Tom Rhys Harries has said he is “really proud” of Clayface as DC Studios ventures into horror with its latest big-screen adaptation. The Welsh actor plays Matt Hagen, a Hollywood actor whose pursuit of stardom takes a gruesome turn in the standalone horror-thriller, which arrives in UK cinemas today (October 23).
A villain with nearly 90 years of history
Speaking to the London Standard, Harries said the film's source material offered plenty of scope for the filmmakers to reimagine one of DC's most enduring villains. He said: “It's a really iconic DC villain, who's existed for almost 90 years.”
“We've got a huge pool of different creatives, writers, illustrators, different media forms to pull from, for cherry-picking the best bits to bring into the big screen for the first time,” he added.
Shooting in Liverpool and a British feel
Harries noted the production's unique setting: “We shot Gotham in Liverpool, and I think the benefit of being able to shoot in exteriors as opposed to sound stages or sets, is that you're actually living in the world.”
“Whilst this is obviously a DC film, it has such a British feel to it. And, yeah, I'm really proud of the film,” he told the Standard.
A dark transformation story
Directed by James Watkins, the film marks a departure from the traditional superhero blockbuster, instead exploring the disturbing transformation of a man whose ambition comes at a horrifying cost. Hagen begins as a rising Hollywood star before a devastating series of events leaves him physically transformed into the monstrous Clayface.
Watkins believes the film's appeal extends beyond its horror sequences, with the director telling the Standard that it was the emotional story at the heart of the script that drew him to the project. Watkins said: “When I read the script, Mike Flanagan, who's a brilliant writer-director, had written this script, and it just seemed so compelling.”
“The story of this guy that starts out as this sort of golden movie star guy, and he's worked his way up, and he's got such a great life, and then he loses everything. And the journey, the dark journey that he goes on, it felt emotional. It had a kind of heart and heartbreak, and so it had a context of real human emotion to create all these incredibly icky horror moments within it,” he added.
Cast, budget, and box office start
The film also stars Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan, with its more modest reported net production budget of $44 million before marketing costs distinguishing it from some of DC's larger-scale superhero productions.
The film has also made an encouraging early start at the US box office, with Thursday preview screenings generating an estimated $3.5 million or more, according to Deadline.
