John Arcilla gives his honest take on DC's ‘Clayface’

John Arcilla, known for portraying complex and layered characters in several films such as "Heneral Luna" and "On the Job: The Missing 8," has praised DC’s "Clayface" for giving a familiar comic book villain a fresh take.

In a detailed review shared on Facebook, the award-winning actor commended the film for its unexpected twists, logical storytelling, and creepy, hair-raising thrills. 

Clayface follows Matt Hagen, an ambitious actor whose promising career is derailed by a disfiguring attack. Desperate to restore his appearance and reclaim his life, he undergoes an experimental treatment that leads to a horrifying transformation. 

The story explores the darker side of his pursuit of fame, identity, and redemption, turning his personal tragedy into a villain origin story.

For Arcilla, the film’s ability to make familiar narrative elements feel fresh is part of what makes it work.

“What engaged me so much about this 2026 flick was this: Why does each and every familiar scene feel so freshly presented? Why does it feel so common yet simultaneously so logically executed, with a stream of ‘something new’ twists?” he wrote.

The "Beast" actor described this quality as the film’s “magic,” explaining how it kept him immersed in the story. He also considered the movie an effective introduction to the character, believing its creators had accomplished what they set out to do.

“This Clayface 2026 presentation can stand alone as a legitimately entertaining, mind-boggling, creepy, and hair-raising thriller,” Arcilla said.

However, Arcilla raised questions about the film’s box-office turnout.

“I was again curious whether it was the ticket price or Clayface’s ‘unpopular’ reintroduction to the mainstream, considering that the character first appeared in Gotham City more than 60 years ago.”

Just like other film critics, Arcilla also shared his thoughts on the film’s treatment of Clayface’s comic book origins, particularly the different versions introduced in the 1940s and 1960s.

In what he described as his own “unpopular opinion,” he suggested that the filmmakers could have connected the two interpretations more seamlessly by retaining Basil Karlo as the character’s legal name and using Matt Hagen as his screen name.

“That way, they would not simply merge the two characteristics of one villain from two different generations’ interpretations but could instead flawlessly stitch the two into one real character,” he explained.

Arcilla said the approach would have offered a clever way to bridge the character’s different incarnations, noting that the use of separate legal and screen names is common in Hollywood and other film industries.

“Just a thought. It’s only me,” he added. 

Clayface is one of Batman’s enemies in the fictional Gotham City. The character first appeared in DC Comics in the 1940s as Basil Karlo, a former actor who turned to crime. Matt Hagen, a different incarnation of the villain, was introduced in the 1960s.

Despite his reservations about the film’s handling of the character’s history, Arcilla still encouraged audiences to give it a chance.

“Aside from all the Filipino films you are willing to support at the box office, I think Clayface is such a worthwhile way to spend your money on entertainment,” he affirmed.

He also noted that the film could help answer questions from DC fans about how Clayface became one of Batman’s most notorious adversaries.

Before ending his post, Arcilla promoted his upcoming horror film “Haunted Carnival,” an entry in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) this Christmas.

“See you all in cinemas! God bless everyone!” he concluded.