Stanisland Magazine

Hollywood continues to irritate fans — this time, Shell plays copycat cinema

Last updated: 5th September 2025

Welcome back to The Substance — or a spin-off, perhaps? Or another case of the Hollywood-can’t-think-for-themselves-itis. This repeat attempt at horror, which won’t work — for reasons we’ll get into another time — is nothing more than a filler movie. It’s the studio’s bid to justify luring subscribers to their helpless little streaming projects.

Cast and Director

The film stars Kate Hudson (who plays Zoe Shannon), Elisabeth Moss (Samantha Lake), and Elizabeth Berkley (Jenna Janero). It is directed by Max Minghella.

Shell’s Dreary Plot

As soon as the trailer starts, you’ll think, This is a romance movie — wrong. The rose-tinted lens quickly switches up when its lead, Moss (who plays Samantha Lake), breaks down in her bathtub following an ageist rejection from an audition.

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This prompts her to seek alternative therapies, hoping it will increase her career prospects. That’s when she crosses paths with wellness mogul Zoe Shannon, who believes, “there’s only so much room at the top of the food chain“.

We later transition to a dinner party where Lake asks the name of the “delicious” food she’s been served, to which Shannon replies, “me“. We’re then thrown into a blender of monstrous (literally) chaos — disappearances, chase scenes, secrets, paranoia, and of course, what appears to be the blueprint for Coralie Fargeat‘s 2024 horror movie, “The Substance”. I’d like to be proven wrong, but it appears we’re being conned once again.

Release Date

Shell is due to be released worldwide on the 3rd October 2025.