I once said about the Star Wars franchise that it would benefit more from branching out with different genres and styles; it never occurred to me until now that the same could be said for any other brand or franchise, especially DC Studios. While last years Superman was a golden winner, their follow up with Supergirl wasn't as much of a home run as it should have been, what with it trying too hard to recreate the essence of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy series, and featuring a protagonist who wasn't as relatable or likable as she really should have been.
But, that could all change for the better with the release of their latest offering, Clayface: a feature film about a relatively obscure member of Batman's rouges gallery that goes all in on its potential, and it is well worth every gooey moment.
For those who may not know or would appreciate a quick refresher, Clayface is one of Batman's classic villains who, like so many, has gone through a few different incarnations and interpretations, though the new film seems to be taking most of its notes from the version featured in Batman: The Animated Series, which is arguably the most popular iteration, and has the most potential for a good horror thriller.
The story follows a successful movie star named Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), who is on the rise to stardom in Hollywood and is on the road to making his dreams come true. Unfortunately, all those dreams come crashing down when, after a one-night-stand with a mob boss's girlfriend, he gets his face horribly cut up and destroyed, rendering him unable to work and perform ever again. After spending his fortune trying and failing to rebuild his face, loosing his friends, and watching his career swirling down the toilet, he finds an untested opportunity to gain it all back, with the help of an experimental treatment that could rejuvenate his face and his life. However, this chance at a new beginning may come at a price he is unprepared for, as the procedure appears to be doing more than just fixing his mug; granting him unusual and potentially dangerous abilities.
Will Matt Hagen use this unusual gift to further better himself, or will the temptation for revenge overwhelm him too much?
This is the classic case of the tragic villain: a character you understand and sympathize with (at least to a degree), and want to see do better, only to watch in horror as his greater demons take hold. It's actually a near perfect expansion of the themes and concepts presented in Batman: The Animated Series, where they hinted at the greater implications of the character, but couldn't go too deep into it, due to the fact that the show was still intended for younger audiences (mostly). Although the creators of the series managed to push the concepts as far as they reasonably could, they still could have taken it much further if the times had permitted.
The film does what the original animated show could not: take a concept that is ripe for mature horror and go all in with everything the character is capable of and willing to do. It may not be pretty, but it's a bit more relatable than you might think.
The script, penned by Hossein Amini and Mike Flanagan (one of my heroes), succeeds in creating a story of loss, revenge, and ones true self within an unusual framework wrapped around comic-book science, while maintaining a strong sense of humanity and verisimilitude, or at least as much as they can with a script about a shape-shifting man. Coupled with James Watkins' tactful and considerate direction, the film succeeds in delivering a horror story on par with the likes of, dare I say, The Invisible Man.
Clayface is a greater surprise than it has any right to be. Its take on a relatively obscure comic book villain elevates what making a "comic book" movie can mean. While it may not be the first of its kind, it's nice to know that there are still creatives working in the mainstream world who now what they're doing, and care enough to make it the best it can be. It's not a masterpiece, but it's damn near close.
Give it a shot, if you're not too squeamish at a little body horror.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment