After being disfigured by a mobster, rising actor Matt Hagan tries an experimental gene therapy with Dr. Caitlyn Corr, and it seemingly restores his movie star looks… But soon he discovers his skin can melt and morph, and he goes for revenge against those who wronged him.
Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagan brings a lot of pathos to the character, and I liked the emphasis on his acting as a character. And Hagan’s descent into villainy feels very natural and believable.
Naomi Ackie is solid as Doctor Corr; her character is a bit reserved, but her calming nature on Matt brought an interesting dynamic to the character.
David Dencik plays the mobster Markos Szabo, and the actor does a solid job as an intimidating figure. Unfortunately, the character is written as a generic mobster we’ve seen 100 times before, so there’s nothing really much to help him stand out or feel unique, so while he works as an obstacle, he doesn’t really feel special as a character.
Character actor Corey Johnson plays one of Szabo’s henchmen in the film. I've seen them in small roles over many years, and it was nice to see he had a very memorable and funny sequence. And ironically, he was also in Morbius, and this film in Morbius feels very similar in places.
Max Minghella plays Detective John Borrelli/Caitlyn’s boyfriend, and I thought the actor brought a lot of personality and charm to the character, not to mention I thought Minghella and Ackie had good chemistry together.
The film takes place in Gotham, and I liked the design for the city; it’s a mix of art deco and steel city, with the sketchy neighborhoods looking like multicolored Coney Island. It kind of feels like they’re taking elements from different Gotham cities (Burton, Nolan, and Schumacher) and kind of hodgepodge the best elements into one.
I also like the design of the mobster's club; it felt like Scarface mixed with a rave. Not to mention one of the more memorable and fun sequences takes place there; it’ll definitely be a highlight for most people.
Aaron Paul played Matt‘s abusive dad, and all of the flashbacks with his character were cut from the final film except for one quick cameo, which many people might not even pick up is Aaron Paul, but if you do, it’s a little funny to see him pop up for like two seconds randomly.
The pacing felt a little quick, but not in a hard-to-follow way; more of the filmmaker is trying to fit a certain amount of information through montage. It's not bad, but on first viewing, it can feel like a lot is going on, and the movie is longer than it actually is, but by the end, everything comes together in a satisfying and cohesive way.
There was a good mix of practical and CGI special effects, the way they used his body-morphing powers. I thought it was both very creative and used for both fun and creepy purposes, sometimes in the same scene.
I thought Matt’s story and his descent into villainy were pretty well told; there were a few details here, and there I wish they had been expanded more or I would have taken a little bit more time to develop, but I feel where the story and all the characters wrap up will leave people satisfied with Matt’s journey.
There is this actor I’ve never seen before called Joshua James, who plays Matt‘s friend, and I thought for the first performance I’ve seen, it was a very dynamic and left a good impression of this guy's skills and range. I hope to see him in future projects.
Joana Ribeiro plays Mia Torrez, the mobster‘s girlfriend who gets Matt into trouble, and I like the actress and the character. It was interesting; I just wish they had given maybe her one more scene to get things from her perspective, because it felt like there was more going on with her character than we were seeing, but that’s just a personal thing
The cinematography was solid, nothing too extravagant, but there was a nice variety of lighting throughout the movie, so the cinematographer did a good job at capturing different looks and making it all feel part of the same piece.
I thought Matt and Caitlyn’s teased romance was not the strongest part of the film, like the actors have OK chemistry, but not enough that you think she might break up with her boyfriend John over it, not to mention again her and John have, I think, better chemistry, but given the nature of the story, I don’t think it takes away from the film too much.
I thought the kills were (no pun intended) well executed 😂 in both pacing, build up, and payoff, and each kill ran the gambit well, with some being scary and some being more satisfying.
Clayface feels like Darkman and The Fly got mushed together, and while it may not hit the highs that The Substance did when it comes to body horror and commentary on fame, we did get a sympathetic and interesting villain origin story that, while taking place in the Batman universe, was able to stand on its own and have some creative and well-shot sequences that should satisfy both horror and comic book fans. I give Clayface a low for stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️; it did accomplish quite the… feat of clay 😂
No comments:
Post a Comment