Shelby Oaks (2024) Chris Stuckmann’s Confident If Cluttered Directorial Debut

Watching Shelby Oaks in cinemas was a far more cathartic experience personally than previously anticipated. Chris Stuckmann is, in my humble opinion, the best movie critic to come out of YouTube throughout the 2010s. He’s always been more critically-minded than Jeremy Jahns (no disrespect to him, who I also watch frequently), yet he’s never come across as a snob. Stuckmann is a regular guy with very nerdy tastes and loves, but filmmaking ambitions were frequently discussed on his channel, and he was always working on shorts.

Therefore, a lot of his fans felt very proud and excited when, in 2021, Stuckmann announced his feature debut, an indie horror called Shelby Oaks that saw massive support through a Kickstarter campaign and a helping hand in distribution from the one and only Mike Flanagan. This is amazing for a debut, but it also brings with it high fan expectations. After all, you don’t want to be a film critic who spends years telling people if films are good or not, then turn around and make a bad film yourself. Even Mike Flanagan’s putting himself in danger with his credit – look no further than last month, when people thought the overcooked misfire Him was a Jordan Peele film. Luckily, Shelby Oaks is far from a disaster, and it shows real promise for Stuckmann as a director. As a writer? We’ll get to it.

For his first film, Stuckmann was certainly not short on ideas. Some of it is drawn from personal experience, especially his upbringing as a Jehovah’s Witness before leaving after feeling disillusioned, beyond that, all of Stuckmann’s main influences can be felt in Shelby Oaks. The plot has been compared to Blair Witch Project and Rosemary’s Baby, but it’s easy to see the work of M. Night Shyamalan in this, there’s elements of Silent Hill and Resident Evil, and Stuckmann’s also clearly showing off his love of Stephen King. Some scenes here were even filmed in the same prison as The Shawshank Redemption, which I’m sure Stuckmann was pinching himself about.

Of course, it is okay to have all these influences, especially when you’re such a genuine fan like Stuckmann is, and there is a real punch and flair to the direction here. The found-footage intro, composed of camcorder footage, newsreels and interviews, is a very interesting hook and really creepy, as Shelby Oaks shows the final recorded moments of Riley Brennan before her disappearance in a genuinely sinister scene, helped by an authentically terrified performance from Sarah Durn. Even as the film cuts to the present day, with Riley’s older sister Mia still on the hunt for answers, it manages to maintain the tension. A terrifying and jarring death takes us to the opening credits, by which Stuckmann had me hooked. He is really good with the scares here, as this is one of the creepiest films I’ve seen all year.

CLICK THE POSTER TO SEE WHERE SHELBY OAKS IS PLAYING NEAR YOU

Camille Sullivan’s Mia dominates much of the second and third acts, and she anchors the film with a brilliant and grounded performance, especially when events get absolutely mad later on. The central mystery develops really well throughout the second act. For the most part, it’s just classic storytelling – going from place to place, following leads, looking for anything and making discoveries that, although small in the grand scheme of things, seem earth-shattering. This is something Sullivan is really good at conveying, and I found myself consistently intrigued until the credits rolled. 

The script for Shelby Oaks was written by both Stuckmann and his wife Sam, and I was initially really impressed with how well the film sets up its premise and the creative ways it tells the story. Some of the dialogue can be a bit stilted, transitions between scenes can feel a bit disjointed, and the pacing is also a problem at points. I wasn’t blind to some of the faults I was noticing. Still, I was invested in the story and I was enjoying the ride, however, it’s in the third act where the issues really come to the fore.

Shelby Oaks debuted at some festivals last year with a runtime of 102 minutes and, since then, it’s been cut down to 91 for a theatrical release. I don’t know what the reasons were for this, but it does seem like the final cut is missing crucial bits of connective tissue that would tighten up the pace and resolve the plot; the first two acts are flawed but they are tight and taut when compared to the third. I still mostly enjoyed it, with one extremely dark reveal being well-done, but it was disappointing to see such a rushed and clunky climax. There has to be at least two or three scenes missing before the epilogue in this new edit, I also wonder how much of the third act was filmed as part of the reshoots that took place earlier this year, as there is a notable disconnect from it and the main body of the film. 

The clunky writing towards the conclusion is one of a few growing pains that Shelby Oaks exhibits. While it’s cool to see all the influences that Stuckmann is playing with, cynics may just see it as a hodgepodge of ideas they’ve already seen done better. As a viewer, I know of Stuckmann’s upbringing so it’s easier for me to see the inspiration and input from him, but I can also understand why Shelby Oaks can appear to be just another played-out mystery horror. 

Still, the moment that solidified my feelings on Shelby Oaks happened as the credits were rolling. A quiet screening of me and about eight other people were leaving, and I heard the couple in front enthusiastically say to each other, “Yeah, I enjoyed that.” And I think that’s my reaction too. Shelby Oaks is far from a perfect film, as there are growing pains and a pacing problem, but it’s the perfect directorial debut: a solid introduction to a filmmaker’s style that demonstrates their personality and influences, with some great moments scattered throughout, and a solid cast that are able to enhance the material they’ve been given. 

I’m glad to see Stuckmann’s desire to become a director come to fruition and, while he’s certainly got work to do, Shelby Oaks was definitely a cathartic and engrossing watch. =

ALEX’S ARCHIVE – SHELBY OAKS