Shelby Oaks (2024) | Film Review
- Adam Williams
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
When someone who’s spent years analysing and critiquing films decides to make one, you can’t help but expect something a little special. With Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks, you can feel that passion in every frame… which makes it all the more frustrating when it never quite comes together.
A woman's search for her long-lost sister becomes an obsession when she realizes a demon from their childhood may have been real, not imaginary.
Because on paper, this should have been a winner. A missing person mystery rooted in paranormal folklore, wrapped in a faux-documentary aesthetic? That’s fertile ground for something genuinely unsettling. And for a while, it works. The opening stretch leans heavily into that documentary style, grounding the horror in a way that feels authentic and quietly eerie.
There are moments here that really land. Some imagery is striking, even haunting, and there are sequences that tap into something genuinely creepy. Visually, Stuckmann clearly has an eye – the film often looks fantastic, with an atmosphere that suggests a far more confident project lurking beneath the surface.
The cast, too, do solid work. No one’s phoning it in, and they do their best to sell the increasingly chaotic direction the film takes.
But that’s where things start to unravel.
The biggest issue with Shelby Oaks is identity – or rather, the lack of it.
It begins as a documentary. Then it drifts into found footage. Then back again. And just when you think it might settle, it pivots into full-blown supernatural horror. Individually, these elements can work. Together, here, they feel stitched rather than blended. The end result is a film that never quite finds its footing. It’s clunky, disjointed and tonally all over the place.
And you can feel that conflict in the storytelling. The first half builds intrigue and atmosphere, but the second half abandons that restraint in favour of more conventional horror tropes. That early promise? It slowly drains away.
By the time the credits roll, what started as something unique ends up feeling oddly familiar – and worse, a little forgettable. It’s not that the film is bad (far from it), it’s just… disappointing. Especially when you can clearly see the better version of this film trying to break through.
Shelby Oaks (2024) | Film Review
Had it committed to that documentary style from the outset, I feel this could have been something special. Instead, it feels like a director with a lot to say, but unsure of how exactly to say it. Still, this is a debut – and there’s enough here to suggest that Stuckmann has real potential. The visuals, the atmosphere, the flashes of genuine unease... they’re not accidents. This one may not fully work, but it does make one thing clear: I’m very interested to see what he does next.
Shelby Oaks is available now on digital, DVD & Blu-ray. Also available to stream on Amazon Prime.
