In a sea full of TikTok-friendly horror films, it’s hard to find traditional approaches to the genre with slow burns and adages in narratives that go wrong. We’re talking classics like The Invisible Man and its many remakes and adaptations (Hollow Man), Carrie, and The Thing remake from John Carpenter.

I’m not saying that the new Warner Bros. movie Clayface is going to replace those masterclasses in horror. But on its own merit, the film is a damn fine well-made one that hearkens back to the good old days where traditional timing and reveals take centre stage over shock value. It is aiming for those heights, and that itself is an admirable feat for even getting that high.

Scary Putty

Clayface is about rising movie star Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) who ends up getting his face slashed up by the local Gotham mob group after a tryst with the leader’s girlfriend (Joana Ribeiro). Pretty soon, he loses all his money and fame by a mix of getting surgery (and fleeced by Hollywood doctors) and losing a case against said mob leader Markos Szabo (David Dencik). After all, Gotham City is known for having a corrupt police force and law system.

As he reached his lowest point, he tries out an experimental cell repair program made by one medical scientist Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who just like Hagen was screwed over by her supposed backers. Because this is a horror film and an origin story for one of Batman’s villains, things go wrong and Hagen somehow gains skin-clay powers that let him heal fast and change up his look and persona, as advertised on the title.

The Batman: The Animated Series two-parter episode Feat of Clay is a clear inspiration for the film, but this movie has a completely different storyline, payoff, and climax that just hearkens back to past horror films pre-slasher flick domination. You have the tragic figure who walks the fine line between good and evil, his object of affection and desire, and the horrible consequence to his actions and obsession. The best literature adaptations like Frankenstein thrive on this, and Clayface is no exception here.

Part of the reason is its aesthetics and camera work. There’s a ton of lovely portrayals of the show’s Central City and Gotham at its best and absolute worst. The show goes from optimistic bright and highly saturated to grim and at-times gothic, highlighting our main character Matt Hagen’s rise and fall, and towards his path of revenge. There is chemistry between Harries’ Matt and Ackie’s Caitlyn, made complicated and sad due to the fact that the latter is engaged to a cop named John (Max Minghella).

While Matt starts off likeable, his descent to obsession and revenge gradually unfolds and made plausible, you can’t help but just feel really sorry for him and his predicament. At the same time, you cheer on as he actually deals with the people who wronged him thanks to his clay and face-changing powers. The capstone for this arc involves a nightclub in what could be a deft use of clever editing and transitions.

Face Lift

Clayface has a plethora of body horror and gore, and it’s as gruesome and unnerving as it comes. However, it does revel in doing a lot of showing and silhouette-style cutbacks, and pulls back the curtain for the results. The best kinds of horror storytelling is having a lot of mental processing going on in-between cutaways.

Unlike Sony Pictures who have been handling Spider-Man villains wrong, Clayface works as a standalone story. It does not have any forced tie-in to other DC comic book movies or even any interference of the Batman. You don’t even need any of that aforementioned knowledge to jump in and enjoy this flick. I adore Clayface’s approach to classic horror and slow burn approach thanks to James Watts direction and Mike Flanagan’s script. Whether you’re a comic book fan or a horror aficionado, you’ll love every single putty drip from this Warner Bros. showcase.

Final Score: 80/100