Four years have gone by since Chris Stuckmann, a movie critic and author with a channel on YouTube that has over 2 million subscribers, signed a deal with Paper Street Pictures to write and direct the mystery horror film Shelby Oaks. Three years ago, the project became the most-funded horror film project in Kickstarter history, with its crowdfunding campaign pulling in over $1 million. (The initial goal was $250,000.) Filming took place in the Cleveland, Ohio area back in 2022, genre regular Mike Flanagan came on board as an executive producer last year, and Neon not only picked up the distribution rights, they also dropped more money into the budget for reshoots that included adding more “gore and violence.” Shelby Oaks finally reached theatres at the end of October – and now, it has received a digital release! It’s available for rent or purchase on Amazon at THIS LINK.
Combining documentary, found footage, and traditional film styles, Shelby Oaks centers on Mia’s frantic search for her sister Riley, after Riley ominously disappeared in the last tape of a group of paranormal investigators called the Paranormal Paranoids. As Mia’s obsession grows, she begins to suspect that the imaginary demon from Riley’s childhood may have been real. The project has been inspired by, and accompanied by, a long-lead online marketing campaign around the subject. The film stars Camille Sullivan (Hunter Hunter), Keith David (The Thing), Brendan Sexton III (Session 9), Michael Beach (If Beale Street Could Talk), Robin Bartlett (Shutter Island), Charlie Talbert (The Big Short), Emily Bennett (Alone With You) and Sarah Durn (Where the Crawdads Sing).
Stuckmann produced Shelby Oaks with Aaron B. Koontz, Ashleigh Snead, and Cameron Burns of Paper Street. Adam F. Goldberg, Paul Holbrook, Sean E. DeMott, and Tony Killough served as executive producers, with Shawn Talley, Alex Euting, and Farrell Rose co-producing. Mike Flanagan executive produced the film alongside Trevor Macy and Melinda Nishioka through their company Intrepid Pictures. They joined the project to provide guidance and input during the post-production process.
JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had the chance to watch the movie before the reshoots and gave it a 5/10 review, concluding, “…it’s far from the brilliant debut one might expect, given that Neon is giving it a major release it doesn’t really deserve…” Tyler Nichols saw the movie after the reshoots and gave it a 4/10 review. He wrote, “I was intrigued by Shelby Oaks at first, but it just gets more and more ridiculous as it goes on. The ending is one of the dumber ones in recent memory, and I struggle to find anything redeeming about it. You know how they say, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey? Well, when the destination is a giant mound of garbage, it makes the fun part of the journey dreadful in hindsight. I’m not dismissing Stuckmann as a filmmaker, as there is some stuff to like here. But the bad completely taints everything else.”
Will you be giving Shelby Oaks a chance now that it has received a digital release? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and if you have already seen the movie, let us know what you thought of it.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed