Clayface left me with mixed feelings, but it gets a lot right before it runs out of steam. It moves fast. You get just enough setup to know who these people are, then it races straight to the horrific stuff. I loved that.
The setup is the best part. Matt Hagen is an actor, and within the first five minutes we watch him slip into several different people. That one choice plants a ton of story right away. Then there’s Dr. Corr, a medical outcast who knows she has something brilliant to offer, even if nobody will listen. Put those two together and you get a perfect combo. The whole first half works.
Then Matt starts mimicking people, and something gets lost. Instead of watching him become someone else, we mostly watch other actors step in for brief roles. His whole identity is that he’s good at becoming other people. Letting that skill fade into the background is a real missed opportunity.
The kill scenes are a highlight. Some are brilliant, and you can tell the filmmakers had a blast dreaming them up. You can also tell when they got tired. The back half never gets the same attention to detail as the front. It feels like a movie that started with a clear plan and never finished polishing it.
A great first half and a handful of nasty, inventive kills go a long way. If you like horror with a sharp hook, dive in, but know the best stuff comes early.
