Rotten Tomatoes Pulled a Negative ‘Clayface’ Review, and Critics Can’t Agree Why

The countdown to DC Studios’ first horror movie has been anything but quiet, and the latest ‘Clayface’ review drama on Rotten Tomatoes has added fuel to an already heated conversation. The R-rated body horror film, which stars Tom Rhys Harries as disfigured actor Matt Hagen, arrives in theaters on October 23.

Warner Bros. signaled early confidence in the project. The studio lifted the social media embargo on October 13, about 10 days before release, while holding the full review embargo until October 21, just a day before Thursday preview screenings.

That’s where things got complicated. ComicBookMovie’s Josh Wilding posted the first ‘Clayface’ review to Rotten Tomatoes on Monday night, giving it a rotten 2.5 out of 5 and calling it “DC’s Morbius moment,” but by Tuesday the review had disappeared, and the film was back to having no score.

Wilding shared the news himself shortly after. “I haven’t received an explanation why, but I will post it there again when the embargo lifts,” the critic wrote on X, adding that the review would stay live on ComicBookMovie in the meantime.

His review was far from a total pan. It praised Harries’ lead performance as the standout element while criticizing the horror as too thin and the comic book personality as missing, predicting audiences would forget the film.

So Josh Wilding’s negative CLAYFACE review has now been removed from Rotten Tomatoes. And yeah, this is where things start getting really fucking weird. Josh saw the movie at a public UK screening. He paid for his ticket. He wasn’t under the press embargo. Rotten Tomatoes accepted the review, let it sit there, and now it’s gone. So who made the call? Because Fandango owns Rotten Tomatoes, and Warner Bros. holds a minority stake in Fandango. Am I saying Warner Bros. definitely called Rotten Tomatoes and told them to pull a negative CLAYFACE review? No. But if I were a betting man, I know where I’d put my money. And even if Warner had nothing to do with it, that still leaves Rotten Tomatoes looking terrible. They approved the review. Josh wasn’t bound by the embargo. Then after a bunch of DCU fans threw a collective shit-fit over a 2.5/5 review, suddenly it disappears? Come on. This is exactly why I put zero value into Rotten Tomatoes. If a review can vanish because of studio pressure, public pressure, internal panic, or some arbitrary embargo concern that didn’t even apply to the critic, then what exactly are we supposed to trust here? At this point the call feels like it’s coming from inside the house.

— Matt Jarbo (@mjarbo) October 20, 2026

The removal quickly sparked debate. Matt Jarbo argued on X that Wilding saw the film at a public UK screening, paid for his ticket, and wasn’t bound by the press embargo, questioning why Rotten Tomatoes would accept the review and then remove it.

Quick update before I head out for the evening: Rotten Tomatoes appears to have removed my #Clayface review from the site. I haven’t received an explanation why, but I will post it there again when the embargo lifts. It will remain live on CBM until then. https://t.co/ZoXC2oXHyN

— Josh Wilding – ComicBookMovie.com (@Josh_Wilding) October 20, 2026

Jarbo went further, pointing out that Fandango owns Rotten Tomatoes and that Warner Bros. holds a minority stake in Fandango. He stressed he wasn’t claiming the studio definitely intervened, but suggested he suspected it, and said the episode reinforced why he places no value in the site.

He also argued that even without studio involvement, the situation made Rotten Tomatoes look bad, especially after some DCU fans reacted angrily to the middling score. Those claims remain speculation, and there is no confirmation of any outside pressure.

The final trailer for DC’s ‘CLAYFACE’ has been released. In theaters on October 23. https://t.co/ecTMB97Sto

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 24, 2026

Wilding himself has downplayed the controversy. According to Cosmic Book News, he said he spoke with Rotten Tomatoes and described the situation as all good with no drama, a response that took much of the air out of the Warner Bros. theory.

Not everyone agreed he was in the clear, though. Some fans accused him of breaking the embargo, with DCU fan account Home of DCU arguing that publishing a review on an aggregator before the embargo still counted, even after a public screening.

Wilding has maintained there was no embargo for him to break. As a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, he plans to repost the review once the official embargo lifts. The removed review contrasts with much of the early excitement. Initial social reactions praised the film as a gory showcase for Harries, and it debuted on Letterboxd with a solid 3.7 average out of 5.

Still, some audience complaints have surfaced online. One fan post claimed Clayface’s true form appears for only about 60 seconds and criticized the CGI, while Wilding’s review argued the classic Clayface moments weren’t worth the wait.

New posters for DC’s ‘CLAYFACE’. In theaters on October 23. https://t.co/2DA3HTeKUQ

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 7, 2026

The stakes are relatively modest. ‘Clayface’ reportedly cost $40 million, meaning it doesn’t need to be a blockbuster to turn a profit. With the full review embargo now lifting, the real critical verdict is finally arriving, and fans will soon see whether Wilding’s take is an outlier or an early warning.

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