The Latest Trailer for Clayface Has Me Feeling Overwhelmed

I was all-in for Clayface. Before James Gunn took charge, the recent iterations of DC’s superhero universe just didn’t resonate with me; they felt too serious and self-righteous. But with Gunn at the helm, it seemed like we were finally heading into the more playful territory I crave. Then the trailers started dropping.

In James Watkins’ Clayface, we meet Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), a rising star in Hollywood who suffers a horrific attack, leaving him with disfiguring scars that threaten his career. In search of a solution, he turns to an experimental treatment that comes with some unsettling side effects—his body begins to melt. It’s essentially an origin story for the Batman villain, but with an extra layer of grotesqueness.

When the first trailer hit back in April, it was covered with the headline, “DC’s New Clayface Looks Great—Wait, Oh My God, No, Absolutely Not.” I, however, was all for it! I loved that it felt like a full-blown horror film set in the same universe as the lighter Superman, and that final jump scare where he smears his face away was just spot on.

By the time the second trailer rolled out, which was titled “Oh, Man, The Clayface Movie Is Even Grosser Than I Thought It’d Be In New Trailer,” I started to have my doubts. It wasn’t just the face-smooshing or the grotesque way his skin stretched over his mouth and eyes, nor even Hagen’s horrified reactions. It was the scene in the airplane bathroom with the scissors that made me look away. As he reached to snip the skin growing over his eyes, I couldn’t help but flinch, even though the trailer cut away before showing anything graphic. But I thought, that’s fine! It’s okay to have that one moment that makes the audience gasp and hide their eyes. I’d still enjoy the film.

Now, with the third and final trailer out, I’m teetering on the edge of backing out.

This trailer revisits a lot of the previous footage, including that bathroom mirror scene, and once again, I found myself turning my eyes away. Yet again, it cuts away before anything happens. But then we get new footage, and some of it is genuinely disturbing. It’s not just what’s happening to Hagen; it’s what he’s doing to others. Sure, we know he’s a villain and won’t be using his body-melding powers for good, but watching him suffocate a man by pressing his face through his stomach, with the features pushing through his back, is intense. Even more unsettling is Hagen’s expression—not a wicked grin, but a look of deep sorrow and despair as he does it. Then there’s the moment where he presses his hands into someone’s face, mashing their features, all while looking incredibly sad.

Brrrr. I still really want to see it! But I’m genuinely worried that the movie won’t cut away from that scissors scene, and just thinking about it makes me squirm. Yet it’s the overwhelming sadness that’s hitting me the hardest. I can handle body horror, but the combination of misery and devastation might be pushing it a bit too far.