HORROR. “The Substance.” / “Shell.” / “The Empty Man.” / “Winchester.”

“The Substance” (2024, HBO) horror film. Follows a fading Hollywood celebrity who, after being fired by her producer due to her age, uses a black market drug that creates a younger version of herself with unexpected side effects.

       Nauseatingly gross, wickedly creative. Yet this is not the first time that I've seen a body-transforming movie so nothing so big deal about that area of yucky cinematic audacity. The real attraction or interest here is Demi Moore's involved performance, although Margaret Qualley isn't so bad either. But Dennis Quaid is expectedly cartoonish as ever. 

       This movie also proves that horror is a reliable box-office magnet. For a production budget of $18 million, this macabre gasp earned $77–82 million. 🎥💻📽

"Shell" (2024, Apple TV+) black comedy body horror, directed by Max Minghella. Set in a near future where technology is used to take beauty standards to extremes, this film is supposedly futuristic. Yet the advanced technology, "retro-futuristic aesthetic" set design, and driverless taxis are pretty much “ordinary” fare these days. 

       In this “social thriller,” an actress becomes reluctantly involved with a mysterious beauty company called Shell. You know what Shell is for, ain’t you? The actress, Samantha Lake, is Elisabeth Moss; the sort of beauty goddess is Zoe Shannon, played by Kate Hudson. Elizabeth Berkley is here, too. Yup, Nomi Malone in the controversial 1995 film “Showgirls.” In “Shell,” she is Jenna Janero, a glamorous actress whose life is thrown into horror when a tragic and unexplainable event unfolds in her luxury home. 

       The premise of this movie, although bankrupt in its familiarity, is still interesting, with Ms Moss’ performance as the take-off. But the proceedings get a bit whacked in the end game as an “Alien” lookalike monster appears. Yes, a monster! So despite the similarity to the year 2025 of many hi-tech gears in this movie, I reckon, this is still futuristic. I haven’t seen a monster yet of that sort. 🎥💻📽

“The Empty Man” (2020, Hulu) supernatural horror, based on Cullen Bunn and Vanesa R. Del Rey's graphic novel. An ex-cop, upon an investigation into a missing girl, discovers a secret cult. 

       The first part or sequences are pretty well-crafted, anchored on a fine performance by  Evan Jonigkeit, Virginia Kull, Jessica Matten, and Aaron Poole. Yet as the movie slides to the second/main part, the narrative loses some sense somehow. Too bad because the storyline otherwise hinted at a truly compelling feature. 

       James Badge Dale as an ex-cop investigating a missing girl, and Marin Ireland as the mother, are usually fine performers. They are fine here, just misplaced in an empty vessel of a pretentious horror/thriller joint. 🎥💻📽

“Winchester” (2018, Roku) supernatural horror. Follows Sarah Winchester as she is haunted by spirits inside her San Jose mansion in 1906. 

       Based on real life or real characters, Ms Winchester (1839-1922) was an American heiress, businesswoman, and philanthropist, who amassed great wealth after the death of her husband, William Wirt Winchester, and her mother in law, Jane Ellen Hope. The family owned the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, a prominent manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition, established in 1866.

       With a supernatural spin to the fiction narrative, with Hollywood royalty Helen Mirren as Sarah Winchester, we are brought to the compelling “gun is evil” discourse via a mishmash of horror cliches or “bad spirit” tropes. And so Ms Mirren ended up kind of comically, stereotypical ghostbusting matriarch--with considerable help from Jason Clarke as Dr Price. 

       Hey, I agree this is not a finely-crafted joint but the global audience savored it. A box office success! Grossing $44 million worldwide against a $3.5 million budget. 🎥💻📽