DC‘s adaptation of Clayface is betting on the same trick that Zach Cregger used to make Resident Evil successful.
Warner Bros. released the final trailer for Clayface, James Watkins‘ body horror movie based on the titular DC villain. Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen, an actor who undergoes a transformational surgery after his face is disfigured. The procedure leads to devastating side effects that turn his body into clay.
Clayface is an origin story about a character who will one day become Batman‘s adversary. However, you wouldn’t know that if you watched the latest trailer. When it comes to adapting a DC character, Clayface is following the same formula that Resident Evil perfected.
Clayface and Resident Evil are turning familiar IP into original horror storiesWhen adapting Resident Evil, Cregger was very open about his love for the games. However, he had no intention of continuing the stories told in the Milla Jovovich movies. Instead, Cregger wanted to capture the spirit of playing the Resident Evil video game while telling a new story with original characters.
Cregger’s idea felt like a standalone action-horror movie set inside a familiar universe. You didn’t necessarily need to know anything about Resident Evil to enjoy the movie. While some Resident Evil fans rejected this approach, Cregger’s gamble paid off with franchise-record opening weekends of $60 million domestically and $108.3 million worldwide. Resident Evil also has a rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Clayface has taken a similar approach to its source material. Watkins’ movie features DC characters in Gotham City. However, Clayface is a body horror film set inside a superhero IP. DC head James Gunn said Clayface is connected to the DCU, but it’s a DCU film out of chronological order, and the “standalone story is what’s most important.”
With a late October release, Clayface is leaning into its horror approach as people search for scary movies before Halloween. Frankly, a direct adaptation of Clayface without Batman won’t appeal to general audiences. However, a horror movie about a man experiencing bodily changes while slowly descending into darkness has a better chance of succeeding.
If Clayface works, DC might have found a new formula that could shape the future of their adaptations.
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