Clayface

James Gunn and Peter Safran have had several projects in the relaunched DCU, both on television and in the theatre. None of those projects have particularly ignited the passions of this old-school DC Comics fan. Supergirl suffered from a lackluster script and confused direction, while Superman was well made if a bit too earnest. Here, however, with Clayface is a script and film worthy of discussion. The story of Matt Hagen, a disfigured actor who eventually becomes one of Batman’s most unusual foes, is structured here as a body horror crime tragedy. It works far better than you might expect.

Courtesy Warner Bros

A lot of what works is the script, from producer and originally-scheduled director, Mike Flanagan. Flanagan is one of the greatest working horror directors, having done fine films and excellent tv programs for well over a decade. Here, the characters have clear arcs, emotional heft and are guided by a script logic that obeys the rules it sets out. Any horror film lives and dies on how well it establishes, plays with and does not abandon its rules. You could take this film and set it outside DC continuity, and it would hardly matter. That might be a problem for others but to this reviewer, it speaks to how well it works.

There are elements of other body horror films, such as The Fly and Darkman-especially the latter-and there are sequences most definitely not for the squeamish. The film earns its R rating, but not just for the viscera. Instead, it is mature in the ways that count, by asking questions about existence and obsession, about vanity, love, hatred and revenge. The director, James Watkins, allows the action to unfold naturally. Even in sequences that are flashier, it is very clear what is going on and why. There is a grand, strong visual storytelling going on. It is not on the level of a George Miller Mad Max film, but it has clearly studied and understood what those films are about.

Courtesy Warner Bros

This is a film that is both grim and fun. It knows its origin, and it goes for it. A very strong performance by Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen anchors a terrific cast that does not turn in a false note, though some characters do not get full stories. Until now, the most mature and complete DC films have been the Snyder cut of Justice League, Matt Reeves’ film The Batman and, perhaps, the first two Nolan Batman films. What we see here is a film that takes some of the Reeves aesthetic, and mixes it with the best of the others to become its own thing. If this is a suggestion of how Gotham will be treated in future films, what is established here is very promising.

While the script is very strong, it is not groundbreaking or super daring. Instead, it is startlingly efficient in its use of tropes and the lore of the character in order to create a compelling, entertaining story. Horror works best when it simultaneously repulses you and breaks your heart. Here, that repulsion is not simply a matter of grotesque visuals but bound up with the choices the characters make.  Comparisons to Watchmen and Daredevil will likely follow, because of the rating, but the film this most closely resembles among superhero adjacent films is Logan, because it remembers there is nothing more important to a script than its characters.

Courtesy Warner Bros

This film would not work without its characters and that is a hallmark of writer Mike Flanagan, who has understood from the first of his career, that without people to get to know and invest in, regardless of how awful they might be, a story fails. In this sense, he is in the tradition of directors like Howard Hawks, who always filled his films with lots and lots of interesting people and that is something, sadly, missing from the majority of this rebooted DC universe. Until now. Take a chance and see this one.

Clayface is now playing in theaters.