"Shelby Oaks" - The YouTuber to Horror Pipeline Continues its Win Streak

[the following review is spoiler-free]

I’m not sure if I’ve ever been more terrified walking into a screening than Chris Stuckmann’s debut film Shelby Oaks. And next to none of my fears were arising because of the horror elements to the film. I’ve been following Chris Stuckmann’s Youtube content for over a decade at this point, and I can confidently say that I would not be typing this review you’re reading if it weren’t for everything that his work and passion instilled within me. I was proud to be a backer of this film in its Kickstarter phase, and I knew that no matter the quality of the film that I would leave the screening thrilled that we actually made it to the point where a film can be funded by a creator’s fan base and picked up by a distributor as big as Neon. But then it dawned on me that if I didn’t like the film I was going to have to admit that to the world. Thankfully I don’t have to say anything close to that effect, because I thought that Shelby Oaks was a wonderful debut feature, and for every fault it has, it highlights another key strength.

The film follows Mia Brennan, who convinced that the story of her missing sister isn’t over. With the help of paranormal investigator Riley Brennan, the two take the investigation into her own hands. 

The film spends time in its first act functioning as a fictional take on a true crime documentary as a way to not only deliver exposition on the characters and lore of the film, but to establish the utterly dreadful atmosphere at play here. While there a couple too many drone shots for my taste in these moments, and a general sense that the color grading could have used another pass, the pit I felt in my stomach nearly immediately managed to grow deeper and deeper until I felt like I needed to look over my shoulder as I left the theater.

Chris’ adoration for the found footage horror utterly seeps through the screen here, as his staging of these moments in particular I found to be straight-up marvelous. There are several set ups here of various levels of pay-off that have some of the greatest direction I’ve seen in the genre. Horror in general is all about timing, especiallyfound footage, and while there are some run-of-the-mill jumpscares here, the scares are rooted in something that feels far more profoundly evil than your typical Paranormal Activity 7 schlock. 

Chris’ decision making about which cliches to lean into and which to subvert were so fun to watch as a fan of his critical work. Wide angle blocking with tons of background space that may or may not be hiding something, cameras slowly turning multiple corners, and you don’t know which corner will be THE corner, etc. This main point actually leads me into my biggest issue with the film which is that many of the things Chris is most outspokenly critical of in the genre he also finds himself doing here. There’s a library research scene, there’s a lot of discovering things by watching that video just ONE more time and seeing something in the corner you never saw before, and our main character often just happens upon discoveries critical to the case by pure coincidence or accident. 

You don’t have a ton of time to really be too upset about these things though, because the pacing is as tight as can be. Even though the film is on the shorter side, I found myself surprised at how quickly we were arriving towards the final climax. Here is where I could see some people having an issue because for all of the restraint the film shows in its first hour, there’s a lot less of it in the final thirty minutes. And obviously, without spoiling anything, it’s once again not something we haven’t seen a thousand times before. Especially in the past ten years or so. With all of that being said, there is one additional element to the finale that I was not anticipating at all, that I found both incredibly poignant, and also the most haunting allegory in the film, so be ready to have complicated feelings about this one. Especially considering I’ve seen people have issues with this aspect of the film already. Personally, I could not have felt more differently. 

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the film for me was the towering score by The Newton Brothers. Their work here is diverse, all encompassing, and consistently complimentary to what is (or isn’t) happening on screen. They aren’t strangers to horror scores, having written multiple for producer Mike Flanagan’s work, but their work here may legitimately be their best. Lead actress, Camille Sullivan is spectacular as Mia, carrying an overwhelming majority of the film on her shoulders. Pretty much everyone here in their supporting roles turns in great work. I’m not the biggest fan of Brendan Sexton III’s work in general, because he seemingly only has one facial expression that he can really nail and it’s guilt, but for how little he’s in the film, he gets the job done. 

Despite some of the film’s shortcomings, there is so much immediately identifiable potential for future growth here. Stuckmann has proven himself not only a tremendously gifted commentator, but a gifted artist as well. Shelby Oaks is a strong first outing for a thoroughly promising filmmaker, and I could not be more happy that it exists. Throughout the years, and continuing today, Chris has consistently been a champion of independent artists and filmmakers, and it’s only right now that he have that same championing granted to him. The film releases wide via Neon on October 24th. I implore you all to support it.