Movies Like ‘Clayface’ for Viewers Who Want More Body Horror
‘Clayface’ is DC Studios’ R-rated body horror origin story, and it reaches theaters on October 23. Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, an actor who volunteers for an experiment after being disfigured. Early reactions have leaned on comparisons to classic monster transformation stories, and viewers looking for something similar have plenty of places to start.
James Gunn shared a personal list of favorite body horror movies on Threads in preparation for ‘Clayface’. The films below draw on that list and on other guides written for fans of the movie. Each one speaks to a different part of what makes this Batman villain story so unsettling.
‘The Fly’
A scientist accidentally merges his DNA with a housefly during a teleportation experiment, which triggers an irreversible mutation. Some critics have already compared ‘Clayface’ to this Cronenberg classic.
Both stories show a charismatic man turning into a monster in front of the audience, and ‘Clayface’ prioritizes practical effects over CGI for Hagen’s change into living clay. It remains the most obvious starting point for anyone exploring this subgenre.
‘The Substance’
This film follows a former celebrity who goes to extreme lengths to reclaim her relevance, using cinematography and special effects to show how depraved her wish becomes. It treats fame as something that can rot a person from the inside.
‘Clayface’ is a DC superhero movie and will not be as unconventional, but it should channel the same emptiness and loss that Hagen feels after his disfigurement. Viewers drawn to that fallen star angle will find a strong match here.
‘The Blob’
An acidic, amoeba like alien crashes near a small town and dissolves everything in its path as it grows into a massive, shapeless monster. Gunn included it among his recommendations.
The remake pushed practical melting effects to their limit, which makes it a clear touchstone for how Hagen engulfs his victims in his clay form. It offers a messier and more monstrous side of the same idea.
‘The Thing’
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a parasitic alien that perfectly imitates any living creature it touches. That setup lines up neatly with a villain known for impersonating other people.
John Carpenter’s classic mirrors the way ‘Clayface’ morphs his body into horrific transformations during physical combat. Dread Central also noted that the film carries some of its DNA into ‘Clayface’.
‘Videodrome’
A sleazy television programmer discovers a pirate broadcast showing snuff violence, only to learn that the signal causes brain tumors, hallucinations and bodily changes. It is one of several Cronenberg titles on Gunn’s recommended viewing.
The film explores how media, fame and obsession corrupt both body and mind, which sits at the center of Hagen’s story as a desperate actor trying to return to the spotlight. The fit is thematic as much as visual.
‘Altered States’
A psychophysiologist uses sensory deprivation tanks and hallucinogenic drugs to reach hidden states of mind, which causes genetic regressions that turn him into a primitive creature. Ken Russell directed the film, and it also appears on Gunn’s list.
Dread Central described it as a scientist becoming something else after an experiment goes wrong, and one of the stranger and more visually striking entries among the recommendations. That experimental treatment gone wrong echoes the path Hagen takes.
‘Re-Animator’
An arrogant medical student develops a glowing green serum that can bring dead tissue back to life, which unleashes gory mayhem inside a university hospital morgue. Stuart Gordon directed it.
It balances dark comedy with gruesome and unethical medical experimentation, echoing the mad science behind the attempts to cure Hagen. It suits viewers who want their body horror with a streak of black humor.
‘The Brood’
A distraught husband investigates a psychiatric clinic and discovers that its experimental therapy has led a mentally unstable woman to manifest her rage as mutant children. It treats emotional pain as something physical and dangerous.
That mirrors the way Hagen’s internal rage and grief erupt into a monstrous shapeshifter. It is another Cronenberg film that Gunn chose to highlight.
‘Cronos’
Guillermo del Toro’s debut follows an elderly antique dealer who finds an ancient scarab like device that grants youth and immortality at the cost of an insatiable thirst for blood and flesh. Dread Central called it one of the more unique vampire films, soaked in del Toro’s dark fantasy atmosphere.
Its tragic addiction to physical youth and perfection parallels Hagen’s drive to get his life back, along with the toll of trying to cheat nature. The result is a quieter and more melancholy companion piece.
‘Slither’
Gunn wrote and directed this story about a meteorite that unleashes an alien parasite, which turns a wealthy local man into a tentacled flesh monster that infects the townspeople. Gunn cheekily added his own horror comedy to his list.
Gunn has said he wants ‘Clayface’ to work as a pure horror movie even for someone who does not care about DC. Now that Hagen’s tragic transformation is arriving in theaters, which of these horror touchstones do you think left the deepest mark on ‘Clayface’, and does the film earn a place beside them.
