Clayface: DC's gory body-horror gamble tops the box office – and it's in Indian cinemas now
DC Studios' R-rated horror film Clayface, starring Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie, opened at No. 1 in North America and is playing in Indian cinemas in English and Hindi with an A certificate.
DC has finally gone full horror, and the gamble has paid off at the ticket window. Clayface, the third film in James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DC Universe, opened at number one at the North American box office over the 23–25 October weekend, taking around $24 million there and about $43 million worldwide. It is also playing in Indian cinemas now, in English and Hindi, with an A certificate – and trust us, that A is earned.
Who is Clayface, and what is the film about?
Forget capes. The hero here is a villain, and he does not even start out as one. Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, a Gotham street kid who claws his way up to Hollywood leading man. Then a local crime boss leaves him badly disfigured, and the people who built his career walk away. Desperate, he signs up for a cutting-edge treatment that gives him his face back – and quietly loosens his grip on reality, pushing him towards an all-consuming revenge. That is the official synopsis from DC's own film page, and it is about as spoiler-free as we will get.
Naomi Ackie plays Dr Caitlyn Corr, the scientist behind the experimental substance that makes Matt look "normal" again. Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan and David Dencik round out the cast, alongside Nancy Carroll and Joshua James.
The people behind the goo
The credits read like a horror fan's wish list. James Watkins directs. The screenplay is by horror heavyweight Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, from a story by Flanagan. Matt Reeves produces with Lynn Harris, Gunn and Safran, and Warner Bros. Pictures distributes. The score is by Volker Bertelmann and the cinematography by Rob Hardy.
In a DC.com interview, Harries says he worked with a dialect coach on Matt's accent, which grows stronger once the fallen star moves back to a rundown flat in the Narrows, Gotham's roughest corner. He compared it to how he himself talks when he goes home to Cardiff – a small, human detail in a film otherwise built on melting faces. Ackie describes the Matt–Caitlyn bond as a slow, intimate story playing out in the middle of the horror. Watkins, meanwhile, has said that Gotham's look draws on 1930s German expressionist cinema.
What the critics and audiences say
Reviews are split, which is fair for a film this gloopy. Variety called it "good, gross fun", while the Free Press Journal gave it two stars and found plenty of gore but little substance. Early buzz was kinder: Variety's round-up of first reactions had viewers calling it "freakishly awesome". Either way, the box-office numbers suggest DC's leaner, R-rated side project has found its crowd.
Should you watch it in India?
If you like your superhero films dark and your horror properly gruesome, yes – but go in knowing this is a proper body-horror film, not a family superhero outing. The UK gave it an 18 rating for strong bloody violence, and India's A certificate means it is adults only. It runs a brisk 1 hour 48 minutes, so it will not eat your whole evening. Tickets are on the usual booking apps; check your local multiplex for the Hindi-dubbed shows if you prefer them. For now, the big screen is where it lives – which is exactly where a film this squelchy belongs.
The FHM take
This is the most interesting thing DC has done in years: a small, nasty, grown-up film that trusts a little-known lead and a horror director instead of a CGI sky-beam. It will not be for everyone, and the reviews say it is uneven. But a superhero studio taking an actual risk? We will happily buy a ticket for that – just maybe skip the popcorn.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Variety (first reactions), Scroll
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