Clayface is being hyped as a classic body-horror thriller that’s set in Batman’s corner of the new DC Universe franchise. Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, a Gotham City actor whose rise to stardom is violently interrupted by a local mob boss. Matt’s face is left horribly mutilated, and in his desperation, he turns to radical scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie) for help. Corr’s experimental procedure seems to fix Matt’s face at first, but soon the young man experiences drastic physical and psychological side effects. Like classic body-horror movies (The Fly), Matt begins to transform into a monster, literally and figuratively.
The trailers for Clayface highlight the body-horror experience that director James Watkins (Speak No Evil) has created for this DC villain origin story – and one scene in particular has really stuck out. Now Warner Bros. and DC Studios are pushing things even further, with an extended look at one of Clayface‘s most disturbing moments.
WATCH: Clayface Airplane Scene – Self-Mutilation At 30,000 Feet
The scene seems to take place shortly after Matt Hagen has regained his looks through Dr. Corr’s therapy, and he seems to be back in the swing of his career. However, the side effects of Corr’s treatment start to really reveal themselves when Matt is on the plane, leaving him little room, and very little recourse, to deal with the nightmarish issue.
This is only one tease of the style of body-horror that Clayface will offer. We’ve seen teases of many classic Clayface tropes from the comics and various Batman animated series, as well as hints of some new applications of the villain’s living clay body that have been tailor-fitted for a horror movie framework. That will be the real fun of seeing this movie: watching a normal man learn all the horrible ways he can use his new body to kill.
When ComicBook’s Chris Killian interviewed the Clayface cast, Tom Rhys Harries made a point to highlight the villainous descent Matt Hagen takes across the film and how it could continue in later DCU projects: “I think that what happens to Matt and Clayface beyond this film is interesting, because his moral compass and his value system are being challenged the whole time [in this movie]… And I think that’s the thing that I really loved about the script and reading it – and then, you know, getting to do it – was trying to find the moment where I go: ‘That’s the line’…. You’ve lost it.”
Clayface will be in theaters on October 23rd. Are you excited for the film? Let us know in the comments!