Shell has debuted with a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score. Directed by Max Minghella, known for his Emmy-nominated role in The Handmaid’s Tale, the new body horror film follows a struggling actress drawn into the dazzling lifestyle of the CEO of a wellness empire, but when the company’s clients start to vanish, she realizes she may be hiding a terrifying secret.
Two-time Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Oscar nominee Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) lead the cast alongside Kaia Gerber, Elizabeth Berkley (Saved by the Bell, Showgirls), two-time Emmy nominee Arian Moayed (Succession), Este Haim, Emmy nominee Lionel Boyce (The Bear), Amy Landecker, Peter MacNicol, Ziwe, Blake Lee, Frasier‘s Peri Gilpin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and the MCU’s Randall Park.
Ahead of its theatrical release on October 3, Shell has debuted with a 55% score from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie only has 20 reviews at the time of writing, so its score should fluctuate as more are published. Additionally, its audience score should start to take shape once it releases in theaters.
Shell premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September 2024.
What Shell’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Means For The Movie
The movie’s Rotten Tomatoes score means that its reviews are mixed. For instance, in ScreenRant‘s Shell review, Graeme Guttman calls the film “sleek and funny,” though it “ultimately falls into the shallowness it critiques… Shell takes too long to unravel its central mystery and once it gets to the body horror it teases in the beginning, the film begins to pull its punches.”
Many reviews compare Shell to The Substance (2024), with critics noting the unfortunate timing of its release and thematic overlap. While The Substance is widely seen as superior in execution and depth, Shell is earning some praise for quirky satire, camp value, and oddball body horror – though its detractors consider it shallow, indecisive, and timid. Overall, Shell is seen as the B-side to The Substance.
Our Take On Shell’s Rotten Tomatoes Score
Hollywood has always been a copycat industry, so after The Substance took the world by storm and earned five Oscar nominations, which is rare for a horror film, there were always going to be attempts at recapturing its success. Naturally, many of them aren’t going to come anywhere close to The Substance.
Shell is likely the first of many films that will pale in comparison. With The Substance streaming on HBO Max on October 10, you would probably be better off just watching that.
- Release Date
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October 3, 2025
- Runtime
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100 minutes
- Director
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Max Minghella
- Writers
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Jack Stanley
- Producers
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Alicia Van Couvering, Elisabeth Moss, Jamie Bell, Jared Underwood, Norman Golightly, Rene Bastian, Fred Berger, Hal Sadoff, Victor Moyers, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Teddy Schwarzman, John Friedberg, Andrew C. Robinson, Lindsey McManus, Danny Mandel
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Mary Lynn Rajskub
Zoe Shannon