Clayface Review

0:00 This is a Dynamike Network podcast. Hi and welcome to the Dynamic Duel podcast, a Rotten Tomatoes approved show that reviews superhero films and series through the lens of the DC and Marvel fandoms. I'm Joseph. And I'm his twin brother, Jonathan. And in this episode, we are reviewing Clayface, which came out this past weekend. It is the latest DC Studios movie to hit theaters. The third film since DC Studios became a thing. They don't have the greatest batting average so far due to the miss that was Supergirl. How does Clayface compare? I gotta say, I did not go into this with the highest of expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. And you know what? It's a fun watch for Halloween, at the very least. Before we get into the review, our AI co-host, AJ9K, is a quick message for our listeners, so listen up!

1:03 Why, hello there. Be sure to tune in to the other shows in the Dynamite Podcast Network, including the Console Combat Podcast, where hosts John and Dean simulate battles between popular video game characters. Over on the Max Destruction podcast, hosts Scotty and Gilly pit your favourite action heroes from film and television against each other. And on the Senjo World podcast, host Zachary Hepburn speculates on fights between fan-favourite anime and manga characters. Visit dynamicpodcasts.com or click the link in our show notes to listen to all the shows in the Dynamic Podcast Network. Pip pip cheerio. In our last episode, we did a review of Lanterns, during which we discussed a lot of the characters in that series that appeared in the comic books, and then asked you guys who you thought would make a good matchup for some of those characters. The best response we got on our Discord was a fight between the Green Lantern Jessica Cruz and the Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes. Yeah, this is a timely duel for the Halloween season with Ghost Rider. Both of these characters are interesting because they kind of hold titles within a larger group of other superheroes that have the same title. There's a lot of Ghost Riders. There's a lot of Green Lanterns. So let's see how they fare against each other. If you're not familiar with the Green Lantern Jessica Cruz, she survived a mob execution that killed her friends and forced her to hide for years with crippling anxiety. Bonded to the crime syndicate's evil power ring, she broke free of its influence and earned a true Green Lantern ring. which allows her to fly, fire energy beams, forge hard light constructs such

2:37 as shields, all of which is fueled by her courage. And Robbie Reyes, we did kind of a duel with him when we pit the House of Mystery against the Crypt of Shadows, but he was a young Los Angeles mechanic who was murdered while racing his Dodge Charger and was then resurrected and possessed by the spirit of his occultist uncle. who is later exorcised and then replaced by the Spirit of Vengeance. As Ghost Rider, Robert Urias punishes the guilty with superhuman strength, regeneration, hellfire, mystic chains and blades, and the penance stair, along with a possessed car that has a portal to hell in its trunk. We ran the stats on this matchup using our dual simulator. AG9K, the results, please.

3:20 Hey, you are, sir. All right, the winner of the matchup, between the Green Lantern Jessica Cruz and the Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes, is, you guessed it, Green Lantern Jessica Cruz. Ghost Rider. No, you guessed wrong. Everyone else knew what the answer was going to be. It's a freaking Green Lantern. She won 796 of the 1,000 simulated matches, or 79.6% of the time, compared to Ghost Rider, who only won 20.4% of the time. What were the bigger stat discrepancies? Evasiveness, range, damage, speed, strength, all in favor of Green Lantern. I don't know if speed counts because Ghost Rider is really fast. Oh, can he travel through space near the speed of light? Uh, no, I guess not. All right. Whatever. Green Lanterns are always lame and I hate them. Moving on. Before we get into the review, let's give a quick breakdown of the comic book histories of the characters that appear in Clayface in a segment called Who's Who? Now, there aren't a ton of characters from the comics who make an appearance in the Clayface film. The only one really is Clayface, a.k.a.

4:35 Matt Hagen, who in the comics was a treasure hunter who stumbled on a hidden cave containing a radioactive pool of protoplasm. When he was immersed in it, his body became living, malleable clay, and he became the second villain to call himself Clayface. The first was Basil Carlo, a washed-up horror actor famous for playing a monster, also called Clayface. When a studio remade his signature film without him, Carlo snapped, donned the monster's grotesque mask and costume, and began murdering the cast and crew until Batman stopped him. Hagen, by contrast, had real powers, and he used them to commit crimes across Gotham, which put him, of course, in repeated conflict with Batman, who eventually learned his weakness and brought him down.

5:22 Hagen was ultimately killed, after which others adopted the Clayface Mantle. One was a new version of Carlo himself, who gained real shapeshifting powers like Hagen, and for a time tried to redeem himself as a hero, before his monstrous side resurfaced. Now, Hagen can shapeshift into any person, creature, or object, and he can mimic voices. His clay body also gives him superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. We pit him in a duel against Venom back in the day. So did the movie go with Matt Hagen because he's the most well-known Clayface character because of the animated series, even though he's not the actor character from the comics? Yeah, I think the animated series depiction of the character was so well-received, they just went with the Matt Hagen actor version for the film as well. I guess they could have like amalgamated Matt Hagen and Basil Carlo and called him like Bat Kagan or something like that. I don't know. The film kept referencing a mysterious past for Matt Hagen. Maybe like he was born Basil Carlo, but Matt Hagen is just a stage name. I wouldn't mind if they went that route. They didn't explicitly, but in my head canon, that's the case. All right, let's go ahead and move into our main event now, where we review the latest DC Studios movie to hit theaters, Clayface. Clayface Alright, Clayface

6:58 stars Tom Race Harris, Naomi Ackle, and Max Minghella, directed by James Watkins, who also directed Speak No Evil and Eden Lake. It was written by Mike Flanagan, a popular horror writer, and Hussein Amini. In the film, after a gangster disfigures his face, rising film star Matt Hagen turns to fringe scientist Dr. Caitlin Kaur as a last resort. Her experimental treatment transforms his body into living clay, setting Matt on a revenge course as he struggles to regain the life that was stolen from him. Now, this is a revenge film. I love revenge films. Some of my favorite stories are revenge stories like Kill Bill, Gladiator, John Wick, The Count of Monte Cristo. I'd argue that no genre delivers a stronger sense of catharsis for the audience than Revenge Tales. It also makes it really easy to empathize with and root for someone who's been wronged. I never thought I'd be rooting for a Batman villain, especially after the Joker sequel burned me so badly. So I went into this one super cautious and just emotionally ready to be disappointed. And maybe... Lowering my expectations is why I was so pleasantly surprised and happy with how Clayface came out. Yeah, I'd say the first half of Clayface is a body horror film. The second half is more of a revenge story.

8:25 There is somewhat of a tonal shift in between those two halves, but I would say that I enjoyed both of them equally for different reasons. Yeah, I mean, I love revenge films, but I'm not a big horror guy. The film isn't scary, I would say. It gives you shudders rather than shivers, like the gasps and groans often turned into laughter, I would say. Not the mocking kind, but the incredulous kind that you just can't hold back when something is this shockingly insane, which this movie has in spades. Yeah, there were a few times that I wanted to puke while watching this movie, for sure, especially after, you know, getting that deviated septum surgery. There's like the concept of like body horror and face mutilation just was not sitting well with me when I was watching the film.

9:09 But you kind of want body horror films to evoke those gross out sensibilities, right? Oh, yeah. And Clayface was made for that. I don't love scary movies. I don't mind body horror, though. I've never been a big Clayface fan either. Like if I had it my way, I'd rather see him as a villain in a Batman film. Right. But Somehow, even while wincing at the truly disturbing aspects of this film as I was watching it, I also had a blast, and I think it's because the filmmakers didn't take the film too seriously. I've said on this podcast, I don't know how many times, that I want comic book films to be taken seriously and not dismissed as pulpy, campy silliness. Films like Batman and Robin and Thor Love and Thunder hurt the genre, I would say, but somehow Clayface gets away with it, I think for a number of reasons. The character is relatively obscure. so audiences don't bring these preconceived notions that can be dashed to the theater with them and villains can just get away with more in general because nobody expects them to stick to a code of values or morals and that lets clayface go much much further in punishing mobsters than batman Ever could.

10:20 Like it was genuinely intriguing to watch how he'd use his shapeshifting to deal with each conflict he encountered. The film gets shockingly creative, and the best way for this kind of movie. Often so far beyond absurd, you can't help but laugh at the dark humor in it all. What I also like about what they did in this movie is that Clayface never becomes a character you could comfortably root for. The story is appropriately a tragedy, and its look at loss and unchecked ambition puts it pretty firmly in the tradition of some of the best monster stories, like Frankenstein, The Fly, The Substance. Clayface shows that there are real consequences to playing God. Yeah, I think the concern with a lot of villain movies is that the villain can become too sympathetic because they are the protagonist of the film. So these villain films always have to find a way to balance the audience rooting for them with the audience despising them and recognizing them as the villains that they are. This movie did a great job of like writing that line where you felt for the protagonist, but you also didn't agree with every decision he was making, especially as the movie progressed. Yeah, and I would say that this film teeters that balance between sympathy and contempt better than any of the other comic book spinoff films like Morbius, like Venom, like Joker. Like of those, this is my favorite. I would agree, actually. Yeah, this is the best comic book villain movie. Not quite as good as The Penguin, but the best film. Yeah, Penguin was a show. One of the things The Penguin Show really

11:52 had going for it was that it had a really well-known actor. in a role in which he's unrecognizable. And that's almost the reverse for this film, because I've never seen Tom Reese Harry's in a film before. And the role he's playing is this very accomplished actor, which is a little hard to accept. Like Tom's line delivery isn't always convincing, but that could honestly be an editing issue or maybe a chemistry issue with his co-stars. Do you think the movie would have benefited by having a bigger actor in the lead role? Probably, although I couldn't name who that would be. Like if I just said like Ryan Gosling, I'd be like, no, that's no, that would not work. He's Ghost Rider. Tom Reese Harry's reminded me of like Heath Ledger in some moments. He has a good vibe to him. I feel like this will be his breakout role. Yeah, hopefully. To me, he was like a mixture between Alexander Skarsgård and Bill Skarsgård. Bill Skarsgård actually would have been really good in this role. Oh, for sure. Yeah, he would have crushed it. I don't know who I would have preferred in this role. I just know that if we had someone more recognizable, it would have been a lot easier to suspend disbelief, I guess.

13:01 Though I will say as the film leans into its special effects, it does get easier to accept Reese Harry's in the role as he was pretty adept and often seamless in dealing with the makeup and special effects in the movie. Well, I feel like we have conflicting opinions on his performance in general. I thought he crushed it from start to finish. I thought he was very sympathetic when he needed to be. And I thought he was actually a believable evil person as well when he needed to be. It was very interesting. I don't think it was an easy role. I don't think a lot of actors could actually have pulled off that transition from good to bad guy. But I thought he did great. He did well enough, I will say. I don't want to knock it too much because he does really sell the panic and emotion well. Like, when he's freaking out that his eyes are being covered up, like we see in the trailers, or just other situations he's in. Like, I believe that this guy is not only suffering, but also really just wants to get back to the life that was taken from him. His co-star, Dr. Caitlin Kaur, played by Naomi Ackie, I thought she was terrible. Why? I thought she was just fine. The performance was not good.

14:07 It's like she wasn't even looking at Tom Reese Harry's for a lot of the line delivery. It felt like she was just reading off a cue card or I don't know. The chemistry was just not there. I think I would disagree on that, too. I thought they had great chemistry and I thought she was pretty good in the role. I don't know what movie you were watching, but you are wrong. I have seen critics say that they liked Tom Reese Harry's performance. I haven't seen anyone say that they liked Naomi Ackie. Well, that role is less demanding. So like, yeah, it's not a standout role. I did like what they did with the treatment that her character developed and how it's AI nanobots rather than like makeup that makes your face like putty. Having those nanobots act as like stem cell replacements was genius, I thought.

14:52 And the fact that it was powered by AI... And the fact that it was powered by AI, I thought was very timely and very smart. Because, yeah, I could see how Clayface's powers is almost like AI trying to reproduce a photo. Right. And we remember the early days of AI when they would try to generate an image of a face and how sometimes it would look just like nightmarish. Right. This felt a lot like that. You're right. I thought the best performance of the film actually came from Max Mingela, who played Dr. Caitlin Kaur's fiancee, Detective John Borelli. who takes an interest in Matt's case. I thought he was really well used throughout the film. I don't want to say too much about his character because it delves into spoiler territory, but he was great. Who wasn't great was the antagonist of the film, Marcos Szabo, played by David Dankik. Now, you can't tell me that he gave a good performance.

15:45 I won't say that. No, he was pretty generic and one note. Pretty contemptible, though. The scene where Matt Hagen is scarred, is insanely hard to watch. This is maybe a comic book movie, but it very much earns its hard R rating with all the violence and even nudity. Yeah, there's some sexual stuff in here for sure. Which makes me wonder, do you think that this should remain a part of DC Studios or do you think it could fit into Matt Reeves' Batman universe? Because he did produce the film. Well, we don't know that the Matt Reeves Batman movie isn't part of the DCEU yet. I think they're still probably deciding that. I mean, it's not right now. I think there's potential for that. And a good gosh, as always, I hope it becomes part of James Gunn's universe, please, because I would love to see this version of Clayface go up against Robert Pattinson's Batman. I know that that version is more grounded, but I still think it could work. Well, I wouldn't say this Clayface movie isn't grounded. I think it could actually serve as a good bridge between the Reevesverse and the wider DCU. I agree. I agree. I agree.

16:50 Anyone who agrees should make it known that they agree, and maybe we can convince the studio. Some people say that Batman not being in this movie is a detriment to the film, but I'm glad that they didn't do that because it opens the door for the merger of Matt Reeves and James Gunn's universes. Potentially, yeah, for sure. Overall, I thought the film was gleefully grotesque, an absurd monster tragedy that molds inventive body horror and unchecked ambition. into a surprisingly affecting hole. I'm giving it four out of five stars, a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I would agree. Yeah, I think this is a solid four star film. I thought it was good. I definitely want to see it again.

17:32 We went to like a screening of it and I want to see it with my wife because she's a big horror movie fan like me and I think she'd get a big kick out of it too. Oh yeah, I'm definitely seeing it again this weekend. I'm going to try and take my wife, going to try and take my father-in-law. I think a lot of people will get a kick out of it. I think a lot of people who are on the fence as to whether or not the DC universe is something they want to invest themselves in. This film is so removed from everything. I think it's a great standalone film that a lot of people would enjoy. Well, that does it for our review, Jonathan. I know this is a non-spoiler review, but are there any spoilers you can give us, even out of context ones? Yes. You mentioned this a little bit earlier, but in Clayface, you will see Matt Hagen get a rhinoplasty in explicit detail.

18:17 Did not appreciate that, for sure. In Clayface, you'll see Dr. Caitlin watch herself touch herself at night. Touching you, touching me. And finally, in Clayface, you'll see Matt lead a flash mob dance number. Not gonna lie, that was the weirdest part, I feel like, of this movie. Yeah, it was just a moment in a great scene where I was like, what the fuck am I watching? Yeah. There have been some comparisons to Morbius with this Clayface film, which I think is an unsubstantiated claim. That being said, there was a scene in Morbius where the villain Milo, played by Matt Smith, was like dancing in front of the mirror. It was really fucking campy, a little bit funny. But there was also a dance number in Clayface. And so I was like, oh, maybe the Morbius comparisons aren't too far off. That being said, I liked Clayface a lot more.

19:08 So you admit DC is better? I admit that DC Studios is better than Sony. Yes. At least when it comes to their villain films. Yes! I'll take it. But that does it for this review. AJ9K, close us out. Thanks for listening to Dynamic Duel. Visit the show's website at dynamicduel.com and follow us on Instagram at dynamicduelpodcast. Don't forget to listen to the other shows in the Dynamite podcast network, including Max Destruction, Senjo World, and Console Combat. Well, as we leave October and go into November, our next episode for this upcoming month is going to be a review of Vision Quest. Of course, in December, we're going to be reviewing what everyone is going to be talking about. about and wanting to see Avengers Doomsday. So it's going to be a big couple of months coming up for fans of Marvel. Avengers Doomsday, bro. Dune 3.

19:58 What are you talking about? I can't wait for Dune 3 to get fucking shit piled on at the box office when Doomsday emerges the clear winner. That being said, I am looking forward to Dune 3 as well. I'll probably just catch it on HBO Max when it comes to streaming. If I didn't have to review it, I would wait for Avengers Doomsday. Never. I would never watch it. I would never put myself through that. Don't kid yourself if everybody wants to see this movie. Can't wait to bring these next episodes out to you guys. We'll talk to you again in a month or so. Until then, up, up, and away, true believers. Let's get hashtag we want a Condiment King movie trending now, guys.