CLAYFACE First Clip Is Pure Nightmare Fuel as Matt Hagen Takes Scissors to His Eyes
DC Studios has released the first clip from Clayface, and if watching someone take a pair of scissors to their own eyelids makes you uncomfortable, this footage is going to be a rough watch.
The upcoming DCU horror movie from director James Watkins is taking Batman's shape-shifting villain into some seriously disturbing territory, and this first look gives us a taste of the body horror audiences can expect.
The scene follows Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries, aboard an airplane when his face suddenly begins transforming. As his eyelids start to seal shut, Hagen understandably panics and stumbles into the bathroom, where he decides the best solution is to grab a pair of scissors and cut his eyes back open.
Yeah, that sounds like a terrible idea. Look, this scene was clearly designed for 100% shock value. It's meant to make audiences cringe, and it certainly gets the job done.
But no one in their right mind would pull out a pair of scissors during heavy turbulence on an airplane and put them anywhere near their eyes! That's arguably worse than having your eyelids melt together! One unexpected jolt and you've got a much bigger problem than being unable to blink.
It's the kind of ridiculous horror movie decision that makes you want to yell at the screen, but that's also part of the fun.
Along with the clip, DC Studios has released a new international TV spot and a sample of composer Volker Bertelmann's haunting "Clayface Theme," which gives the film an unsettling atmosphere that fits its gruesome subject matter.
Early word on Clayface has also been encouraging, with reports suggesting the film played extremely well during test screenings. Some audience reactions have reportedly compared it to Joker, Vanilla Sky, The Substance, and, rather unexpectedly, The Incredible Hulk.
That's a pretty interesting collection of movies, suggesting we could be getting something that mixes psychological horror, tragic character drama, and monstrous transformations.
The film follows Hagen, a rising Hollywood actor whose life takes a horrific turn as he transforms into the Gotham City villain. What begins as a promising career spirals into a nightmare of lost identity, scientific experimentation, and revenge.
DC Studios co-head James Gunn recently defended the project after someone on Threads questioned why a relatively obscure Batman villain was getting his own movie. The commenter wrote, "Who the F*ck asked for a Clayface movie?"
Gunn wasn't having it and responded with a lengthy explanation of why Hollywood shouldn't limit itself to making movies based solely on what audiences already know.
"Who tf asked for Back to the Future? Casablanca? There's Something About Mary? Pan's Labyrinth? Fury Road? Weapons? The Matrix? Although it may seem like it, Hollywood isn't a place where the only way to make a movie is the public voting on what IP they want to see that they've seen countless times before.
“Sometimes someone – in this case initially Mike Flanagan and then James Watkins and Hossein Amini – were inspired by a relatively little known fictional character and crafted what I believe is a very special story around that character.
“I'd take that inspiration a thousand times over some writer trying to make a buck by writing a listless screenplay about a majorly popular character he or she has no passion or feel for."
There's something exciting about DC Studios taking a character who hasn't been explored much on the big screen and giving filmmakers the freedom to do something unexpected with him.
A standalone Clayface horror movie isn't an obvious choice for a major comic book studio, but that's exactly what makes the project interesting.
Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, based on a story by Flanagan. With its gruesome transformations, psychological horror, and tragic central character, Clayface looks like it could offer something very different from the usual comic book movie.
If this first clip is any indication, audiences should probably prepare themselves for plenty more uncomfortable moments.