Early social reactions to Clayface landed today, ahead of the film’s October 23 theatrical release, and the consensus is mostly favorable: DC’s first R-rated entry in James Gunn’s rebooted DCU plays as a serious body horror film rather than a superhero spectacle.
Directed by James Watkins with a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, Clayface follows Matt Hagen, a stunt performer whose exposure to an experimental compound transforms him into a shapeshifting monster. Tom Rhys Harries plays Hagen. Naomi Ackie co-stars as Dr. Caitlin Bates. The film runs 108 minutes and carries a hard R rating.
Steven Weintraub of Collider called it “fantastic” and noted the audience at his screening “freaked out a few times.” Brandon Davis described it as “freakishly awesome,” praising the film’s unsettling take on Gotham and its inventive use of the character’s abilities. Chris Killian called it “a wildly gory spectacle” and highlighted its debt to classic gothic romance. Chalice called it “one of the best horrors of the year.” Several reactions compared the film to The Fly and Darkman, which may be the most accurate shorthand: this is a transformation horror film dressed in DCU clothes.
A minority of reactions were skeptical. Some called it derivative of The Substance, and The Movie Podcast had reservations about story structure while still praising Harries’s lead performance. Critics’ full reviews are embargoed until October 21.
Clayface opens in theaters October 23, 2026.
