“Shell” (2024) is the next “The Cabin in the Woods” (2011) and campy fun in a near futuristic world. Samantha Lake (Elisabeth Moss) was once a famous television star, but now she cannot compete with younger, more conventionally attractive and skinnier women. Her agents insist that she gets some allegedly noninvasive treatments from Shell, the largest health and wellness brand, which CEO Zoe Shannon (Kate Hudson) runs. After getting the treatment, Samantha gets a big role, Zoe as her new friend and…side effects. Women who got the treatment are disappearing. Will Samantha lose everything including her life? Hey, it was made concurrently with “The Substance” (2024) so no comparisons. The concept was in the zeitgeist!
Moss is a great actor who is not often in comedy. Samantha is a self-deprecating role. Think a less pathetic, more successful Bridget Jones type who does not prioritize men, but her friendships and career. Even though writer Jack Stanley and director Max Minghella are (ostensibly) men, they understand that a lot of the allure of success is finding a community that believes in you, which includes friends. Samantha is not a horrible person, but a cunning one who is willing to cut the crap when necessary, so when things get crazy, she is game to do some outlandish things that the average actor could not do to survive and thrive. Also, she is relatable for enjoying her guilty pleasure career and staying down to earth, which is also her Achilles heel.
The best creative decision was for Samantha to have a fierce childhood friend, Lydia (Este Haim). Lydia is normal and makes Samantha seem even more grounded compared to the people around her. It is only Haim’s second onscreen role, and she is fun as the friend who is still impressed with her friend’s career, tries to find a way to fit in, but is in it for her friend, not the vicarious thrill of fame. As Samantha gets high on her own supply, their relationship gets strained. “Shell” acknowledges the silliness inherent in that biz called show but also does not dismiss Samantha’s desire to make it. One scene on set aims for a way to express how unsettling the work can be using scatological humor, and it is “The Player” (1992) of gross out gimmicks.
Many of the women have moments where they are each other’s biggest cheerleaders. Chloe Benson (Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford’s daughter and spitting image), a competitor whom Samantha used to babysitter, constantly lights up when she runs into Samantha and is encouraging. Even Zoe is appealing as someone who believes in and uplifts Samantha before Samantha firms up her confidence. In an alternate universe where the treatment works perfectly, Samantha and Zoe are still friends jet setting around the world. Unfortunately Zoe’s love is severely conditional.
Of course, what goes up, must come down, and Zoe has a colder edge. Other critics compare her to Gwyneth Paltrow, but she is more of a Martha Stewart type because of her frank ambition, hard edge and voracious appetite. She creates immediate intimacy and feels generous in sharing her life. “He wanted a harp, and we were like ‘what about a cello?’ He wanted that harp, so we got him a fucking harp, and he actually plays it.” The line delivery and physicality are so perfect. She has a practical edge that indicates her humbler origins, but uttered with that elevated accent to indicate her citizenship with the movers and shakers of her world. Hudson has always been a great straight man comedian, especially after a brief stint in the Ryan Murphy series “Glee.” He should have cast her in “Scream Queens” too. When it is time for Zoe to get ruthless, Hudson nails walking the tight rope of being sinister and uproarious. If life was fair, people would typecast her in these types of roles, and the world would be a better place. Once again, no one cares if you are a nepo baby if you are talented. Hudson and Blake Lively are really great at playing these frenemy foils.
“Shell” is full of great blink and miss it actors. Mary Lynn Rajskub, who is best known for her role on “24” as Chloe, plays a casting director. Talk show host Ziwe plays Audrey, one of Samantha’s agents. “Transparent” Amy Landecker has a memorable supporting role as a detective with a permanent squint of skepticism investigating the disappearances. Great comedian actor Randall Park plays a Shell lawyer. The entire cast is perfect regardless of whether they are listed here.
Unlike “All of You” (2025), the sci-fi element is strong and runs throughout the story. The technology around the treatment feels like a spa on steroids: bright and colorful. The smart watches evolve, and if some enterprising tech company copies “Shell,” the writer needs to get a cut. The treatment locker room is co-ed a la “Starship Troopers” (1997). The excerpts of promotional videos describing the treatment feature comedic actor Peter MacNicol as Dr. Thaddeus Brand, the cofounder of Shell, and he adopts a silly accent to sell the bit. Casual cannibalism is not horrific, but open and the nouvelle cuisine. Soylent green is openly people, and they are probably alive and witnessing how giving they are at the dinner party! A car chase scene with self-driving cars, which includes a cab logo “Taxi2Me” emblazoned on its body, is side splitting. The denouement pays an abrupt homage to the cheesy horror monster films of the mid twentieth century, which is teased in the middle of the film, and it is hilarious. It was also nice to have Eighties music nostalgia without the aesthetic: “Walking on Sunshine,” “The Loco-motion,” which Haim sang. Something old. Something new. Sure, there is one major plot hole, but who cares.
Director Max Minghella has a real sense of comedic timing, and editor Gardner Gould was a great collaborator. Their sense of timing is elegant. They understand the world as it is, move it forward a bit to feel a bit more advanced than the current era then take the brakes off in such an over-the-top way while treating the scenario as serious as a heart attack. The television segments are so realistic, it is practically a documentary. There is one scene where Samantha finds herself in between a rock and a hard place when she turns to the wrong person to help then make it worse. It is so bonkers that if you have a sense of humor, you will howl in delight, and if you hate it, well, you have bad taste and need to lighten up. Just kidding….(silently whispers, no I am not).
“Shell” is the perfect horror comedy, and the fact that it is not getting a broader theatrical release feels like the apocalypse may be here. It is the kind of movie that is perfect for a large audience to maximize the laughs. It is unpredictable, outlandish and a future cult classic.
