding hands can somehow stave off the moody transformations, it’s a narrative tool that progresses their relationship.

However, I’m not sure nanocells are the way to go. Dr. Corr’s Renu uses nanocell technology to mimic embryonic stem cell activity, meaning these artificial cells can work on a genetic level to restore a body’s original programming. We’ve already seen the nanotechnology bit elsewhere in super hero media. And by now, AI is so prevalent in pop culture it’s hard to tell what’s a warning and what’s an advertisement. Of course, the nanocells do provide an in-universe reason for why the treatment would be so reactive to Matt’s brain activity. Still, I would have been happier with the old “mysterious chemical” explanation rather than more AI.

Taking Matt at Face Value

Over the course of the film, Matt Hagen gains a slow mastery of his newfound abilities. It feels like we’re exploring his powers alongside him. We feel the terror as his face first begins to melt in public, and the claustrophobic panic of the airplane bathroom scene. Watching someone cut away at their encrusted eyelid is a page right out of classic body horror fare.

Like in the comics, we do see claws make appearances in Clayface’s shifting body, but his face and hands are the stars of the show. Matt’s blood and skin fall back into his wounds as if drawn by gravity. Perhaps this is another benefit of using nanotechnology, giving viewers something realistic to grab onto for such a jaw-dropping ability. He slowly trains himself to absorb others’ appearances, at first literally and then through merely touch and sight. His body can even produce clothing. There seems to be no limit to his transformative capabilities.

---

Is There a Post-Credits Scene for Clayface?

No, there are not any post-credits scenes for Clayface. In fact, there are only a handful of DC Easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans to spot. There are certainly no explicit on-screen references to Batman. By necessity, you do have the hardboiled GCPD detective and the ruthless crime bosses, plus the brilliant but morally gray scientist, all to be expected from a Gotham story.

Still, if you look closely, you’ll find some notable DC Easter eggs in Clayface.

DC Easter Eggs in Clayface

First, you’ve got Imperial Pictures, the company that Matt works for which feels a lot like Warner Bros. This film company makes its debut in “Feats of Clay,” the first appearance of Matt Hagen in Batman: The Animated Series. Imperial is also set in Coast City, the DC Universe’s answer to Los Angeles, and it’s the comic book home of Green Lantern Hal Jordan.

Elsewhere in Gotham, Pinkney Tower is an allusion to Cyrus Pinkney, a 19th-century Gotham architect who was featured in the DC video game Batman: Arkham Origins. Club Vesuvius, (and not the more obvious choice of Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge) is the base for Szabo’s criminal activity. In the comics, it’s owned by another mobster and also where Zatanna often performs.

All of these Easter eggs are subtle. But perhaps the two biggest Clayface Easter eggs are connections to another infamous DC super-villain. While Matt stalks one of Szabo’s thugs, there’s an ad for Amusement Mile in a tunnel. Amusement Mile is a derelict oceanside carnival with ties to The Joker as well as Harley Quinn and Nightwing. Likewise, one of the films mentioned in Clayface is called One Bad Day, an iconic phrase from The Joker used in The Killing Joke. All it takes is one bad day to turn a regular civilian into a raging villain.

---

Ultimately, Clayface is a powerful first entry into the DCU’s Gotham mythos. It establishes Gotham as a crime-filled, lived-in city full of grit and new stories to be told. Plus, that last transformation is a satisfying live-action adaptation of Clayface’s comic book look with the lopsided mouth and massive bubbling muscles.

What did you think of Clayface? Join the conversation with other DC fans over at Sideshow Social Network or at side.show/geekgroup. Plus, check out Sideshow’s Spooktacular page for frightfully festive contests, giveaways, reveals, and more!

And, as always, don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!