Movie Review: SHELBY OAKS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: October 24th, 2025 / 08:39 PM

Rating: R
Stars: Camille Sullivan, Sarah Durn, Brendan Sexton III, Charlie Talbert, Robin Bartlett, Caisey Cole, Anthony Baldasare, Eric Francis Melaragni, Michael Beach, Keith David, Emily Bennett, Derek Mears
Writer: Chris Stuckmann, story by Samantha Elizabeth & Chris Stuckmann
Director: Chris Stuckmann
Distributor: Neon
Release Date: October 24, 2025

SHELBY OAKS derives part of the power for its early sections by being unpredictable. Writer/director Chris Stuckmann, who developed the story with Samantha Elizabeth, keeps us guessing who we should be afraid for and what we should be afraid of. By the time Stuckmann and the film zero in on a protagonist, the settings are so creepy that we’re carried along with the momentum.

We’re told at the start that we’re watching the last known footage of Riley Brennan (Sarah Durn), host of the “Paranormal Paranoids” Internet series, from 2008. Riley and her three “Paranormal” colleagues, David (Eric Francis Melaragni), Peter (Anthony Baldasare), and Laura (Caisey Cole), all vanished without a trace after Riley recorded herself alone at night, in a panic. Someone or something is at the door.

Twelve years later, Janet (Emily Bennett) is making a documentary about the disappearances. Riley’s older sister Mia (Camille Sullivan), cooperating with the film, says she’s never given up searching. Mia’s husband Robert (Brendan Sexton III), on the other hand, wants nothing to do with the documentary.

Filmmaker Stuckmann stages a genuine shock about twenty minutes in that kicks off the main action. He and SHELBY OAKS just about get away with justifying a lone character exploring deserted places in the dark.

Shelby Oaks, we learn, is the name of a town that rapidly deteriorated in the late ‘90s, becoming empty by the ‘00s. It was fertile ground for the “Paranormal Paranoids” show, complete with deserted prison and rusting amusement park.

Excellent use is made of all these locations and more. The cast is all extremely good, with some performers ably handling big character transitions (singling anybody out and commenting on what they do might give the game away).

SHELBY OAKS falters a bit in the third act, as once it zeroes in on what all this is about and why it’s happening, a certain segment of the audience is likely to have the reaction, “Ah, it’s in that subgenre.”

There is also unwise reliance on German shepherds for menace. Despite their placement and the threatening implications, only people suffering from cynophobia (i.e., fear of dogs) are likely to be alarmed.

The ending will be pleasingly ambiguous for some, while others may wish for a slightly more definitive explanation of what will likely occur next.

SHELBY OAKS doesn’t fully live up to the unnerving promise of its beginning and middle, but it is still a worthy horror watch.

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Decently scary mix of found footage and narrative horror

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