Directed by Max Minghella, Shell is his latest directorial venture. A dark comedy horror, Shell is an American film written by Jack Stanley. Expected to release soon, the film aims to indulge in social commentary regarding how humans obsess over physical features and the extent to which they will preserve them.
The film wishes to convey to the audiences in an amusing manner how, in chasing conventional external beauty, one may begin to become a skewed and distorted version of themselves. The director of the film, Max Minghella, has also stated that,
“Shell packs a wildly entertaining genre movie with iconic characters and universal themes that are bound to have people talking long after they leave the theater. I’m so thrilled to be bringing it to life with this extraordinary cast and the incredible support of Black Bear International, Love & Squalor, and Automatik.”
When will Shell be released?
The film will be released on September 12, 2024, at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Furthermore, while it has yet to be released worldwide, a few Los Angeles audiences have had a peek at the opening scene. In August 2024, before screening Showgirls, Minghella screened the opening scene of Shell at Vidiots in Los Angeles.
What to expect from Shell
The film tells the story of an actress called Samantha (played by Elisabeth Moss), whose prime and youth have left her behind. She loses her youthful exterior and turns to a free trial at Shell. Shell is a leading wellness and beauty company offering treatments that guarantee to keep their patients radiant and young-looking for the rest of their lives. An actress who was previously tired of the roles she was getting, Samantha becomes ecstatic with the return of her youthful looks because of the treatment.
The actress soon becomes friends with the company’s CEO, Zoe Shannon (played by Kate Hudson), who is considered an extraordinarily beautiful woman. However, things take an eerie turn when many of Shell's previous clients mysteriously disappear. One of the missing patients is a social media icon, Chloe Benson (played by Kaia Gerber). When things begin to go south, Samantha regrets her decision and finds herself in grave danger.
Fans can expect a film that celebrates 1980s thrillers and is infused with elements of science fiction. The film is a black comedy horror set in a future that consists of cutting-edge, advanced devices that can be worn on the wrists and eclectic cars that are far more advanced than the ones we see today. However, being a horror, the film will also contain dark and sharp satire along with disturbing body horror themes.
According to Variety, upon reading the script for the very first time, the director of the film stated,
“That was filled with things that I didn’t think that I would respond to. It had body horror elements to it. It had quite a sort of bold imagery. It wasn’t in its DNA, something that I normally associate with my taste, and yet, there was something about it that I found deeply memorable, and it really sort of stayed with me.”
The cast of Shell
The ensemble of the film consists of
- Elisabeth Moss as Samantha
- Kate Hudson as Zoe Shannon
- Kaia Gerber
- Arian Moayed
- Lionel Boyce
- Este Haim
- Amy Landecker
- Elizabeth Berkley
- Peter MacNicol
- Blake Lee
- Ziwe Fumudoh
- Dustin Milligan
- Peri Gilpin
- Lynn Rajskub
Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson will play the leading roles. The film will also feature the reunion of Elisabeth Moss and Max Minghella after their work in The Handmaid’s Tale.
The film is expected to release on September 12, 2024.
