Chris Stuckmann, an Ohio native, is a well-known internet personality, garnering over two million subscribers on YouTube due to his in-depth and timely movie reviews. Stuckmann’s enthusiasm for movies extends far beyond critiquing them, and his true passion lies in filmmaking.
More than just a YouTuber, Stuckmann has been perfecting his craft since his youth. Now, with a handful of short films under his belt, Stuckmann has made his feature film debut. This weekend, “Shelby Oaks” received a limited release throughout the U.S., amassing a mostly positive reception.
Produced off of an initial budget of around $1.4 million, a figure that Stuckmann managed to reach thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, “Shelby Oaks” stands out among the crowd of increasingly expensive Hollywood projects. Still, with such a shoestring budget, the indie film inevitably ran out of money toward the end of production.
The team behind “Shelby Oaks” persevered; however, and they were able to patch together a finished product with what they had, despite it not turning out exactly as they had planned.
This initial cut of “Shelby Oaks” debuted at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival in 2024, where it attracted a positive critical reception and the attention of Neon, an independent film production and distribution company. From there, Neon supplied Stuckmann and crew with additional funding to finish his initial vision for the film. Now, a little over a year later, the final version of “Shelby Oaks” has been released.
“Shelby Oaks” centers around Mia (Camille Sullivan), a woman whose life was forever changed when her sister, Riley (Sarah Durn), disappeared in 2008. Riley was the host of an online paranormal investigation show called “Paranormal Paranoids,” and she and her crew went missing somewhere near the abandoned town of Shelby Oaks. Some speculate that their sudden disappearance had supernatural roots, while others viewed it as a hoax. When Mia obtains one of Riley’s lost tapes, she goes on a relentless search for her missing sister.
The premise of the film is strong, and as it carries on, the supernatural aspects of the story are truly allowed to shine. Much of the horror in “Shelby Oaks” stems from the occult lore that Stuckmann draws on, giving viewers unsettling portrayals of witchcraft, demonic entities and blood rituals.
These scenes are underscored by eerie sound design, dilapidated sets, deliberate pacing and tension-building framing. Unfortunately, this competent filmmaking is at times undercut by clunky writing. While specific moments suffer from the occasional line of awkward dialogue, the film’s overarching plot is riddled with more pressing problems.
To start, the movie begins with a documentary-style opening and unnecessarily drags on. The documentary scenes come off as amateurish, both in the acting and in the shots themselves. Not only that, but the entire sequence does very little for the film itself.
It mainly serves as a ham-fisted way of delivering exposition. This documentary-style approach is thankfully absent from most of the following scenes until it rears its immersion-breaking head toward the end of the movie. It is easily the weakest aspect of “Shelby Oaks.”
Following a rocky start, the movie carries on with a fairly by-the-numbers first act that introduces the viewer to Mia, Riley and the main plot thread of Riley’s disappearance. The film picks up once Mia begins investigating her sister’s mysterious fate.
While the second act certainly ups the fear factor by introducing a few eerie horror set pieces, it gets there through a series of plot contrivances and unrealistic lapses in judgment from Mia. This is not unique to “Shelby Oaks,” it simply solidifies the film as yet another horror movie that sees its main character making foolish choices for the sake of advancing the plot.
With that being said, the movie thrives during its third act. While Mia’s journey throughout the film isn’t always compelling, the finale certainly is. Stuckmann’s unsettling atmosphere collides with satisfying plot beats and terrifying revelations for a conclusion that is more unnerving and stomach-churning than it is climactic.
Although “Shelby Oaks” stumbles at times, it remains engaging throughout. Overall, Chris Stuckmann’s debut feature may not be a grand slam; however, it certainly has its merits. With an ominous atmosphere, disturbing imagery and familiar horror film scare tactics, it is sure to send chills up the spines of many this October.
Rating: 3/5
