The debut feature from Chris Stuckmann delves into the chilling journey of a woman searching for her paranormal investigator sister, who went missing a decade earlier.
Check out Neon’s trailer for the Fantastic Fest fave Shelby Oakswhich Stuckmann made with the help of his YouTube film platform. Together with his followers, he rallied to get the film financed through grassroots efforts and support of the online horror film community, including producer Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) and Aaron B. Koontz (Scare Package).
The campaign for the budget ended up becoming one of the highest-funded horror films in the history of Kickstarter and was made off the $1.4 million raised.
Color us intrigued: a missing sister and some paranormal urban exploration at a haunted amusement park? We’re so in.
The film stars Camille Sullivan and Sarah Durn as sisters who, through the blend of the latter’s YouTube paranormal investigation before her disappearance and the docu-style footage of the search for her, build a compelling mystery. The vibe from the trailer has a tone we can’t quite put our finger on, as the narrative use of found footage captures some scary-as-hell imagery. There are disturbing, bright-eyed ghosts and creepy corridors filled with some chilling moments, but it’s the mystery surrounding the film’s two sisters that really has us hooked.
Stuckmann’s got the Flanagan seal of approval and a really solid early buzz from the festival circuit. io9’s own Germain Lussier praised in his review from Fantastic Fest 2025, “This is a horror film for and by the YouTube generation: one that’s inspired by many horror films of the past, with little regard for when or how to borrow from them. As long as it’s cool and scary. Which Shelby Oaks is.”
So, at the very least, it seems like a good Halloween flick to catch this spooky season. The film distributed is already garnering good word of mouth online, so we’ll be keen to catch it when it releases.
Shelby Oaks is set to open in theaters on October 24.
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