#TIFF24: “SHELL” REVIEW

By Mr. Will Wong

Max Minghella‘s SHELL really should have been a part of TIFF‘s Midnight Madness programme, vying to be a campy cult classic.

We meet Sam (Elisabeth Moss), an aging Actress struggling to land roles..In fact, she loses out to someone she once babysat.  She takes the suggestion to go to a wellness institution, Shell, which calls Zoe (Kate Hudson) its CEO. Sam begins to find confidence undergoing treatments.  But things get suspicious once clients begin disappearing inexplicably, unlocking some dark secrets about Shell.

We love that Minghella is drawing inspiration from camp, erotica and all that juicy stuff. Elizabeth Berkley gets her flowers here and Sam and Zoe‘s relationship at times feels very Crystal vs. Nomi in Showgirls.  

SHELL starts off rather solid, but fulfills its campy destiny in the final.act, going way over the top. Moss is superb, nailing the drama, comedy and horror of this.

SHELL screens as follows at TIFF ’24:

Thursday, September 12
VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre
9:30 pm

Friday, September 13
Scotiabank Theatre
5:30 pm