Directed by Chris Stuckmann — Screenplay by Chris Stuckmann.
I don’t think it was possible to frequent YouTube in the 2010s as a film fan without eventually running into a film review uploaded by Chris Stuckmann. Stuckmann earned himself a loyal following over the years and became one of the premier YouTube film critics until the early 2020s, at which point he admitted to wanting to focus on filmmaking. He stated that he felt it wouldn’t be right for him to speak negatively about projects going forward if he wanted to break into the industry. Although his channel still posts videos wherein he talks about new releases, this change in approach has led to a litany of videos scolding him for his decision-making. But, at the same time, Stuckmann did get his wish, as his feature debut as a filmmaker, Shelby Oaks, was released theatrically in North America in 2025. This was notably after Neon picked the film up for distribution and prominent horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan attached himself to the project as an executive producer. I finally got the chance to see Stuckmann’s first film as a writer-director yesterday, and, well, while I thought it was nice to see Stuckmann’s dream come true, the film didn’t do much for me.
Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks follows Mia (played by Camille Sullivan), a woman whose sister, Riley (played by Sarah Durn), went missing twelve years before the events of the film. Riley was a YouTube paranormal investigator, and her entire group of investigators had gone missing before; eventually, all except for Riley were found dead. Found footage reveals that Riley was terrified in her final moments on camera. Following another deeply traumatic event that happened on her doorstep, Mia decides to go searching for her sister herself. Her search takes her to an abandoned amusement park and an old prison in a ‘ghost town’ called, you guessed it, Shelby Oaks.
Chris Stuckmann is by no means the first filmmaker to make the switch from film critic to director. He walks in the footsteps of greats like Jean-Luc Godard, Paul Schrader, and Park Chan-wook. But not every great critic makes for a great filmmaker, and not every filmmaker comes out in their first outing as a finished item ready to conquer cinema. Shelby Oaks certainly doesn’t conquer cinema. The low-budget horror film wears its inspirations on its sleeves, has competent elements, but doesn’t carve out its own place in the genre or culture like certain brilliant horror debuts over the years have (see Get Out and Talk to Me). But to expect this from a debut feature filmmaker, especially given how late into the production Neon and Flanagan became attached (the film had already had its world premiere at a film festival in 2024 before Flanagan and others advised Stuckmann to go into reshoots), would also be unkind and unfair.
One of the things that Stuckmann’s first feature has going for it is its clever and effective switcheroo opening. The first fifteen to twenty minutes of the film are presented in a really effective mockumentary style, as we’re told about the disappearance of Mia’s sister and her team of paranormal investigators. It all looks like it should, and the found footage that we see here (and elsewhere in the film) is all really well-made and effective. The incident that kickstarts this stylistic switcheroo — from mockumentary to conventional narrative filmmaking — is genuinely startling. This switcheroo trick may be a gimmick, but it is a really good one. As the film switches over to conventional narrative filmmaking, it should be said that everything consistently looks good, especially for the reported low budget of just over a million dollars. Stuckmann clearly has an eye for what imagery works well, especially so in an early research montage. The film also gets the disturbing and unsettling atmosphere just right. Director of photography Andrew Scott Baird’s cinematography is a highlight here, as is the passionate performance delivered by Camille Sullivan.
But the film really suffers when it comes to the writing. Every single character in the film is too thinly written, not a single concept introduced in the film feels fresh, and the ending is borderline unintentionally funny and outright unsatisfying. The repeated use of dogs as a sinister element doesn’t really work. The quick pans and exaggerated sound effects used over photographs took me out of the film. Plus, the waiting period between the format switch-up and when Mia enters a strange, creepy home is quite dull. That house sequence does give you a little bit of a jolt, but it all, like the rest of the film, just feels incredibly derivative. It’s very clear that Stuckmann knows what great films have entered into the realm of horror he wants to film a narrative around, but it also just feels like you’re constantly being reminded of the much better films from which he drew inspiration, including, but not limited to, The Blair Witch Project and Hereditary.
Stuckmann has made a very good-looking and atmospheric low-budget debut feature, which has an effective gimmick in its opening act. But it isn’t the glorious kickstart to his career that he may have wanted, as the film’s characters are underwritten, its story elements derivative, and the whole package quite forgettable. When the 91-minute film ended, I was left with a feeling of “Oh, that’s it?” which isn’t exactly the desired reaction you want from your audience. At the same time, I do think it is unfair to expect someone to be the finished product as a filmmaker coming right out of the gate, and Stuckmann definitely isn’t that yet. That’s okay. He still has time, and now he has gotten his foot in the door. I’ll be very interested in seeing what comes next for him.
4 out of 10
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
