Shelby Oaks had its world premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival on July 20, 2024, and is scheduled to be released in the United States by Neon in 2025. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise directed toward the first half, the atmosphere, and Camille Sullivan's performance, while the second half was derided for its lack of originality.
Premise
In the 2000s, Riley Brennan (Sarah Durn) hosts a YouTube channel with her friends called The Paranormal Paranoids. The series focuses on the group filming at various haunted locations. During their latest shoot at the abandoned town of Shelby Oaks, Ohio, Riley's three friends were found murdered, leaving behind a tape that suggests Riley was taken and/or also killed by an unidentifiable man. Mia (Camille Sullivan), Riley's sister, believes she's still alive and searches for her for twelve years, when she finally discovers a second tape containing contents that convince Mia something sinister is involved with Riley's vanishing.
Cast
Camille Sullivan as Mia Brennan, Riley's older sister who is searching for Riley
In July 2021, YouTuber and film critic Chris Stuckmann signed on to write and direct a supernatural horrormystery film titled Shelby Oaks for Paper Street Pictures.[4] The film is based on an online marketing campaign depicting a series of found footage videos about a fictional paranormal investigative team named the Paranormal Paranoids.[5] The film was produced by Stuckmann, Aaron B. Koontz, Cameron Burns, and Ashleigh Snead.[6]
The production was scheduled to begin in late 2021,[6] but was delayed due to insufficient funds and a potential strike by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) trade union.[7] Funding was achieved via a Kickstarter campaign that began on March 1, 2022. On March 21, Shelby Oaks became the most-funded horror film project on Kickstarter after raising $650,000.[8] The campaign crossed the $1 million mark from 11,200 backers by March 25.[9]
By August 2023, post-production was suspended due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[16] The film's producer Koontz stated that Shelby Oaks was "in the final stages of post-production, including the all-important automated dialogue replacement, when actors re-record their lines. We need the actors in, but we are not a priority project because we are not in production, but we're trying to finish this film in the next month".[16] In January 2024, Stuckmann announced that post-production was finished and that he and the studio were searching for film festivals to screen the film.[17]
Mike Flanagan, Trevor Macy and Melinda Nishioka served as executive producers on Shelby Oaks, under their production company Intrepid Pictures.[18] On joining the project, Flanagan said: "I was impressed with Chris' work ethic, his intellect, his talent and his determination ... I watched his Kickstarter campaign for Shelby with great interest as it really took off ... There was so much about Chris' experience and story that reminded me of what I went through on my first film Absentia, he's on a really exciting path, and it has been a pleasure to share a few small steps with him on his way."[3] Flanagan provided Stuckmann with notes and feedback from the script stage to post-production as well as offering additional industry connections.[3] The film was scored by the Newton Brothers, frequent collaborators of Flanagan.[19]
In July 2024, Neon acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film.[24]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 79% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10.[25]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 58 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[26]
BJ Colangelo of /Film gave the film a 8/10 rating, writing that "with Sullivan's phenomenal performance and Stuckmann's keen eye, Shelby Oaks allows us to witness the start of one of the most promising new voices in horror."[27] Alison Foreman of IndieWire gave the film a B–, saying it "was obviously written by a critic, one with a near-legendary knowledge of the pop culture archives, and it's directed with a palpable confidence that could lead to better things."[28]Michael Gingold of Rue Morgue gave a positive review, praising "the doomy atmosphere Stuckmann elicits through both the accumulating detail in the found-footage material and the eerie visuals he and Baird conjure up as Mia gets closer to the town's heart of darkness."[29]
In a more mixed review, Katie Rife of IGN gave a rating of 6/10, commenting that "the first half of Shelby Oaks creates an intrigue that the second half just can't sustain."[30] Clint Worthington of RogerEbert.com gave a similar review, writing that "the first half has a fascinating DIY investigatory feel to it – it channels the true-crime impulse to pore over footage to zoom in on new details, or chase down leads late at night despite all warnings. But as the clues start to take shape, the central mystery starts to feel a bit too familiar, an uninspired gumbo of everything from The Blair Witch Project to Rosemary's Baby, with even more obvious cues eagle-eyed horror hounds will recognize."[31] David Cuevas of Next Best Picture gave the film a 3/10, concluding that "as an admirable genre attempt, Stuckmann's passionate directorial voice brings home a few note-worthy scares and compelling ideas to the table. However, throughout its timeline, Shelby Oaks aimlessly intersects formulaic cliches and other predictable beats with non-existent punctuation."[32]
