A woman searches for her missing sister in the dead town of SHELBY OAKS, the debut of film critic Chris Stuckmann.
As it is Ape Law, I must mention writer-director Chris Stuckmann is a former (well, more like “sometimes” to be accurate) YouTube film critic. One I’ve been a fan of. I watched Stuckmann on That Guy With The Glasses, when that was a thing (and now that site is A Whole Thing), and followed him when he migrated, like many other content creators, jumping off the sinking ship (Love to Lindsay Ellis!). He’s always been clear he’s wanted to make films and do what critics of critics have to say in “fine, make your own damned movie.” With Shelby Oaks, he has put the money where his mouth is and crafted his own horror story about a woman looking for her missing sister. Unfortunately, while rather well made on the technical standpoint, the overall film could fall into one of “hilariocity” reviews. It’s a hodgepodge of Stuckman’s obvious influences, well-shot, but descending into a silliness and stupidity that it can’t escape from a lackluster script. It is better than “YouTube makes a movie” House on Eden, by a long shot. That film angered me; this was more frustrating in a good film that was nearly there. Especially since it starts strong, petering off to a lackluster finish.
Horror impresario Michael Flanagan came on board Stuckmann’s film after film festival screenings in 2024, helping Stuckmann to write, shoot, and refine the film further. I’ve seen comments from people who have seen both versions. Apparently, it’s changed somewhere between 5 to 25 percent, depending on who you ask, mostly in the third act. I’m interested in seeing if the first cut makes its way to release in some form. The back half of Shelby Oaks is where it falls apart after teetering for a while, so I’m curious how off it had to be to have Flanagan try to fix it. But there is a spark within that caught his eye, and I can see it, although Shelby Oaks didn’t quite come together; the potential is there.
Shelby Oaks follows Mia. Twelve years ago, her sister Riley went missing. Riley and her friends had a successful YouTube paranormal show, Paranormal Paranoiacs”. One day, when visiting the abandoned town of Shelby Oaks, Ohio, they vanish. The friends’ bodies are found in a cabin, but no Riley. But new information sends Mia to the town to look for her sister once again. This trail of clues and ideas is, unfortunately, one terrible decision after another. If you did a shot every time Mia did something dumb, you’d die.
That’s where Shelby Oaks falters. On the whole, the script doesn’t work. It’s one where you furrow your brow and say “why are you doing this? What? No?” and not a plot point but if we’re speaking of questions almost asked outlet “why are you not wiping theblood off your face, and why is your husband useless” ONe more: “why do you force Keith David to spout such awful exposition for his one scene?” i have so many more, but I’ll stop there.
There’s something there. The dying town (I love Urbex so I appreciated these times) looks great, loved the abandoned amusement park in the woods. The mold-based deterioration of locations is suitably uncomfortable. There’s talk of the fallout of YouTube paranormal investors and their method of storytelling (cough, House on Eden again). The group isn’t influencers, but one can look at internet fame and how it’s used. Especially when crossing over due to the true crime nature of their fates? I wish the “who took Riley?” cultural hook had been explored further. Camille Sullivan is rather good as the searching sister; her pain and loss come through. Especially since she spends much of the movie alone. There’s a strength in being more than just “missing girl,” but the addition also stretches credulity, so a mixed point. But ultimately, Stuckmann mashes up a bunch of influences: Hereditary, Blair Witch, Lake Mungo, and Silent Hill, to name a few. Mixed up into a mess and turned bland. So bland, I’ll admit, there were a few times when I zoned out. Hard. 
It’s not all for naught. There’s something good buried in what ultimately came out. Chris Stuckmann is a fine director. A rather good one, even. He has a fantastic set-up and sense of look and scale. He shows a shine in the found footage opening (and closing that comes out as a silly period on the film), and although the shift to narrative is jarring, most of it works (some laughable CG effects notwithstanding). The lighting, the movement, and the overall mise-en-scene are effective. There are a handful of “first-time director doing it all” but not overdone (such as being both Found Footage and narrative; I do think the film would be stronger if it stayed Found Footage).
I look forward to what Stuckmann does next. As much as this film didn’t do it for me, he has a keen eye, and he knows film in and out. It’s obvious how much he loves movies and making them. I give him major props for taking the opportunity and putting it all together. He’s a solid visual director, but perhaps next time leave the script to someone else.