New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- DC Studios is making a calculated bet that a comic-book villain does not need a blockbuster-sized budget to make an impact. Its upcoming film Clayface, made for a reported $40 million, takes a markedly different approach from the expensive, effects-heavy productions that have come to define the superhero genre.

The figure is striking. Against a hypothetical $200 million production, the film's budget represents an 80 per cent reduction in spending. Rather than relying on scale and spectacle, the project places horror, character development and unsettling physical transformations at the centre of its appeal.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film's budget is around $40 million, a figure also reported by entert...