Classic Movies Live Season 7, Episode 33 – Clayface
October 28, 2026
It’s Halloween! Which means it’s time for our hosts to talk about a spooky, scary comic book movie!
Clayface is the third movie in James Gunn’s DC Universe, following Superman and Supergirl. It’s the first that isn’t Super, and easily the most grounded, with nary a superhero in sight! Instead, Clayface focuses on Matt Hagen (Matthew Rhys Harries), an Oscar-nominated actor who runs afoul of the Gotham City mob and ends up disfigured and unable to re-enter the public eye. When an experimental surgery gives him the opportunity to be beautiful again, and finally get back to his dream of acting, Hagen jumps at the opportunity… maybe jumps at it too hard, even.
Written by Mike Flanagan (who our hosts last talked about on Classic Movies Live Season 6, Episode 12 – Two By King) and directed by James Watkins, director of Speak No Evil, Clayface has impressive pedigree behind it. Does the DCU’s first foray into street-level fare live up to the legacy of Detective Comics, or is it more in the vein of Sony’s Cinematic Universe of Spider-Man Villains?
Note: Jeff claims in this that “Clayface [in the comics] is always an actor.” Matt Hagen, in his original appearance, was a treasure hunter, and at least a few characters have held the Clayface mantle with other backstories.
