Despite never having appeared in any major film before (brief appearance in "The LEGO Batman Movie" notwithstanding), Clayface has remained one of DC and Batman's most recognizable and iconic villains ever since his first appearance in 1940. It's understandable then that, with a new vision for the DC cinematic universe, he would make a ripe choice for a lower budget, R-rated body horror film. It works to bring him to the big screen for the first time and to further differentiate this new universe from other PG-13 action focused superhero flicks. Whether or not it all congeals into a great film though, that is never a guarantee.
Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries ("White Lines," "The Return"), is on top of the world. He's a big Hollywood actor, he's just been nominated for an Oscar, and he has an entourage of friends. However, after dancing with the girlfriend of Gotham City mobster Markos Szabo, played by David Dencik ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," "Chernobyl"), he finds his face sliced to ribbons by Szabo as revenge. Desperate to have his old life back, Hagen seeks out Dr. Caitlyn Corr, played by Naomi Ackie ("Mickey 17," "The End of the F***ing World"), a scientist specializing in microscopic robots that can repair skin tissue. While the treatment is a success, Hagen soon finds himself morphing and transforming due to his hatred and quest for revenge, turning into the shapeshifting villain known as Clayface.
Given the titular nature of the character, Harries performance is the lynchpin of the film. He is excellent, leaning hard into Hagen's downward spiral. This is the sort of tale meant to showcase what pushes a good man to go bad, and the slow burn evolution that he takes throughout this tale is fascinating to watch. Ackie is great with what she's given, playing a kindhearted version of a mad adjacent scientist. He's great in virtually anything, and she's just as fun to watch here. Dencik, while he doesn't have a ton of screentime, chews plenty of scenery when he does appear with a large swath of sneering goons at his disposal. The surrounding supporting cast is full of a lot of character actors playing big roles that slot right into their exact cliched spots for a borderline noir tale like this, seemingly with no other goal than that.
While that's not necessarily a problem, the script certainly tries to do a lot with a lot of characters with varying results. Essentially, Mike Flanagan ("The Haunting of Hill House," "Doctor Sleep") and Hossein Amini's ("Drive," "The Wings of the Dove") script feels as though is it is an amalgamation of three different plots and ideas, all trying to congeal into one cohesive tale for Hagen. There's a subplot involving the Gotham City mafia, police investigations, and Hagen's own transformations. While they are all absolutely connected, it feels as though each part gets a chunk of the film before being disregarded for the next. The second half is far stronger than the first though, and once that second half starts and things begin to get weirder, things get a lot better. Almost counterintuitively, once the script throws out the logic and just goes for the weird, it becomes a much more engaging experience.
None of that is the fault of director James Watkins ("The Woman in Black," "Speak No Evil (2024)"), who tries to maintain as much balance between the individual elements as possible. His hand is a clear one, and the film itself never gets over experimental with Rob Hardy's ("Ex Machina," "Civil War (2024)") camerawork or narrative. Watkins is focused on making the character work from his cast shine through, and that's where things succeed the most. It's a very solid piece of directing, without anything that makes it dramatically stand out from the crowd. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and it works here. Given the nature of the film, mixing a niche body horror concept with a four-quadrant blockbuster, Watkins's steady hand is needed. It's a shame given that concept that things don't get a bit wilder in how the film is constructed, but understandable nevertheless. Volker Bertelmann's ("Conclave," "All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)") musical score does get plenty playful though, with strings and traditional horror instrumentations that make the music sound as though the violins are crying as things go on. It's really great stuff.
The body horror aspect though is one that will likely lead to some controversy. Mostly due to the amount within the film. It saves a lot of the goopier moments for the last act, and the payoff is fantastic. Given the lower budget compared to other films like it, it isn't surprising to say that the visual effects are of varying quality. The practical effects are just phenomenal. When they're blended with the digital, the film is a showcase of the best of both worlds. However, when the digital effects try to stand on their own, that's when things get shaky. Suffice to say, die hard horror fans might bemoan the film for not going far enough or getting weird enough. Casual moviegoers might bemoan it for going to far or getting too weird. The experimental nature of "Clayface" for a big studio is truly interesting. No matter where you come down on the severity or amount of its horror, you'll likely be able to agree on one thing: it's at its best when it's at its weirdest. And you've never seen a traditional IP driven film like it before.
"Clayface" has a lot going for it from the jump. Harries is a fantastic lead, and the surrounding cast feels like they're right in step with the genre of this piece. The script might be messy, but direction is assured and steady, and the film really gets great when it gets weird. It's a showpiece of some really great practical effects and of how great practical and digital can be when married together. It isn't perfect, but it's weird and silly and unlike any other mainstream superhero film to be released. It's sculpted into quite a unique vision, even if some parts have slopped off. 3.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment