Back when Superman was hitting theaters, fully kickstarting the DCU after Creature Commandos got the ball rolling, James Gunn sat down with CBS Mornings and talked about not just the Clark Kent movie, but the immediate projects that were scheduled to follow, including the now-released Peacemaker Season 2 and the forthcoming Supergirl and Lanterns. But that wasn’t all he discussed. He also mentioned Clayface, calling it “a complete horror film” even if it was still in the same universe as all the aforementioned projects. He further stated that they’re actively seeking to make each DC project stand apart from one another. As Marvel Cinematic Universe fans know, that overarching franchise has struggled with that in the past.
Clayface has now been delayed, but it’s not as bad a piece of news as it seems. For one, it’s just a month later. Two, its new October 23rd release date really seems to indicate that the “complete horror film” description wasn’t just a sales pitch, but rather an accurate summarization.
The History of Horror in Superhero Movies & How Clayface Is Likely to Stand Out
Clayface will not be the first superhero (supervillain, in this case) movie to have horror elements. The Crow definitely has them, at least in terms of its overall grim vibe. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy had the faintest but still discernible horror influence, while his Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness more overtly embraced the genre. The Blade trilogy had vampires, the Ghost Rider movies involved demons, the Venom movies and Morbius had a touch of horror, and The Void in Thunderbolts* was creepy, but even still, none were firmly planted in the same genre as Halloween and The Exorcist.
DC has come a little closer than Marvel, with Wes Craven’s underrated Swamp Thing being horror adjacent and the Penguin in Batman Returns certainly scaring tears out of plenty of kids. But even including Constantine, Clayface will be the first time DC has ever put out a full-on scary movie.
One need only look at who is behind Clayface to have it confirmed that it’s really going for it. For one, its budget is at $40 million, which really isn’t all that far from the typical horror film budget (it’s in line with Scream 7, for instance). Two, it’s co-written by top-tier Stephen King adapter Mike Flanagan, who only sat out directing because he was busy with other projects. In other words, it’s arguably his baby just as much as it is director James Watkins’.
Where might you know Watkins’ name? Almost exclusively from horror films. The only one of the four films he’s directed so far has been outside the genre (Bastille Day, a thriller with Idris Elba). His presence is also encouraging, considering his Eden Lake is a brutal aughts horror classic while The Woman in Black was an underrated member of the genre back in 2012. More recently he helmed Speak No Evil, widely considered one of the best horror films of 2024, which was a crowded year for the genre. Toss in the fact that James Gunn got his start in the genre and there’s every reason to believe Clayface may very well be the first comic book movie to scare adults.
How much do you think Clayface will delve into its body horror potential? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
