While you really should be watching horror movies throughout the year, an October tradition is taking in horror during spooky szn. And while there’s plenty of horror for experienced viewers and novices alike to watch (and play!), Hollywood’s releases may still fall flat for some. If you didn’t love Blumhouse’s Other Mommy or weren’t into Prime Video’s Carrie series or the Friday the 13th prequel Crystal Lake on Peacock, Hollywood has one more option for you before the month is out: the body horror set in the DC Universe, Clayface.
The third film in the DCU (after 2025’s Superman and this summer’s Supergirl) feels lower-key. From the trailers and promotional material we’ve seen, aside from it looking a lot like Gotham City, Clayface doesn’t appear to connect to the larger DCU (though most remember Clayface because of his association with Batman).
With Clayface hitting theaters on Friday, October 23, it makes sense to run down everything you need to know about Clayface, the character and the film.
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Meet Matt Hagen
Clayface centers on Matt Hagen, one of the many characters known as Clayface in DC Comics. Making his first appearance in Detective Comics #298, Hagen was in a cave when he discovered a substance called protoplasm that turned his body into a clay-like material he could shape into anything (or anyone) he wanted.
The Clayface in Clayface takes more after the Hagen found in Batman: The Animated Series, where he’s an actor looking to restore his looks after suffering a horrific accident. He’s scammed into buying a substance called RenuYou [Ed Note: “renew you,” amirite?] that would restore his looks but made him a slave to the substance and his supplier, who had him impersonating the likes of Bruce Wayne and others of the city’s elite.
The Clayface in Clayface is actually a movie star disfigured by the mob; to restore his looks, the film’s Hagen volunteers to test a product that could do so, but it turns him into a living piece of clay. The film then splits between the horrifying results of Hagen becoming a piece of clay and his attempts to exact revenge on the people who put him in this predicament.
Clayface’s Hagen is played by Tom Rhys Harries (The Gentlemen), in a script that’s written in part by Mike Flanagan, the man behind Prime Video’s recent Carrie series and the upcoming The Exorcist: Martyrs film.
The rest of the Clayface cast and crew
Naomi Ackie (I Love Boosters, Mickey 17) co-stars as Dr. Caitlyn Corr, a scientist and Hagen’s love interest; Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale, Spiral) plays the man Corr is dating.
At the time of press, reports say Eddie Marsan, David Dencik, Nancy Carroll, Joshua James, Francesca Corney, Ruby Sear, and Wil Coban are all also in Clayface, but their roles have not been revealed.
Did you say “body horror”?
Why yes; this is likely the reason Warner Bros. decided to drop Clayface in October, as it leans into depicting what happens to Hagen in graphic form. The trailers have shown his clay-like skin blinding him, with Hagen having to cut it away to see!
The term “body horror” was first coined back in 1983 by Philip Brophy; it was used to describe a trend he’d been seeing, although the actual showcase of body disfigurement in horror was nothing new.
If you’re looking for proper body horror, the work of David Cronenberg may be the best place to start. Early hits like 1983’s Videodrome and his 1986 remake of The Fly took pride in pushing the limits of how the human body could be twisted and morphed on-screen. The iconic anime Akira also delves into body horror territory; just peep the moment Tetsuo grows.
More modern examples of body horror in cinema would include 2025’s The Substance, which became the first body horror film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, winning one (Best Makeup and Hairstyling).
How does this fit in the DC Universe?
Without seeing Clayface, it’s tough to say, but Gunn was asked on the Clayface red carpet about where this film fits in the DCU, he explained that he loved being able to tell different stories in different genres that all come together at a certain point, before saying, “This isn’t the last you will see of Clayface,” so…maybe it’s all connected at some point?
This is the third film in the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters series, so it has to be connected. It’s Gotham…do we see some reference to Batman? Will be befriend someone who is part of 2027’s team-up film Man of Tomorrow? That remains to be seen; most are just hoping it brings in more than Supergirl did, with something in the $20 million to $29 million range being eyed for opening weekend.
