Yesterday evening, cinema chains across the UK held surprise screenings of DC Studios' Clayface. Oddly, those took place on the same night that the first press screening was held, meaning anyone who attended those paid-for showings is free to share their reviews.
That isn't sitting well with some critics, but the blame ultimately lies with Warner Bros. for attempting to build hype (which, based on the far more mixed social media reactions we've seen since last week's U.S. embargo lifted, hasn't paid off).
Inevitably, spoilers are everywhere, including shots of Matt Hagen's final form as Clayface. While we won't share those images here, they aren't hard to find on social media, both as blurry photos taken from the back row and as AI-enhanced, largely very accurate recreations.
Neither entirely do the design justice, and the best way to see this will, of course, be to buy a ticket and make your own mind up about the movie. However, these images are representative of the few seconds of screen time that the monstrous Clayface receives in his movie.
Clayface made his DCU debut in Creature Commandos, but they're two very different characters. We don't know how much time has passed between the two stories, though, so Matt may have evolved into a more comic-accurate Clayface over time. You'll find a deep dive into that here soon.
In our review, we concluded, "Tom Rhys Harries shines in Clayface, an uninspired and unoriginal movie that's too light on horror and lacking in comic book personality to be anything but forgettable. It should have been a game-changer for the genre; instead, it's DC's Morbius moment."
In Clayface, Matt Hagen’s meteoric rise from Gotham street kid to Hollywood leading man is tragically cut short when a local crime boss’s actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team and with nothing left, Matt seeks out a cutting-edge treatment that miraculously returns him to his former self, but also unexpectedly affects his grip on reality, spiralling him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.
The movie stars Tom Rhys Harries in the title role of the cult-favourite villain from Gotham's rogues' gallery. The cast includes Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan, as well as Nancy Carroll and Joshua James.
James Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with Flanagan also getting a "Story by" credit. Clayface is produced by Matt Reeves, Lynn Harris, James Gunn and Peter Safran, with Michael E. Uslan, Chantal Nong Vo, Lars P. Winther, Rafi Crohn and Paul Ritchie executive producing.
Watkins' creative team includes director of photography Rob Hardy, production designer James Price, editor Jon Harris and costume designer Keith Madden. Volker Bertelmann (Conclave) is the movie's composer.
Clayface will be released in theaters on October 23.