For anyone locked into the movie criticism side of YouTube, few pairings are as closely linked as Chris Stuckmann and his long-awaited directorial debut, Shelby Oaks.
Stuckmann, a popular film critic and YouTuber, has been posting film reviews on his channel since 2009, amassing over two million subscribers. In 2021, after signing on to write and direct the part-found-footage, part-missing-person horror film, Stuckmann launched a Kickstarter campaign that brought in $1.4 million and became the biggest crowdfunding effort ever for a horror feature. In 2024, horror auteur Mike Flanagan joined the producing team during post-production as an executive producer.
The film premiered in July 2024 at the Fantasia Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews. However, just days before the festival, Shelby Oaks’ worldwide distribution rights were acquired by Neon, which also provided the film with additional funding for more gore and violence. After bringing in editor Brett W. Bachman (Companion) and creature actor Derek Mears, as well as undergoing several reshoots and re-edits, Shelby Oaks has made it just in time for Halloween.
But what is Shelby Oaks about? It follows Riley Brennan (Sarah Dunn), an aspiring paranormal investigator who, along with three friends, runs a YouTube channel dubbed “Paranormal Paranoids.” All four investigators disappeared in 2008, leaving Riley’s sister, Mia (Camille Sullivan), to look helplessly for her.
As of writing, Shelby Oaks is currently screening in cinemas in the United States, and is set to open in Philippine cinemas on October 29.
