Everyone Is Freaking Out Over “Clayface,” So Here Are 19 Wild Behind-The-Scenes Facts, Details, And Easter Eggs

Clayface is the latest DCU movie to deed the large screen, and FYI, it's amazingly acheronian for a "superhero movie." There's violence, nudity, and capable assemblage fearfulness that, if you're squeamish, you'll astir apt extremity up watching a bully chunk of it done your fingers. What I'm sayin' is, this is straight-up a horror movie, truthful if you're into that, you're gonna beryllium into it.

The movie stars Tom Rhys Harries arsenic Matt Hagen (i.e. Clayface), a rising Hollywood histrion whose vocation is derailed aft he's horribly disfigured. Directed by fearfulness filmmaker James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and written by Mike Flanagan (the aforesaid genius who brought america The Haunting of Hill House and immoderate of the champion Stephen King adaptations) and Hossein Amini (Drive), Clayface is simply a fearfulness movie a batch of radical are talking about. So, I did a heavy dive to find retired immoderate amusive behind-the-scenes facts astir it (and you mightiness beryllium amazed however galore applicable effects they really used!). Check it out:

Note: There are nary large spoilers ahead, but if you privation to spell into the movie knowing perfectly nothing, conscionable bookmark this for later!

Facts person been sourced from the film's accumulation notes unless different noted. 

1. There's really a truly absorbing crushed wherefore Clayface feels truthful antithetic from the caller DCU movies and shows we've seen truthful far. The movie was primitively developed by Matt Reeves, the manager of The Batman (2022) — i.e. the Robert Pattinson one. After making that movie, Reeves wanted to research the origins of Batman's villains done smaller, genre-focused films. Flanagan approached him with an thought for a Clayface fearfulness movie inspired by Batman: The Animated Series, and the 2 began processing it.

When James Gunn and Peter Safran took implicit DC Studios, Clayface was 1 of the archetypal projects Reeves pitched to them. They loved the thought and decided to marque it portion of their caller DCU alternatively than the beingness established successful Reeves' The Batman. (So, yes, determination are TWO abstracted DC movie universes happening close present — Matt Reeves' Batman beingness and the DCU. 🤷🏻‍♀️)

2. Speaking of aggregate Batman iterations, 2 archetypal props from Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie were reused successful Clayface. While searching for a array for Matt Hagen's penthouse, the acceptable decorating squad happened upon the archetypal java array utilized by Jack Nicholson's Joker...

...They besides reused the barber seat from Jack Napier's (aka the Joker's) integrative country country for Matt's ain consultation with a integrative surgeon.

3. Matt Hagen's translation into Clayface progressive 18 antithetic stages of applicable prosthetics. The squad astatine Legacy Effects created hundreds of idiosyncratic pieces to amusement his progression from the archetypal onslaught done aggregate surgeries and yet his translation into Clayface. Watkins wanted the earlier stages to look medically realistic, truthful the squad utilized existent tegument conditions and injuries arsenic references alternatively than making Matt look instantly monstrous.

4. Rhys Harries spent 2 to 4 hours successful the constitution seat connected astir filming days. In summation to the extended prosthetics, helium wore interaction lenses and mouthpieces that affected his imaginativeness and speech. Rather than combat the discomfort, Harries utilized it to pass his performance, incorporating those carnal limitations into his portrayal of Matt Hagen.

5. And, judge it oregon not, immoderate of Clayface's melting tegument effects were created utilizing applicable prosthetics alternatively than CGI. The wizards astatine Legacy Effects developed silicone prosthetics with built-in mechanisms that allowed Matt's tegument to stretch, sag, and look to drip connected camera. They could adjacent reverse the effect, making the tegument propulsion backmost into place.

6. The filmmakers utilized oobleck, a elemental substance of cornstarch and h2o (something that kids virtually marque successful preschool!), to make immoderate of the clay effects. For example, for the scenes successful Caitlyn's laboratory, the effects squad placed the substance implicit speakers, utilizing dependable vibrations to marque it ripple and determination successful antithetic ways.

7. For the gruesome airplane country wherever Matt cuts done the soma covering his eyes, the peculiar effects squad created an oversized eyeball and a elephantine brace of scissors. These larger-than-life props allowed the filmmakers to seizure utmost close-ups of the procedure. Watkins adjacent said the country was truthful disturbing that radical connected acceptable were really looking distant from the monitors during filming.

8. Beyond that larger-than-life peculiar effect, the filmmakers besides had 4 antithetic pairs of scissors connected hand: existent scissors, blunted scissors, rubber scissors, and scissors without blades. According to Watkins, Rhys Harries got truthful into the country that helium was really utilizing the existent scissors, which made immoderate of the unit (understandably) rather nervous.

9. The filmmakers utilized 25 antithetic locations crossed Liverpool, England, to bring Gotham City to life. Production decorator James Price adjacent created a representation of Gotham based connected Liverpool's existent geography, utilizing the River Mersey to abstracted the city's affluent neighborhoods from the poorer country wherever Matt Hagen ends up surviving aft his attack.

10. There are a mates of Easter eggs hidden successful Gotham City that wage tribute to Batman's creators. The Moldoff Building is named aft Sheldon Moldoff, a longtime Batman comic publication artist, portion Kane's Candy Store is simply a motion to Bob Kane, who co-created Batman.

11. It's a tiny detail, but the statue of Lady Justice atop Gotham City's courthouse was deliberately covered successful vertebrate droppings. The filmmakers wanted the item to bespeak Gotham's corruption and neglect.

12. Matt Hagen's rundown flat was designed to lucifer damaged and diseased skin. 🥴 The creation section utilized photographs of tegument conditions, bruises, household mold, and cracked plaster arsenic references erstwhile designing and decorating the apartment, making Matt's surroundings bespeak his carnal transformation.

13. Meanwhile, the wallpaper wrong Gotham's Vesuvius nightclub was really designed to resemble meat. Watkins revealed that the accumulation squad gave the walls a steak-like texture, adding different unsettling item to the already beauteous disturbing satellite of Clayface.

14. Speaking of Vesuvius nightclub, if you look intimately astatine the posters extracurricular of it, you'll spot an advertisement for a DJ named “Halfprice.” This is really a notation to accumulation decorator James Price, who besides DJs nether that name.

15. If you look intimately astatine the carnival scenes, you'll spot a funhouse called “Twisted Memories,” which is really a motion to Clayface himself. The attraction's elephantine monster-mouth entranceway was designed to lucifer Clayface, making it a clever small spot of foreshadowing hidden successful plain sight.

16. If you thought you spotted Aaron Paul during the climactic nightclub scene, you weren't imagining things! The Breaking Bad prima makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it quality erstwhile Matt concisely transforms into his deceased father, Jimmy “One Nut.” As it turns out, Paul primitively had a overmuch bigger relation successful the movie, filming respective days of flashbacks arsenic Matt's abusive father. However, Watkins yet decided to chopped astir of those scenes due to the fact that helium didn't privation Matt's tendency for revenge to beryllium defined by his traumatic childhood.

17. Rhys Harries really filmed the entirety of Clayface with a torn ACL — and didn't archer anyone connected the accumulation oregon stunt team! In fact, during the country wherever Matt flees a movie premiere arsenic his look begins to melt, Harries wasn't conscionable pretending to limp. He was genuinely disquieted his genu mightiness springiness retired portion moving done the streets of Liverpool successful the mediate of the night.

18. For 1 of Matt Hagen's gruesome translation scenes, Rhys Harries had to repeatedly spit retired small balls of fake flesh. According to his costar Naomi Ackie, the props were made from a gelatin-like worldly and looked perfectly disgusting. However, she admitted it was hilarious watching Harries spit them retired instrumentality aft take.

19. Finally, it should travel arsenic nary astonishment that Watkins drew inspiration from immoderate precise disturbing (and iconic) body-horror movies erstwhile making Clayface, with The Fly (1986) being 1 of his biggest influences. He specifically praised the believable science, the narration betwixt Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis's characters, and the heartbreak of watching idiosyncratic alteration into a monster.

Other films Watkins drew inspiration from see An American Werewolf successful London (1981), peculiarly its celebrated applicable translation effects, arsenic good arsenic The Thing (1982) and the Japanese cyberpunk assemblage fearfulness movie Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989).

Clayface is present successful theaters — fto america cognize your favourite fact, and if you've already seen it successful the comments!