Clayface: The DCU's Unexpected Hit
45sChallenges common skepticism about the film with a strong take, sparking curiosity and debate.
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The video is a review of the DCU film 'Clayface,' praising it as a creative and self-contained villain story that succeeds despite a low budget. The reviewer highlights the film's strong visuals, body horror, and character-driven narrative, while noting its likely poor box office performance due to low audience turnout.
Chapters
[00:03]
Initial skepticism and cautious optimism
The reviewer admits to being initially confused and skeptical about a standalone Clayface film, but became cautiously optimistic after seeing the trailers.
[00:18]
Film exceeds expectations
After seeing the film, the reviewer believes it is exactly what the DCU needed after the failure of 'Supergirl,' despite predicting poor box office performance.
[00:34]
Poor opening day turnout
On opening day, the reviewer attended a showing with almost no seats filled, indicating the film is not drawing audiences.
[01:03]
Budget constraints and cutaway kills
The film was made on a low budget of about $30 million, leading to a couple of cutaway kills, but the reviewer notes this is a minor issue given the constraints.
[01:29]
Strong visuals and practical effects
Despite the low budget, most visuals are extremely strong, with only two instances of wonky CGI. The practical effects, especially for shape-shifting and body horror, looked really good.
[02:10]
Body horror not overused
The film has a good handful of body horror moments, but does not rely on them as a gimmick, allowing the story and performance to stand on their own.
[02:35]
Self-contained story
The film is an R-rated villain movie that does not tie into the broader DCU, with no mention of Batman or other elements, making it very contained.
[03:07]
Plot summary
Matt Hagen, an actor at the top of his game, gets his face carved up by bad people, leading to his downfall and his turn to a new science that can heal him but at a cost.
[03:50]
Effective performance and character sympathy
The performance, especially from the lead actor, is great, and the film works because you sympathize with Matt Hagen as he loses everything and seeks justice.
[04:17]
Slow descent into villainy
Matt does not immediately become a killer; he slowly teeters on the edge until he decides the world is better off without his enemies, protecting Caitlyn, the woman who helped him.
[04:44]
Club fight sequence highlight
The club fight sequence is the best example of the film's potential, showing Matt flexing his abilities with charisma and creative shapeshifting, including absorbing a guy to suffocate him.
[06:07]
Excitement for future Batman encounters
The film makes you think about how Batman could possibly beat Clayface, generating excitement for future DCU movies, even though Batman is not mentioned.
[07:15]
Great Gotham depiction
The film creates a great Gotham, showing the underbelly and corruption, and the toll it takes on people, through Matt's journey from bottom to top and back down.
[08:14]
Final thoughts and recommendation
The reviewer recommends approaching the film without comic book expectations, as it goes off the beaten path with creative kills and satisfying action, and hopes it does well.
💡 Key Takeaways
💡
DCU needs this film
Positions the film as a creative win for the DCU after a previous flop, setting the tone for the review.
00:18
📊
Low budget, high creativity
Highlights how a $30 million budget can still produce strong visuals and storytelling, challenging the norm for comic book movies.
01:03
⚖️
Self-contained storytelling
Emphasizes the film's independence from the larger DCU, which the reviewer sees as a strength.
02:35
🔧
Club fight sequence
Describes a standout action scene that showcases the character's powers creatively, a key highlight of the film.
04:44
💡
Gotham as a character
Praises the film's depiction of Gotham's corruption, adding depth to the setting.
07:15Full Transcript
[00:03] people really weren't expecting much from and were really confused on why they would make a DCU Clayface film, like a standalone film. I was someone in that camp as well, but was cautiously optimistic after seeing the trailers. It
[00:18] at least looked interesting. And now that I've seen it, this is exactly what the DCU needed after the fumble and flop that was Supergirl. And what's really a shame is that I don't think this film is going to do very well
[00:34] in the box office. I went today, opening day, almost no seats were filled. Like I I went like a good time for it on opening day. Nobody was there. That's so
[00:49] [ __ ] sad because this movie slaps. It's got some problems, sure, but those fault of the movie itself. It's the budget that was allocated for this film. Because I'll just get the really only big negatives out of the way. They have
[01:03] a couple moments where they do cutaway kills and it's because of the budget. This was made on a really low budget for a comic book movie. I looked it up. It's like 30 million, which yeah, is a big number, but compared to comic book movie
[01:17] budgets, bro, that 30 million doesn't even cover lunch for a day for the A-list actors in the other comic book movies. Meanwhile, that's the entirety of the budget Clayface had to work with. And what they were able to squeeze out
[01:29] of it was pretty extraordinary. Most of the visuals are extremely strong. There's only like two instances where like there was like some CGI that looked a little wonky, but otherwise it was a lot of practical and it all looked
[01:41] really good in a film where the visuals are super important because of shape-shifting, like [ __ ] face melting as he slowly, you know, transforms into something more than human and an abomination. And it all
[01:55] looked really good. The body horror, I think, really landed. Now, I'm sure if you're familiar with the trailer at all, you go into this expecting it to have those like yucky gross out elements. And they are here. Maybe not to like the
[02:10] extreme quantity that you might think. Like it's not, you know, the substance like, "Wow, that's a lot of body horror." And for a lot of people that was like their first exposure to it. This has a good handful of moments like
[02:23] that, but it's not it doesn't use it as like a gimmick or a sticktick that it has to rely on. This is a film that totally is able to stand on its own two legs of a good story, a great performance, and a character that you
[02:35] can root for and watch this degradation into a villain that we know they're villain movie. It's an R-rated villain film that does something that most are too [ __ ] to do. It doesn't tie into the grander world outside of this story.
[02:52] It's very, very contained here. There's not a single mention of Batman. There's not a single tiein to any of the other DCU elements that are already at play. DCU elements that are already at play. It gives you Clayface. We follow him,
[03:07] Matt Hagen. He is an actor, top of the world, top of his game, but then he unfortunately gets mixed up with some bad people and gets his face carved up, which leads him to having everything crumble and it's
[03:20] Gotham. So, of course, the bad guys are getting away with it. And thus he turns getting away with it. And thus he turns to more extreme measures which is a uh brand new type of science that can heal him. But it does come at a cost that
[03:36] starts to weigh on him heavily and we see him fall victim to his hubris as he becomes more and more entrrenched in like these angry emotions and this quest for revenge against those that wronged him. It's a pretty easy to follow plot.
[03:50] that. They're not reinventing the condom, but it's very effective because the performance is pretty great from everyone here, especially the lead actor everyone here, especially the lead actor playing Matt Hagen. It works because you
[04:03] are sympathizing with them. Like this guy got everything taken away from him like get justice and hold them accountable. It didn't work. And then even after he does get like this ability, he doesn't immediately just go
[04:17] out there and start carving them to pieces, you know, coming for scalp or anything. It's this slow teetering on the edge until like he does finally decide, you know what, the world is a better place without them. And he wants
[04:30] to protect the woman who gave him this treatment in the first place, Caitlyn. And they have a very complicated relationship. Like, it's a good story. Really, everything in here is like good. I think its shortcomings to me really
[04:44] feel like a matter of they didn't have enough money to keep uh executing at this high level on the potential that they were offering like but you can see it because like for example this is like a bit of a spoiler but I think it's the
[04:58] a bit of a spoiler but I think it's the best example the club fight sequence it's so good you get to see him really flex his abilities here where he's charismatic like he's at the club where you know the bad guys are stationed and
[05:14] he's like taking the piss like he's leading some choreography [ __ ] actually doing that but like a song's playing and he's like leading a whole dance group as he's staring down all the people that wronged him and they they
[05:28] know what's going on here. They can't believe that he, you know, fixed his face. They don't know he has these powers. But then as he's doing the know what's happened and where he's gone. So then he fights all of them
[05:40] while shapeshifting with like this pseudo immortality where he's getting stabbed and [ __ ] but he's taking it kind of as a joke and it's really cool and like when he gets punched in the head or you know if something would like cave
[05:53] his skull and his whole face like smooshes and like contorts around it and [ __ ] and it becomes like a joke and then he'll even use that to get an advantage. Like there's a scene where he absorbs a guy into him to suffocate him. Like it's
[06:07] so creative. like they did a great job of showing how powerful this guy is where even though the Batman's not mentioned here at all, you're thinking about the next Batman movie when the Batman 2 rolls around and if Clayface
[06:20] know if he will or not. I hope he does. He's a really interesting character. I'd thinking to yourself here watching this, how the [ __ ] is he going to beat him? It gets me excited. So, this movie is contained in its own bubble, very
[06:35] content, doesn't want to introduce anything from the overarching world that it inhabits. And it's so much better for that cuz they give all of the attention to these characters and don't rely on the crutch of ah Batman or mentioning
[06:50] the crutch of ah Batman or mentioning anything like that to get people like like that. It's just this is a movie that really does stand on its own. It's it's a character that you've been rooting for this whole time because you
[07:02] can see where they're coming from, he does fully take the plunge in being like a really bad guy, probably irredeemable for what starts happening towards the end. So yeah, I just thought they really did a great job with this. Like I was
[07:15] hoping it'd be good. This was much better than I expected it to be. And another thing they did really well here is they made a great Gotham. You see a lot of Gotham and you get to really like bask in the underbelly and you see the
[07:30] corruption. You see the toll that it takes on the world and those around it those in it cuz you are around it constantly through the lens of Matt who has gone through the [ __ ] ringer. He came from the bottom went to the top and
[07:44] then went even way below the bottom that he started at [ __ ] bedrock. It's I think they really like really nailed it here. So, I was very happy with this and I'm truly hoping that somehow this does make a box office run to justify
[08:00] Clayface having more of a presence in the DCU cuz this is exactly what it needed. A legitimately creative DCU movie that does something different and does it well. So, I appreciated that.
[08:14] Yeah, there are some more things I could probably nitpick for complaints, but I don't really want to. like they're very small things that don't like really ruin it or take away. But yeah, it's not a perfect movie, so don't go in there
[08:26] honestly say you're better off approaching this film as if it has approaching this film as if it has nothing to do with like comic books or or like superpowers or anything cuz it doesn't follow that standard formula you
[08:41] see the DCU in particular utilize a lot. It does just go off the beaten path and takes pleasure in that and shows you things to try and unnerve you. Shows you things to try and unnerve you. Shows you some really cool like gross moments and
[08:55] some very creative kills. And while there's not a ton of action here, the action that is here, I think was really satisfying to watch. But even with the a different set of expectations. It's not the action that you're probably
[09:10] expecting to see. I would say without getting too deep into the weeds there. But yeah, I liked Clayface a lot actually. So I hope it does well. Uh actually. So I hope it does well. Uh anyway, that's really about it.
