Shell 4K 2024 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Samantha moved to Los Angeles to become an actress, but her career never progressed beyond a leading role in a mediocre—albeit popular—TV series. Due to a flare-up of her psoriasis, she turns to a clinic that promises innovative cures for all illnesses and anti-aging therapy. The young woman’s life starts to fall into place, her career takes off, and she even becomes friends with the clinic’s owner, but soon Samantha notices an unpleasant side effect.

Review 4K Movie

What was missing from *Substance*? A reasonable explanation of what it’s actually about! *Shell* kindly offers us the answer. But maybe it’s a mistake?

PLOT:

We meet aging actress Samantha Lake (Elizabeth Moss). Her career consists of one not-so-famous TV series; her type is “the sweet, simple girl next door,” while new roles are going to twenty-something long-legged, full-lipped beauties. This, however, doesn’t stop her from hitting on hipster zoomers, but she doesn’t just want a young, fit body—she wants THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME.

And here’s her chance! The “Shell” clinic offers a revolutionary method based on lobster extract that stops aging. Roughly speaking, it preserves her in her current state.

The serum apparently doesn’t affect the skin, but the brain, because after the procedure, Samantha doesn’t change at all. She washed her hair, did her styling and makeup—and there she is, a new role, photo shoots for fashion magazines, and a fresh zoomer-hipster from the pet store to boot! What was the problem before?

Now her extra twenty or so pounds aren’t a hindrance but body positivity, and the owner of “Shell”—who’s nearly 70 but looks 40—is her best friend.

But suddenly... side effects! Nothing life-threatening, of course—it’s solved with a bath… with vinegar, apparently, since it’s at home. But clinic staff start keeping tabs on her. A minor thing, but unpleasant! Are they really hiding something? (Spoiler: yes).

OPINION:

I was genuinely interested in the creation of the substance itself—what kind of company makes it, how it actually works. And here they give a perfectly scientific explanation about ageless organisms—I’ve even heard something similar before.

At the beginning, they depicted the possible consequences so vividly that I was already bracing myself for body horror à la *The Fly* and even came up with a joke for the review... which I won’t tell you. Because it turned out to be the movie’s ending. And that would be a spoiler.

In the end, the story turned out to be very superficial. I don’t know much about this, so I didn’t understand whether it’s for or against feminism.

The only difference from “Substance” is that there’s catastrophically little of Kaia Gerber, who embodies glamour and the celebration of youthful beauty here, unlike Margaret Qualley.

Black humor is listed in the genres, but there’s practically none. The film tries to be a biting satire, but it just ends up being a sad story.

On the other hand, the direction, cinematography, and music are top-notch.
They build up the tension so diligently, making you believe that something truly disturbing is about to happen... but nothing happens.

Oh yes, the ending! Following the example of *Substance* or the second *Smile*, they tried to make it a burlesque trash-house. It didn’t work. But they did add some blood.

VERDICT:

Basically, there’s not even a whiff of an attempt to create something original here. I would have been fine with this derivative concept and remained satisfied if the writers had come up with more intriguing secrets about the corporate backstage. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

In the end, “Shell” is like that very same lobster, but from the supermarket: it seems expensive and beautifully presented, but the meat inside turned out to be a bit bland and slightly rubbery.