Clayface (18)

Dark, violent and drenched in gruesome body horror, this is new ground for DC and a disturbing take on one of Gotham City’s most tragic villains.

Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) rises from the streets of Gotham to become a Hollywood leading man, only for his promising career to be shattered when a crime boss leaves him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by those around him, Matt turns to an experimental treatment that restores his former appearance, but at a terrible cost. As his grip on reality begins to unravel, his desperation gives way to an increasingly destructive quest for revenge.

Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and written by Hossein Amini and horror specialist Mike Flanagan, the film combines a hard-edged crime thriller with shockingly visceral horror. Harries leads a strong cast, including Naomi Ackie and Eddie Marsan, grounding the increasingly unravelling events in human desperation. It’s an unrelenting darkness that suits a story about identity, obsession and the price of reclaiming what has been lost.

A bold and intriguing new direction for James Gunn’s still-evolving DC Universe.