DC's CLAYFACE Won't Reveal Its Full Monster Transformation Before Release: "You Don't Want to Show the Shark"
One of the most exciting things about Clayface is that we still don't really know what the title monster is going to fully look like.
In an era where trailers have a habit of revealing just about everything, DC Studios is taking a very different approach with its upcoming R-rated horror movie.
If you're hoping the marketing campaign will spoil Clayface's complete transformation before opening night, don't count on it.
The first trailer gave fans a taste of the gruesome body horror that's in store and teased the terrifying direction the movie is taking, but that's apparently all we're going to get before the film arrives in theaters.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, James Watkins explained that the creative team intentionally wants audiences to experience the full creature reveal on the big screen, pointing to one of cinema's greatest monster movies as inspiration.
"You don't want to show the shark. "I think people give away too much… I believe in the power of mystery and the power of suggestion and the power of people putting two and two together. I think it's more fun."
It's a refreshing philosophy, especially for a horror movie built around practical effects, grotesque transformations, and suspense. Sometimes the unknown is far more effective than putting every surprise in a trailer.
The film's star, Tom Rhys Harries, has already seen the horrifying creation for himself, and while he obviously isn't giving anything away, his reaction should get fans even more excited.
"It's been a year since I saw that thing being built out. I can't wait for people to see it. I'm constantly in awe of the huge creative machinery that goes into making a film like this, and how talented everybody on board is, and how lucky I felt to be a part of that in any way."
The movie follows Matt Hagen, played by Harries, a rising Hollywood actor from Gotham whose career and life are shattered after a gangster brutally disfigures his face.
Desperate to reclaim his appearance, he turns to an experimental procedure created by fringe scientist Dr. Caitlin Corr, played by Naomi Ackie. Instead of restoring him, the treatment transforms him into the shape-shifting nightmare known as Clayface.
Based on an original draft by Mike Flanagan and directed by Watkins, Clayface steps away from traditional superhero storytelling in favor of an R-rated body horror thriller inspired by David Cronenberg's work and Batman: The Animated Series' classic "Feat of Clay" storyline.
The story digs into scientific obsession, toxic relationships, revenge, and the terrifying loss of one's identity as Hagen's humanity slowly slips away beneath the living clay consuming his body.
Clayface opens in theaters on October 23.