Shelley

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1:43

Shelley

Released Jul 29, 2016

1h 32m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

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12 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

A childless couple make a bargain with their Romanian maid to serve as a surrogate. When the child inside her begins growing too quickly, it becomes clear that a sinister force is overtaking all of them.

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Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

It's no "Rosemary's Baby" - or even "It's Alive" - but the Danish supernatural thriller "Shelley" is a fair addition to the "natal horror" genre.

Jul 28, 2016

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Neil Genzlinger

New York Times

Maybe expecting a horror film to have a point is expecting too much. In any case, the two actresses give committed performances on the way to a veiled ending.

Jul 28, 2016

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Jessica Kiang

The Playlist

A classy take on the often trashy pregnancy horror category, with a subtle social critique underlying its neo-gothic texture.

Rated: B+

Jul 26, 2016

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Andreea Patru

Vague Visages

In the end, the director chose to focus on the hidden face of motherhood — both natural and substituted — and amplified its fears into this spine-chilling story.

Dec 6, 2023

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Emma Wolfe

SpookyAstronauts

It's one of those films that are just made up of moments instead of scenes and I really, really enjoyed that.

Rated: 5/10

Apr 29, 2021

Full Review

Emilie Black

Cinema Crazed

The less is more approach usually works for this reviewer, however here it was much too little and lead to an expected ending with very little pay off.

Rated: 2.5/5

Apr 19, 2020

Full Review

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Audience Member

Among all of the "Rosemary's Baby" copy movies, this one isn't actually that bad. It does end on a cliffhanger but it works in my opinion. However you may feel unsatisfied with this movie and have more questions if you don't know about some of the symbolism of the Antichrist. Without that knowledge, the appearance of a dark dog, the protector of the antichrist would make no sense to the person watching. Oh and it isn't scary, so there's that.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Half a star for the atmospheric location and the luminous glow that suffuses the first half of the movie. As for the rest...couldn't tell ya, because this is yet another one of those films that leaves you in the dark. Literally. In. The. Dark. The second half of the movie might as well have been phoned in...again, literally. And I mean on your gram's land-line, rotary-dial telephone, because there's nothing to look at but some vague shapes that occasionally surface thru the murk and immediately sink back into unintelligibility, leaving the audience with nothing to do but make up their own story to go with the soundtrack, which provides enough hints that something awful is happening to set you on the right track. I guess some people like that sort of cinematic tomfoolery, because it seems to be the stock in trade of the type of horror films that go for the 'artsy' cachet, but I say it's a cheat and a cop out to expect your audience to finish your story for you when you've run out of steam and left them to figure out their own resolution. Isn't that what YOU went to film school for? Oh, well, I suppose I should be happy that at least this one didn't end up being an hour and a half of shaky-cam 'found footage'...except that after five minutes of that, I would have reclaimed my evening and found something else to watch.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very dark and well done. Awesome performances by all involved. I think although Rosemaryï¿ 1/2(TM)s Baby is a classic, this movie gave me much more of a genuine unsettling feeling.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

Not scary. Leaves the story hanging.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

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Audience Member

This is one of the best Horror movies I have seen in a long time. It is utterly frightening and the performances of the actors are very convincing. Great Danish Cinema!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is one of the best horror movies I've seen in a while. Chilling to the bone in the same styling as The Witch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/30/18

Full Review

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Ali Abbasi

Director

Cosmina Stratan

Elena

Ellen Dorrit Petersen

Louise

Peter Christoffersen

Kasper

Kenneth M. Christensen

Simon

Patricia Schumann

Nanna

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Shelley: Trailer 1

1:43

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Synopsis

A childless couple make a bargain with their Romanian maid to serve as a surrogate. When the child inside her begins growing too quickly, it becomes clear that a sinister force is overtaking all of them.

Director: Ali Abbasi
Producer: Jacob Jarek
Screenwriter: Ali Abbasi, Maren Louise Käehne
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Profile Pictures
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Danish
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 13, 2016
Runtime: 1h 32m

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