Clayface review: Tom Rhys Harries shines in DCU body horror gamble that largely pays off

Light spoilers follow for Clayface .

Not many people would've predicted that a Clayface movie would be part of James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe (DCU).

Three years after Gunn unveiled the initial DCU slate , fewer still expected a shape-shifting villain to beat heavy hitters like Batman and Wonder Woman to the big screen.

And yet, here we are.

Four months after Supergirl bombed at the box office, Clayface feels like a crucible moment for a cinematic universe that's still trying to find its footing and drop a few spontaneous surprises along the way.

And, while the lovingly crafted origin story delivers on the latter front, it doesn't fully succeed in helping to shape the direction of DC 's fledging comic book franchise.

Face/Off Clayface is arguably the biggest role of Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries' career so far (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros.

Pictures) Clayface stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a Gotham City native and an actor on the cusp of superstardom.

However, while celebrating a career-defining Best Actor award nomination, Hagen makes the fatal error of sleeping with Mia Torrez (Joana Ribeiro), the girlfriend of high-profile mobster Markos Szabo (David Dencik).

In retaliation, Szabo’s henchmen brutally attack Hagen, disfiguring his prized face and destroying his life overnight.

Clayface feels like a crucible moment for the DCU Abandoned by his allies and, after he takes Szabo to court for his crimes, failed by the justice system, a desperate Hagen seeks out Doctor Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), a researcher testing an experimental, regenerative nanocell therapy.

However, while the initial trial restores his handsome features, Hagen soon succumbs to the treatment's terrifying side effects, leading him down a self-destructive path of revenge.

Matt Hagen is left horrifically scarred by his run-in with Szabo's men (Image credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros.

Pictures) It might sound strange, but witnessing a full-blown origins story is a rarity in this nascent comic book universe.