Netflix‘s new sci-fi thriller is fascinating not only because Train to Busan‘s director is its showrunner but also because it seems to combine the best story beats from True Detective and Clayface. Although little seems to be known about True Detective season 5, the HBO show’s next installment is actively being developed.
While it seems unlikely that True Detective season 5 will come out before the end of 2027, fans of horror thrillers look forward to DC’s upcoming take on the comic book villain, Clayface. Scheduled to premiere on October 23, 2026, the Clayface movie marks DC’s first major foray into mainstream horror on the big screen.
It is already hard not to look forward to the Clayface movie, especially after knowing Mike Flanagan has written its story. While waiting for its release, though, fans of dark superhero movies and shows have the perfect opportunity to watch a new sci-fi thriller, titled Human Vapor, on Netflix. The show seems to have all the ingredients that make Clayface and True Detective incredibly compelling.
Netflix’s Human Vapor Seems Like The Perfect Combination Of True Detective & Clayface
Based on Ishirō Honda’s classic Japanese sci-fi thriller of the same name, Netflix’s Human Vapor centers on a man who gains the ability to turn his body into a gaseous state and uses it to pull off unethical activities. While he is at it, a detective sets out to find the truth about who he is and how he acquired his strange supernatural ability.
Human Vapor channels True Detective energy during story beats where its central detective character, Kenji, is portrayed as a morally complex and cynical investigator. Like many True Detective characters, his strong desire to solve crime is what drives him to seek answers despite being suspended from the service.
Like Marty Hart and Rust Cohle from True Detective, he gradually learns about the bureaucratic conspiracy that protects the compromised and decaying system he is forced to work in. During these moments, Human Vapor also riffs on many existing procedural tropes to immerse viewers in its central investigation. However, the Netflix sci-fi show also has traces of horror from the very beginning.
Yeon Sang-ho puts his experience with movies like Train to Busan to good use to show how the show’s central shape-shifting monster is not as frightening as the moral corruption lurking within humanity. Like DC’s Clayface, he is merely a reflection of humanity’s darkest impulses.
The central villains in both Clayface and Human Vapor also have similar backstories where they are forced to turn into evil villains due to the corrupt system that surrounds them.
Human Vapor Is The Perfect Series To Watch While Waiting For Clayface & True Detective Season 5
With Mike Flanagan as the Clayface movie’s writer, the upcoming DC movie is expected to embrace its horror elements instead of falling into the conventions of the superhero genre. Watching Human Vapor on Netflix first can give viewers the perfect baseline of how tragic and equally terrifying a live-action version of a shape-shifting monster can seem.
On paper, both Clayface and Human Vapor can come off as rather cartoonish characters. Fortunately, for both, their new on-screen stories are driven by creative powerhouses who are effectively giving a scary and grotesque spin. This makes Human Vapor the perfect warm-up act for those who look forward to the upcoming Clayface movie.
DC’s Clayface movie premieres on October 23, 2026.
At the same time, the Netflix sci-fi show also scratches the itch for gritty crime thrillers, like True Detective, that add a tinge of supernatural elements to make their drama even more eerie. While Human Vapor‘s supernatural aspects are far less subtle than those of True Detective season 1 and Clayface, it certainly eases the wait for the HBO show’s next installment and the upcoming DC movie.