The dark comedy horror film Shell, directed by Max Minghella and starring Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson, takes the route of The Substance, but with a touch of humor. Formerly successful actress Samantha Lake desperately tried to land her next big role. But most of her auditions ended in rejection; it was always the same: they thought she was a talented actress, but no one was willing to cast a 40-year-old woman in a leading role.
The film is set in a futuristic society where technology has been developed to maintain youthful appearance. Samantha was hesitant to undergo the treatment, but Dr. Hubert, whom she met at the Shell clinic, convinced her there was nothing to fear. Samantha underwent the treatment and her life changed drastically.
Director: Max Minghella
Writer: Jack Stanley
Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson, Kaia Gerber
Samantha had been living her best life after the treatment. She felt young, energetic, and rejuvenated. She was surprised when she received an invitation from Shell's CEO, Zoe Shannon. She was the face of the company; It was impossible to tell she was sixty years old, and her youthful appearance encouraged her target audience to gamble. The party was at her house and only had a few select guests. Samantha finally felt acknowledged, but she was also a little nervous.
Zoe welcomed her with open arms; she seemed to have taken a great interest in Samantha and intended to befriend her. Samantha was a little startled to discover that the bits of meat on her plate were actually Zoe's skin. Since it was pure protein and zero fat, she believed it was the best ingredient for a delicious meal. Samantha was surprised to see how everyone at the table enjoyed it; the experience was strange, but she didn't want to draw attention to herself, so she tried to devour it.
Zoe considered Samantha her pet project. She taught her to open up and own her sexuality, not to shy away and instead to claim her space. Being with Zoe helped Samantha land better opportunities, and later in the film, we discover that Zoe asked her contacts to choose her because she felt sorry for her and also because she wanted to make her believe it was a result of the treatment. Everything was going well for Samantha, but that was before a black mole appeared on her neck.
Dr. Hubert reassured her that there was nothing to worry about; he assumed it was excess skin, and that she could have more, but that it was "completely benign." He removed it and gave her an ointment to use every day. The doctor wrote down her phone number in case of emergency, foreshadowing the possibility that something terrible could happen. As soon as Samantha returned home, two detectives, Abramson and Flores, knocked on her door. They asked for Chloe Benson, a twenty-two-year-old model and actress whom Samantha had babysat for years before. They had crossed paths recently, first at an audition and then at the Shell clinic.
Samantha was a little surprised to see her there, but it was clear that people of all ages were obsessed with preserving their youthful appearance. According to the detectives, Chloe had recently disappeared and was last seen at the clinic. They left their card with Samantha in case she had any information about Chloe. Samantha received a mysterious call that evening that she thought was from Chloe; she had mentioned something was seriously wrong, but the reception wasn't good, and Samantha eventually dealt with her own problems.
Black rashes began to spread all over her body. She felt sick, but she had to show up on set. Samantha ended up vomiting black liquid and was visibly in very bad shape. Zoe came to her aid and took her home. Samantha had become suspicious of the treatment, especially after Zoe offered her a cup of tea instead of taking her to the hospital. She didn't believe Zoe when she mentioned that Chloe had apparently moved to Paris; She'd told Samantha that she'd been chosen to be the next Catwoman, so she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to model. Samantha excused herself and went to the bathroom to contact the detectives, hoping they could help her out of the mess. The moment she came out, Zoe interrogated her. She demanded to see her recent contacts list, and Samantha blatantly told her that she no longer trusted her. Zoe thought she was being ungrateful after everything she'd done for her. She feared her stock price would drop and her brand would suffer if Samantha went to the hospital. Zoe tried to remind Samantha that society had left women her age no choice. They were ridiculed if they got Botox wrong, and they were also humiliated if they decided to live with their wrinkles. Shell offered women the chance to live with pride, and Samantha would ruin their effort if she went public with its side effects. Samantha refused to stay silent.
Luckily, her best friend, Lydia, had followed her and was waiting in her car. They left the property and headed straight to where Samantha was supposed to meet the detectives. Although she thought the detectives would appreciate it if she recorded her conversation with Zoe, she was shocked when they hinted that she would get into trouble if she decided to ignore the confidentiality agreement she had signed. They suggested that Samantha comply with Shell and offered her "protection," just as they hoped to offer Chloe if they ever found her. Samantha managed to escape through the restaurant kitchen. The detectives followed her, but, as if by divine intervention, they had an accident!
The tumor had begun to spread throughout Samantha's body; it was itchy and affecting her overall health. The only person she thought she could trust was Dr. Hubert. She showed up at his house, and although he suggested they go to the clinic, Samantha begged him to see her there. The doctor asked Samantha to lie down in the bathtub and poured a liquid into the water that immediately reacted on the black lump covering her entire body. Samantha screamed in pain, but when she woke up, she felt fantastic! The lumps were gone, and she was back to her old self, radiant and happy.
Samantha thought the worst was over, but that was before she discovered a bottle of medicine labeled Chloe Benson. Chloe had clearly been at the doctor's house, so what had happened to her? Samantha questioned Dr. Hubert, who explained that she had a similar reaction to the treatment, as had Samantha, and had come to him for help. During the treatment, they developed a romantic relationship. He claimed that he was still in love with her even though she had transformed into a strange creature. He tried to cure her, but it clearly backfired.
Samantha didn't know what to make of the doctor's statement, so she looked for Chloe at her house. She heard a creaking noise coming from a room and, looking through the keyhole, was shocked to see a black creature. She didn't dare open the door and, upon returning to the living room, noticed the doctor on the floor, having been stabbed. Immediately, a hand appeared behind her and covered her face with a napkin. When Samantha regained consciousness, she realized she was being held captive.
When Samantha opened her eyes, Shell Group attorney Randolph Chan and Dr. Thaddeus Brand, CEO and founder, introduced themselves and apologized for the harassment she had suffered. They framed Dr. Hubert as the villain and expressed regret at how his actions had affected Chloe, but also confidently stated that Chloe was now safe and would receive the best medical care. Randolph added that the risks of the procedure were mentioned in the confidentiality agreement, so if she had read it, she wouldn't have been so surprised. Samantha refused to remain silent, and that's when Zoe intervened.
She didn't believe speaking to the media would improve her image, especially after they would do everything they could to sabotage her career. Besides, she would continue to suffer from scoliosis, the side effect of the treatment, as well as deal with wrinkles and other signs of aging if she didn't go through with the procedure. Randolph produced a thick sheaf of papers that was supposedly the proposal they had drawn up to reach an agreement with Samantha. They offered her free treatment for life and a generous share package in exchange for her discretion. Zoe encouraged her to accept the offer; she argued that the science wasn't yet perfect, but that it was undeniably beneficial.
Scientific experiments often have side effects, and she believed the death of a couple of her patients shouldn't be reason enough for them to stop (in the first scene of Shell, an actress and activist is seen with similar black growths; she attempted to remove them but lost blood in the process). She had called the emergency line, so, afraid of being cut off, Zoe's driver/bodyguard killed her. Zoe reminded Samantha how appearance affected life and career, and she hoped she wouldn't make a rash decision. Samantha knew Zoe needed to make her believe she couldn't exist without the treatment because if she spoke badly of them, the brand, the company, her image, and everything would collapse. Samantha gracefully declined.
Zoe decided to show Samantha Chloe's condition because she clearly didn't realize how serious it could get. While they had several cases of growth, Chloe was an exception; she was no longer human; she had grown into a gigantic crustacean. This is a darkly humorous way of poking fun at what inspired the company "Shell." They were inspired by how crustaceans shed their hard outer shells, their exoskeletons, through a process called molting.
The treatment sought something similar: to help humans shed their skin after a while and regain new, youthful skin. But in Chloe's case, the strategy backfired, and she turned into a crustacean-like creature. To everyone's horror, Chloe broke the glass cage she was captive in. She attacked Randolph Chan and Dr. Thaddeus Brand, killing them instantly. Chloe killed Zoe's bodyguard and entered the room where Zoe and Samantha were present at the same time. It watched Samantha, but didn't attack her, suggesting that perhaps some of Chloe remained in the creature. To hide from the monster, Zoe entered the glass chamber used for the treatment and locked herself inside.
In Shell's ending, the monster/Chloe broke the machine that regulated the system, causing Zoe's death. The heat and pressure killed her instantly. The machine collected her endothermic tissue and placed it in a plastic bag; that was all that remained of Zoe Shannon, who had spent the best years of her life trying to immortalize herself. Now, we don't really know what happened to Chloe/the monster. She wasn't dead; she had left the clinic seeking revenge, but where did she go? The film doesn't delve much into that. Perhaps she remained in the shadows, occasionally emerging to scare Shell employees. Or perhaps someone from the company took possession of the monster and has been experimenting on it ever since.
The ending of Shell reveals that Samantha decided not only to distance herself from the cosmetics company, but also wrote a book describing her experience as a patient and documenting the company's rise and fall. While the experience was bittersweet for Samantha, it undeniably helped shape her character. Her brief friendship with Zoe helped her land deals, and after what happened at the clinic, she gained media attention and a solid topic to write a book about. She also learned an important lesson: never prioritize her appearance, so she no longer apologized even with food between her teeth. She realized that she, in particular, and women in general, were allowed to have flaws.
A conversation between Samantha and an interviewer revealed that Shell is still around and is still in place. Considering its influence in the upper echelons, this isn't surprising. Perhaps after Chloe's case, they became more cautious and could have designed an even more ruthless confidentiality agreement. The police should have investigated the deaths, but considering she was also involved, presumably nothing happened. While the company had to go through some internal changes because Shell's most valuable members were killed, considering humans' obsession with looking eternally young, it's not surprising that the company wasn't affected. The higher-ups were likely willing to overlook the incident so they could undergo the treatment and stay young.
Although Samantha spoke out publicly against the company, her life wasn't in danger because if she died mysteriously, it would be pretty obvious that Shell had killed her, so they didn't bother her, and she was able to live a happy and full life. She had sued the company, but we don't really know how much of the truth she revealed to the world. Yes, the experiment had side effects, but did she mention in her book that one could become a monster? Was she offered compensation to keep that detail secret? Was the incident at the clinic ever revealed to the world? Since it took place at the clinic, it's likely the company decided to clean up the mess rather than involve the police.
Considering the company was still operating, it's highly unlikely that ordinary people were informed that they could turn into a giant crustacean. So, that leaves us with the question: Was Samantha still undergoing the treatment in secret? Was she allowed to undermine the company to some extent, in addition to making a profit, just by not revealing any details about Chloe? Considering how chaotic the situation was, "Shell" would have agreed to anything as long as people didn't find out the whole truth. This is, of course, a dark interpretation of the ending; one may very well believe that Samantha chose to do exactly what she herself proposed, but none of us know the whole truth!
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