Clayface Director Cites Tetsuo and Godzilla Minus One as Influences
Watkins is describing a monster film built around practical effects and emotional realism rather than jump scares, which is the case he is making for an R-rated DC psychological thriller whose title creature stays hidden until release.
Reporting from 1 source: Cinema Today.
James Watkins, director of DC Studios' Clayface, said in a remote interview that Tetsuo and Godzilla Minus One shaped the film. He named David Cronenberg's The Fly as a model for the transformation story. The film stars Tom Rhys Harries as an actor whose face is ruined and who turns to a forbidden mud-based treatment. It opens in Japan on October 30.
The film follows Matt Hagen, an actor whose face is destroyed in an incident and who undergoes a forbidden treatment using mud. The procedure restores his looks, then the side effects wear him down and turn him into a creature that can shift shape at will. Watkins said he showed James Gunn intense R-rated visuals during their meeting and got a positive response. Practical effects carry much of the horror, including a scene in which Matt tries to cut open his own dissolving eye. Watkins also said the full form of Clayface will not be revealed before the film opens.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.