There are sequences in the unveiled low-budget shocker Shell that could paint it as like a frivolous tipsy camp classic if viewed separately. Envision the segment where Kate Hudson's glamorous wellness CEO forces Elisabeth Moss to operate a large sex toy while instructing her to gaze into a reflective surface. Moreover, a initial scene highlighting former dancer Elizabeth Berkley sadly cutting away shells that have grown on her flesh before being killed by a masked killer. Next, Hudson serves an sophisticated feast of her removed outer layer to enthused guests. And, Kaia Gerber transforms into a enormous crustacean...
I wish Shell was as hilariously enjoyable as the summaries imply, but there's something curiously lifeless about it, with actor-turned-director Max Minghella struggling to provide the excessive delights that something as silly as this so plainly demands. The purpose remains unclear what or why Shell is and who it might be for, a inexpensive endeavor with very little to offer for those who weren't involved in the filmmaking, seeming more redundant given its unfortunate resemblance to The Substance. The two center on an Hollywood performer striving to get the jobs and fame she believes is her due in a ruthless field, unfairly critiqued for her looks who is then tempted by a game-changing procedure that offers quick results but has frightening drawbacks.
Although Fargeat's version hadn't launched last year at Cannes, four months before Minghella's made its bow at the Toronto film festival, the contrast would still not be flattering. Although I was not a particular fan of The Substance (a flashily produced, overlong and shallow act of deliberate offense partially redeemed by a killer lead performance) it had an clear lasting power, swiftly attaining its appropriate niche within the entertainment world (expect it to be one of the most parodied films in next year's Scary Movie 6). Shell has about the same degree of insight to its predictable message (female appearance ideals are extremely harsh!), but it fails to rival its extreme physical terror, the film finally evoking the kind of no-budget rip-off that would have trailed The Substance to the VHS outlet back in the day (the inferior sequel, the Critters to its Gremlins etc).
Surprisingly starring by Moss, an performer not known for her levity, miscast in a role that requires someone more willing to lean into the ridiculousness of the subject matter. She worked with Minghella on The Handmaid's Tale (one can understand why they both might crave a break from that show's relentless darkness), and he was so determined for her to headline that he decided to work around her being clearly six months pregnant, cue the star being obviously concealed in a lot of bulky jackets and outerwear. As an insecure actor seeking to fight her path into Hollywood with the help of a shell-based beauty regimen, she might not really convince, but as the sinister 68-year-old CEO of a dangerous beauty brand, Hudson is in much more command.
The actor, who remains a always underestimated star, is again a delight to watch, mastering a particular West Coast variety of insincere authenticity backed up by something truly menacing and it's in her regrettably short scenes that we see what the film might have achieved. Coupled with a more suitable opponent and a more incisive script, the film could have come across like a wildly vicious cross between a 50s “woman's picture” and an 80s creature feature, something Death Becomes Her did so exceptionally.
But the script, from Jack Stanley, who also wrote the just as flaccid action thriller Lou, is never as sharp or as intelligent as it could be, satire kept to its most obvious (the ending centering on the use of an NDA is funnier in idea than realization). Minghella doesn't seem certain in what he's really trying to produce, his film as simply, slowly filmed as a daytime soap with an equally rubbishy soundtrack. If he's trying to do a knowing direct imitation of a low-rent tape fright, then he hasn't gone far enough into studied pastiche to make it believable. Shell should take us all the way into madness, but it's too fearful to take the plunge.
Shell is offered for rental via streaming in the US, in Australia on 30 October and in the UK on 7 November
