One CLAYFACE Trailer Scene Was So Intense It Had Crew Members Looking Away
The latest trailer for Clayface gave fans a taste of the gruesome body horror that DC has in store, but one particular moment was apparently just as hard to watch on set as it is on screen.
During a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, James Watkins and Tom Rhys Harries talked about the now-infamous airplane bathroom sequence featured in the trailer.
In the scene, Matt Hagen uses a pair of sewing scissors to slice through the melting skin around his own eyes, and even the people making the movie had trouble watching it unfold.
Harries explained how the sequence came together, saying, “This little section in the toilet was a cutaway on a sound stage,” while Watkins revealed that the bathroom set was mounted on a gimbal to recreate the feeling of turbulence during the flight.
Making the scene work safely also meant having several different versions of the scissors on hand throughout filming.
“We had real scissors, we had rubber scissors, I think we had scissors with a little bit missing,” Watkins said, explaining that the blades had to get incredibly close to Harries’ eye for the shots.
Even after directing the sequence, Watkins admitted it still made people squirm. As he reenacted crew members turning away and covering their faces, he explained why the moment hits such a nerve.
“There’s a thing with people’s eyes, which I think we all have,” he said before adding, “I think that’s triggering for most people in an audience.”
Eye-related horror has a way of getting under people’s skin, and this scene looks like it’ll have plenty of viewers watching through their fingers.
Clayface marks the first R-rated body horror movie in DC’s cinematic universe.
The story centers on aspiring Gotham actor Matt Hagen, whose life is shattered after a mob boss brutally disfigures his face.
Desperate for a cure, he turns to scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr, played by Naomi Ackie, who injects him with an experimental serum.
Instead of healing him, the treatment unleashes horrifying mutations that transform Hagen into one of Batman’s most disturbing villains.
Watkins has previously said that classics like The Fly helped inspire the film’s grotesque transformation effects, but fans shouldn’t expect to see the character’s full monstrous form until the movie hits theaters.
If the trailer is any indication, Clayface isn’t pulling its punches. And if one scene was enough to make crew members look away during production, audiences should probably prepare themselves before stepping into the theater.
Clayface opens in theaters on October 23.
Source: Entertainment Weekly