Shelby Oaks: Chris Stuckmann horror film breaks Kickstarter record, crosses $1 million mark

Last July, we shared the news that Chris Stuckmann, a movie critic and author with a channel on YouTube that has almost 2 million subscribers, was teaming up with Paper Street Pictures to bring us the mystery horror film Shelby Oaks. This movie will tell the story of

a group of missing paranormal investigators.

The project will chart the story of a fictional mid-2000s U.S. paranormal investigative team called The Paranormal Paranoids. Multiple found footage videos have surfaced online in recent months which have prompted horror and ARG (Alternate Reality Game) fans to speculate about the veracity of the case and the whereabouts of the investigators. One video uploaded last week appeared to show the abduction of one of the group, known as Riley.

Stuckmann’s fans are clearly just as interested in seeing him write and direct a horror movie as they are to watch his YouTube content, as Deadline reports that Shelby Oaks recently became the most-funded horror film project in Kickstarter history. The crowdfunding campaign has now pulled in over $1 million. The initial goal was $250,000.

As for why this project is going the Kickstarter route, it’s explained:

For a long time, we planned to make Shelby Oaks without fundraising, relying on the ingenuity of Chris and our team to eke out every last drop of cinematic gold from what would have been a very restrictive budget. However, it quickly became clear that making the movie like this would force Chris to compromise on his vision, and ultimately have a limiting effect on the final movie. We didn’t want that.

Shelby Oaks will be shot as a traditional feature, but with some elements of found footage. Stuckmann is producing the film alongside Paper Street CEO Aaron B. Koontz. Cameron Burns and Ashleigh Snead are also producing, with Sean E. DeMott and Paul Holbrook serving as executive producers.

Are you a fan of Stuckmann’s YouTube channel, and have you contributed to the Shelby Oaks Kickstarter campaign? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Source: Deadline, Kickstarter

About the Author

Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he's a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.