Clayface Director Breaks Down Overdose Sequence & Other Extreme VFX Moments

Published Nov 15, 2026, 3:09 PM EST Andy Behbakht has worked as an entertainment journalist since 2010, covering all the latest in Hollywood on both the big and small screens, from staying on top of the biggest breaking news, analyzing movies and television shows in Hollywood, to in-depth interviews with actors and storytellers. Andy's career includes having worked for publications such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It's Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more. Outside of his career as an established reporter, Andy is the host and producer of The Showrunner Whisperer, The Flash Podcast, the editor-in-chief of Multiverse of Color, and the network director of DC TV Podcasts. EXCLUSIVE: The DC Universe has finally tackled horror, thanks to one of Batman's greatest villains. The DCU's Chapter 1: "Gods and Monsters" has, so far, focused heavily on traditional heroes like Superman, Supergirl, and multiple members of the Green Lantern Corps. However, the fall season saw the spotlight shifted onto an iconic Batman villain, leaning more into the "Monsters" aspect of the current slate. In an interview with ScreenRant's Andy Behbakht, Clayface director James Watkins broke down several key scenes in the R-rated DCU installment. One of the pivotal moments in the Matt Hagen-focused story was when Tom Rhys Harries' lead character decided to overdose on Dr. Caitlyn Corr's nanites after his face began to literally fall off, as he had been going through several treatments with her at this point. The filmmaker explained how gruesome they were looking to make it in the Clayface movie, including what Matt was spitting out after his overdose, with some thinking it was teeth, or the nanites physically healing any disease inside of him. Watkins began by sharing, "Well, what it really was sort of like gelatin stuff, and Tom actually had it in his mouth and on set, Naomi got the giggles because every time we reset, he kept putting more and more and more in his mouth and he's like, "Okay, I can get more in. I can get more in," because he was actually spitting it out." For me, I think it's a healing of his wound, and it's almost like the scar tissue coming out and being spat out. It's the beginning of his sort of super healing, and all those bits that have just become untethered and then him spitting them out. That's how I kind of rationalize it, I suppose. But yeah, I think for that scene, I wanted to go quite extreme. And obviously there's a VFX element to his skin bubbling, which you have to have, but the thing's being spat out and the blood is real, and then we augment it. But the overdose is the sort of trigger for everything that happens. So I want to feel the ripple underneath the skin of the overdose. So that was quite important to me. The Clayface ending has left doors open for Harries' titular foe to return to the franchise, as the film has made over $121 million at the worldwide box office, with a solid critical reception from members of the press and audience members. On Rotten Tomatoes, it is holding a 78% certified fresh rating, while sitting at 94% on the Popcornmeter. Clayface is playing in theaters. Release Date October 23, 2026 Runtime 108 Minutes Director James Watkins Writers Mike Flanagan, Hossein Amini Producers James Gunn, Lynn Harris, Matt Reeves, Peter Safran Cast Tom Rhys Harries Matt Hagen / Clayface Naomi Ackie Dr. Caitlin Bates Franchise(s) DCU Main Genre Horror Executive Producer(s) Mike Flanagan, Rafi Crohn, Chantal Nong Vo, Michael E. Uslan, Lars P. Winther, Paul Ritchie