CLAYFACE is a movie about identity that never finds its own. Just walked out of the theater. I thought Clayface was okay. Entertaining, but ultimately disappointing. As a horror film, it’s weak. As a revenge thriller, it’s weak. The body horror is easily the strongest element, giving the film that early 2000s Lionsgate feel. But we’ve seen it done better in The Substance and The Fly. The biggest problem is that the movie never decides what it wants to be. A revenge thriller? A tragedy? A horror movie? It tries to be everything without fully committing to anything. Ironically, identity would have been the perfect theme to explore. What happens to an actor’s psyche when he discovers he can transform into anyone and regenerate his body? What does that do to his sense of self? Instead, we get gangsters, an underdeveloped villain whose motivations never go beyond jealousy, and an origin involving AI nanotechnology that never feels particularly convincing. The villain’s personal connection to Matt Hagen exists, but there’s little emotional depth to their conflict. A rival actor sabotaging Matt’s career could have created a more compelling tragedy, especially for a character whose entire identity revolves around his appearance. Visually, the film feels closer to Joker and Matt Reeves’ The Batman than anything else in the DCU. Considering Reeves is also a producer, I find the decision to keep these characters in separate universes perplexing. I kept thinking about Batman: The Animated Series and its brilliant “Feat of Clay” storyline. That story understood the tragedy of Matt Hagen without needing an entire feature film. Ultimately, Clayface kept me entertained, but it never came together. The body horror works, the performances are engaging, and there are interesting ideas buried beneath the surface. Unfortunately, none of those ideas develop into something particularly memorable. A film about a man who loses his identity ended up suffering from the exact same problem. CLAYFACE never took shape.