‘Clayface’ Test Screening Buzz Just Got Even Stronger, and Fans Are Already Calling It a Banger

DC Studios has been quietly building one of its most unusual projects yet, and the buzz coming out of early screenings suggests the gamble might actually be paying off. ‘Clayface‘ marks the studio’s first true horror outing, trading capes and world-ending stakes for something far more intimate and unsettling.

James Watkins directs the film from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with Flanagan credited for the original story. Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen, a rising Hollywood actor whose life spirals into horror after a brutal disfigurement pushes him toward the villain fans have long known as Clayface.

New details from a recent test screening have only added to the growing sense that DC Studios stumbled onto something special. According to test screening insider Cryptic HD Quality, Hagen undergoes multiple transformations throughout the film, contradicting earlier reports that suggested his body horror would stay confined to smaller, partial shifts, and multiple attendees reportedly scored the film in the 7.5 to 8 out of 10 range.

That update marks a meaningful shift from what initially leaked out of the first test screening weeks earlier, when reports specifically claimed there would be no full body transformations and that Hagen’s powers would only manifest through smaller limb based mutations during moments of rage. The newer reporting suggests Clayface eventually gets his full comic accurate transformation later in the story, addressing one of the biggest lingering questions about how faithful the film would actually be to the character’s classic look.

Audience reactions have continued praising the same elements across multiple rounds of test screenings, specifically citing the film’s unflinching body horror, its emotional weight, and Harries’ performance as the anchor holding everything together. Viewers have repeatedly compared the tone to ‘Joker,’ ‘The Substance,’ ‘Vanilla Sky,’ and even ‘The Incredible Hulk,’ an unusual mix of influences that hints at just how far this project strays from a conventional comic book blueprint.

The film’s origins trace back to a pitch Flanagan brought directly to DC Studios co head James Gunn, who has said he did not initially expect Clayface to become an actual DC Studios production before hearing the concept. Gunn described the project as a body horror movie that simply happens to exist inside the DCU, crediting Flanagan’s finished script for convincing him to move forward, according to comments he made to Entertainment Weekly.

The story follows Hagen as a fading star whose obsession with reclaiming his shattered identity and looks leads him to an experimental underground treatment, one that eventually consumes him entirely as grief and rage accelerate his transformation into something monstrous. Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James round out the supporting cast, with reports also indicating Aaron Paul has joined in a minor role.

Notably absent from the film is Batman, who reportedly never appears or gets referenced anywhere in the story, keeping Clayface’s arc entirely self-contained rather than folding it into the wider DCU tapestry. That standalone approach appears to be part of what is resonating with test audiences, giving the film room to function as a character study first and a comic book adaptation second.

The stakes for a strong reception are notably higher given how DC’s last theatrical outing performed. ‘Clayface’ arrives as the third film in the new DCU following the disappointing box office run of ‘Supergirl,’ putting real pressure on Watkins’ film to prove the franchise can bounce back creatively even without a traditional superhero framework.

With ‘Clayface’ set for release on October 23, this latest wave of test screening reactions gives DC Studios some much-needed momentum heading into the back half of the year. If the reported scores hold up once the film reaches actual audiences, this could end up being one of the most surprising left turns in the studio’s rebooted lineup.

Are you more excited for ‘Clayface’ now that a full transformation is reportedly on the table? Let us know what you think in the comments.