Editorial · Ranked List
14 Movies Like Clayface (2026)
By Alan Willey ·
Clayface is a DC Studios film directed by James Watkins. It opened in US theaters on October 23, 2026. Matt Hagen is an actor whose face is disfigured, and he signs up for an experimental treatment that leaves his flesh soft enough to reshape. James Gunn has said it is a horror film and not a superhero film. We score it 8.5 overall, 5.0 for fear, 7.4 for gore and 7.8 for intensity. The films below are in order of how close their stories are to Clayface. Most of them are about a person whose body or face changes against their will. We also rank Watkins' horror films.
- Curator Score 6.5
01Darkman 1990
- Fear
- 0.5
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
Sam Raimi's film has the closest premise to Clayface. A scientist is disfigured and left for dead. He makes synthetic skin so he can wear other faces, and he goes after the men who attacked him. It scores 6.5 overall, 0.5 for fear and 2.0 for gore.
- Curator Score 7.0
02The Substance 2024
- Fear
- 2.5
- Gore
- 7.5
- Atmosphere
- 5.5
- Intensity
- 8.5
In Coralie Fargeat's film, a TV star who is losing her career takes a black-market drug that creates a younger version of her. Both films are about fame and how a person looks. It scores 7.0 overall and 2.5 for fear. Its gore score, 7.5, is close to Clayface's 7.4.
- Curator Score 9.1
03The Thing 1982
- Fear
- 8.5
- Gore
- 7.4
- Atmosphere
- 10.0
- Intensity
- 6.5
In John Carpenter's film, a creature at an Antarctic research station absorbs other living things and copies them. The effects are practical. James Gunn put it on his watch-list for Clayface. It scores 9.1 overall, the highest on this list, and 8.5 for fear. Its gore score is 7.4, the same as Clayface.
- Curator Score 8.8
04The Fly 1986
- Fear
- 7.0
- Gore
- 7.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 9.0
Reviews of Clayface compare it to The Fly more than to any other film, but the two play very differently. In David Cronenberg's remake, a scientist's teleportation experiment fuses him with a housefly, and his body slowly changes. It scores 8.8 overall, the second highest on this list, and 7.0 for fear.
- Curator Score 7.2
05Frankenstein 2025
- Fear
- 2.5
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 5.9
Guillermo del Toro's version of the Mary Shelley novel tells a large part of the story from the creature's point of view. A scientist makes him, and then people reject him because of how he looks. It scores 7.2 overall, 2.5 for fear and 2.0 for gore.
- Curator Score 8.0
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 5.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
In John Landis' film, an American student in England survives a wolf attack on the moors and then starts to change. Rick Baker's makeup for the transformation scene won the first Academy Award for makeup. The film has a lot of comedy in it. It scores 8.0 overall and 1.0 for fear.
- Curator Score 8.1
07The Skin I Live In 2011
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 8.0
Pedro Almodóvar's thriller is about a plastic surgeon who is developing a synthetic skin. It scores 8.1 overall, 1.0 for gore and 8.0 for intensity.
- Curator Score 7.2
08Den stygge stesøsteren 2025
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 8.4
- Atmosphere
- 8.4
- Intensity
- 7.7
Emilie Blichfeldt's film retells Cinderella from the point of view of a stepsister who has her body altered to win the prince. It scores 7.2 overall and 1.0 for fear. Its gore score, 8.4, is the second highest on this list after Hellraiser.
- Curator Score 7.8
09Antlers 2021
- Fear
- 4.0
- Gore
- 7.8
- Atmosphere
- 8.5
- Intensity
- 8.3
In Scott Cooper's film, a teacher in an Oregon mining town thinks one of her students is hiding something at home. Its scores are the closest on this list to Clayface's. It scores 7.8 overall, 4.0 for fear, 7.8 for gore and 8.3 for intensity.
- Curator Score 8.0
10Hellraiser 1987
- Fear
- 6.0
- Gore
- 8.5
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 8.0
This was Clive Barker's first film as director. A woman brings men back to her house so that her dead lover can rebuild his body. It uses practical effects for the flesh, as Clayface does. It scores 8.0 overall and 6.0 for fear. Its gore score, 8.5, is the highest on this list.
- Curator Score 7.3
11Together 2025
- Fear
- 4.0
- Gore
- 5.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 6.7
A couple move to the countryside, and their bodies start to fuse together. It scores 7.3 overall, 4.0 for fear and 5.0 for gore.
- Curator Score 7.4
12Slither 2006
- Fear
- 4.0
- Gore
- 7.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
This was James Gunn's first film as director. An alien parasite takes over a small town and changes the people it infects. Gunn is a producer on Clayface. Slither is funnier than Clayface. It scores 7.4 overall and 4.0 for fear.
- Curator Score 7.0
13The Blob 1988
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 7.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
In Chuck Russell's remake, a mass that dissolves whatever it touches takes over a small town. The effects are practical. It is also on Gunn's watch-list. It scores 7.0 overall, 2.0 for fear and 7.0 for gore.
- Curator Score 7.7
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 1.7
- Atmosphere
- 7.1
- Intensity
- 4.0
Philip Kaufman's remake is set in San Francisco. People are being replaced by copies of themselves that have no emotions. It is on Gunn's watch-list too. It scores 7.7 overall, 3.0 for fear and 1.7 for gore.
Common questions
- What movies are like Clayface?
- Darkman (1990) has the closest premise, a disfigured scientist who makes synthetic skin so he can wear other faces. The Substance (2024) is also about fame and how a person looks. Reviews often compare Clayface to The Fly (1986), but the two play very differently.
- Is Batman in Clayface?
- No. Batman does not appear in Clayface. The film is set in Gotham City, but it is a standalone story. There is no mid-credits or post-credits scene.
- How gory is Clayface?
- We score it 7.4 for gore on a 0 to 10 scale. The Thing (1982) also scores 7.4 and The Substance (2024) scores 7.5. Clayface scores 5.0 for fear. It is rated R.
- Which of these movies is the scariest?
- The Thing (1982) has the highest fear score, 8.5. The Fly (1986) is next at 7.0. Darkman (1990) has the lowest, 0.5.