Cast: Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, Eddie Marsan, Max Minghella Review by Carol Allen
Tim Burton’s wonderfully atmospheric Batman movies, Jack Nicholson’s comically villainous Joker and Heath Ledger’s more tortured take on the role in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, plus Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and the Penguin (Danny de Vito). But I don’t read comics – never have – so Clayface is a totally new Gotham City villain to me.
In this new film about his creation, Batman doesn’t come into it at all. And Clayface’s origin is far more interesting than what I’ve been told about from the comics. It also doesn’t have much to do with the Gotham City mythology, other than that we are told that Matt Hagen, played by up and coming Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harris, has fought his way up from being a street kid in Gotham City to becoming an up and coming Hollywood star.
He’s blessed with blond good looks and loads of charm, as we see when he’s interviewed a by a tv talks show host (Rob Bryden). That same charm enables Matt to pull the girlfriend of crime boss Markos Szabo (David Dencik). Bad move that, as Szabo in revenge takes a cutthroat razor to Matt’s beautiful face in a most disturbingly explicit scene, leaving his career, and indeed his life, in ruins.
Eventually though he comes across scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie) and her experimental, cutting-edge variation on plastic surgery, using a claylike living organism to rebuild his face.
At first it totally restores his good looks. But when the treatment starts unexpectedly failing and his ruined face returning, Matt manages to OD on the treatment and finds he is now able to shape shift his whole body at will into that of other people. Just like remoulding clay – get it? The perfect disguise as a tool for wreaking his revenge on those who’ve wronged him. But also guaranteed to turn a nice guy into a horror film villain.
The film certainly has its scary moments. Apart from the horror of Szabo’s revenge, there are scenes where Matt is self mutilating, when the treatment first fails, that will have some viewers under the seat. And the revenge acts he wreaks, as on his treacherous manager (Eddie Marsan) and the crime boss himself, might be bit stomach turning for some.
The shape shifting element of the plot also means some of the other actors get to play a scene as the disguised Clayface and the special effects on this are disturbingly convincing.
Max Minghella also features as Caitlyn’s boyfriend, the detective who’s trying to find out who is responsible for the bizarre series of murders.
in spite of his violent acts of revenge, Rhys Harris still manages to retain our sympathy for Matt in the tragic role in which he is trapped.
The mythical concept of Gotham City doesn’t really come into this one. The setting could well be contemporary New York, though it was actually shot on the streets of Liverpool.
The explicit violence can be a bit stomach churning but the story and the performances are strong and for my money this is more of a sci-fi tragedy than a horror movie
As a character Clayface is far more interesting than the caped crusader. And based on his performance in this movie, Tom Rhys Harris should now in real life be an up and coming star.
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