Shelley (2016)

Louise and Kasper want to become parents but Louise is unable to have children. She seals a pact with her Romanian maid, Elena, to bear Louise's child, but things don't turn out as they planned.

Director:

Ali Abbasi

Writers:

Maren Louise Käehne, Ali Abbasi

Stars:

Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Cosmina Stratan, Peter Christoffersen

1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ellen Dorrit Petersen	...	Louise
Cosmina Stratan	...	Elena
Peter Christoffersen	...	Kasper
Björn Andrésen	...	Leo
Marianne Mortensen	...	Isabella
Kenneth M. Christensen	...	Simon
Patricia Schumann	...	Nanna
Marlon Kindberg Bach	...	Sigurd
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elvira Friis	...	Bodydouble

Storyline

Louise and Kasper, a Danish couple, live in an isolated villa in the middle of the forest away from modern life, technology and even electricity. Louise's biggest dream is to become a mother but she is unable to have children. She finally decides, out of desperation, to seal a pact with her Romanian maid, Elena. Elena accepts to bear Louise's child as a surrogate mother in exchange for a large amount of money. The life growing inside of her is taking shape too fast, affecting the lives of everyone like an evil force. Paranoia and horror set in around the inevitable birth...

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Plot Keywords:

surrogate mother | wife kills husband | living in forest | wood chopping | knitting needle | 

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Taglines:

Inside, an evil grows.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Denmark Sweden

Language:

Danish English Norwegian Swedish Romanian

Release Date:

29 July 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Шели

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company Credits

Production Co:

Profile Pictures, Backup Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 37:22 there's a brief frame that flashes on screen. If you pause the film at exactly the right time you'll see the head of chicken figurine.

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Quotes

Louise: Well, there's more to this world than what you see. Why are you so skeptical?
Elena: I'm not skeptical.
Louise: Yes, you are.
Elena: I just don't believe it.
Louise: Go and watch some TV and make your brain melt!

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Soundtracks

Noise on the Line
Composed by Josephine Philip & Ina Lindgreen & Anders Trenkemoller
Lyrics by Josephine Philip
Produced by Anders Trenkemoller
Performed by Josephine Philip (Vocals), Ina Lindgreen (Guitar) and Anders Trenkemoller (all other instruments)
Album: Darkness Falls

User Reviews

DIsturbing, but incredibly slow paced.

Like watching a Tarantula molt, this film is incredibly fascinating, disturbing and effective. But, man, is it slow! Everything happens at a snails pace, and regardless of how thought provoking the events are, it does not excuse the pace of this supposed "horror" film. I am all for a slow-burn, in fact, I prefer them to teenage jump scares and other sophomoric tactics. But this movie literally made me want to watch it at 2X the speed, just so that people would pick up the f-ing pace. You know how there are movies that would have been effective if the creative teams knew how to just get to the good parts and edit themselves accordingly? This is one of those films. Had they been more overt with the horror elements, and made things flow just a bit faster, this would have been a worthy addition to the "baby horror" sub-genre. As it stands, it plods along, thinking it is being suspenseful, but in reality, it's just not getting there fast enough. Not recommended, as I am unsure that even the most ardent "slow-burn" fan will appreciate the pace of this film. That being said, the acting is superb, and the cinematography is top-notch.