Spin-off movies for Batman villains have been a mixed bag over the years. “Joker” won an Oscar, but it was followed up with the terrible “Joker: Folie à Deux.” “Suicide Squad” took Harley Quinn from niche fan-favorite to mainstream icon, but “Catwoman” somehow managed to bungle one of the most marketable castings in movie history. Now comes “Clayface,” based a character known to those who follow Batman lore, but not exactly an A-lister. Though connected to a huge franchise, the film has kept both its budget (an estimated $44 million) and its creative ambitions low. Clearly there was only limited interest from the film’s backers, which might explain the apparent limited interest from the filmmakers.
The film follows actor Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), who at the beginning of the film is on top of the world. He’s pulled himself up from a rough upbringing in Gotham City to movie stardom and an Oscar nomination. Then he makes the mistake of falling for the wrong woman, Mia (Joana Ribeiro). Despite warnings from his best friend Corey (Joshua James) that she’s the girlfriend of gangster Markos Szabo (David Dencik), Matt goes ahead with the seduction. Szabo finds out and won’t let the…
