In James Watkins’s Clayface, legitimate squirm-inducing body horror and a lead performance dripping with tragic charisma elevate it far beyond standard comic book villain fare. Yes, this is a comic book origin story worth getting excited about. Just be sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Thanks to a much-welcome R-rating, the filmmakers pull absolutely no punches when it comes to gruesome, gross-out imagery, squeamish visuals, and some genuinely nasty moments of violence. Surprisingly, the film even goes there with nudity. All of which is to say, this isn’t some toned-down comic book flick designed to play it safe for everybody. Real swings were taken here, and I can appreciate that. Admittedly though, Clayface still has some of the usual studio-movie trappings, including a largely predictable narrative and a slickness that occasionally takes away from the grimy, unsettling atmosphere the material deserves. But the craftsmanship on display goes a long way toward making up for it. And, at the centre of it all is Tom Rhys Harries - who is a genuine revelation as Matt Hagen. He plays this tragic, tormented character to a T, striking just the right balance between vulnerability, charm, and something deeply unsettling lurking beneath the surface. You buy into his humanity, which makes watching him descend into something monstrous all the more disturbing. He’s a broken man whose desperation makes his transformations all the more horrifying. And when the body horror kicks into high gear, Harries gives the grotesque imagery an emotional core that keeps it from becoming a mere parade of gross-out effects. And yes, while this is undoubtedly a DCU film (fitting into the larger universe), don’t go expecting a slew of cameos or distracting connective tissue designed to remind you what franchise you’re watching. Nope, there’s no Batman swooping around this Gotham to steal the spotlight here. And I think that’s a very good thing. Clayface is at its best when it’s allowed to stand on its own two feet, embracing its horror roots rather than worrying about what comes next in the DCU. The spotlight rightfully remains firmly on Matt Hagen’s face… his drooping, disfigured, monstrous face! And that’s exactly where it belongs.