DC fans had every reason to keep their eyes on Clayface, especially with James Gunn firmly in its corner. Gunn and co-producer Peter Safran were not even searching for a standalone film until horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan won them over with his vision. Flanagan and Hossein Amini developed the script, while James Watkins took the director’s chair.

And the early reception suggests the excitement was not misplaced. Clayface has hit the ground running with a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, giving DC’s body-horror experiment a promising start.

Clayface has already made a striking impression on Rotten Tomatoes, where the DC Universe horror film boasts a 94% Audience Score, setting a new record for the franchise. The R-rated feature, which arrived in theaters on October 23, 2026, has earned a warmer reception from moviegoers than critics, with its audience rating outpacing its 76% Tomatometer score.

That gap becomes even more interesting when Clayface is measured against other DC Studios releases. Although the film trails Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, and Lanterns among critics, its audience score puts it ahead of Superman and Blue Beetle, both of which earned 90%. Supergirl sits further behind at 72%, leaving Clayface with the strongest audience rating among the listed DC Universe projects.

The numbers suggest that audiences are responding to something beyond the usual superhero spectacle. Clayface leans into a darker, more tragic take on a familiar Batman villain, using body horror to explore the disturbing transformation of Matt Hagen. While the critics have been more measured in their response, moviegoers appear considerably more taken with DC’s gruesome new experiment.

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James Watkins is earning plenty of praise, with James Gunn leading the charge, but audiences appear to have another name at the top of their list.

While Clayface has earned attention for its grotesque body horror, Tom Rhys Harries is emerging as the film’s biggest talking point. Critics have singled out the Welsh actor for bringing psychological depth to a story that might otherwise get lost in its own grisly spectacle. Both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have praised his performance for giving the film a compelling emotional center.

Harries makes Matt Hagen’s transformation particularly effective by first establishing him as a charming, handsome Hollywood hopeful before gradually revealing a man unraveling physically and emotionally. His performance becomes especially visceral in the airport sequence, where Hagen desperately cuts away mutating skin near his eye, making the practical effects feel all the more disturbing. For a film built around a monstrous transformation, Harries is proving to be its most compelling human element.

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What would you rate Clayface? Let us know in the comments!