‘Shell’ Review: Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson Face Off in a Sharp Body Horror That Fans of ‘The Substance’ Will Devour

In a year of great cinema, The Substance was by far my favorite movie that 2024 had to offer. Coralie Fargeat‘s gruesome, fantastical take on women’s body image was a wicked blend of Cronenberg and Kubrick, viewed through a very introspective female lens. Although not quite my favorite of 2025 (that distinction goes to the brilliant Together), Max Minghella‘s Shell is a definite highlight of this year, delivering a similar premise to The Substance from a different angle. If The Substance was a contained, inwardly-focused tale of self-hatred at the hands of the entertainment industry and the male gaze, Shell lifts its head, looks around, and notices that the female gaze is just as insidious.