Shelby Oaks: Fantastic Fest Review

I love a good urban legend, especially one tied to the area you live in. For me, there are tales about ghost tracks or a long-gone place called Boystown — stories that, to this day, draw the curious to see what they’re all about. Whatever the forces behind them, our curiosity always pulls us there. And now, with TikTok and YouTube, we can take people along on those journeys. Shelby Oaks is about one such journey — and, of course, what happens when it all goes wrong.

In the early days of YouTube, Riley (Sarah Durn) and her friends Laura (Caisey Cole), David (Eric Francis Melaragni), and Peter (Anthony Baldasare) create a channel called Paranormal Paranoids — and, as you can guess, they chase supernatural mysteries. Things take a dark turn when, on one of their adventures to uncover the secrets of an abandoned town called Shelby Oaks, the entire group vanishes without a trace.

Years pass, and while public interest fades, Riley’s sister Mia (Camille Sullivan) never stops searching. Then, bad news arrives: the bodies of Laura, Peter, and David are discovered — but Riley is still missing. That hope keeps Mia going, and soon a violent clue arrives on her doorstep: a missing camera from the night of the disappearance. On its tape, Mia sees what happened… and the face of the person who took Riley. Armed with this terrifying evidence, she begins to unravel the mystery of that night and the identity of the man responsible. Her search leads her into increasingly dark and dangerous places.

Written by Sam Liz and Chris Stuckmann (the latter also directing), Shelby Oaks is filled with creepy locations and unsettling ideas that establish an uneasy tone. It begins with a found-footage feel, introducing the Paranormal Paranoids and the mystery of their disappearance. But soon shifts into more of a faux-documentary style, following Mia’s relentless investigation. The stylistic switch is interesting, but beyond that Shelby Oaks leans heavily on familiar horror tropes — and that ends up being the least of its problems.

While the film looks good, the story struggles to maintain the tension it’s aiming for. As a director, Stuckmann shows promise — the movie is slick and atmospheric — but his writing leaves much to be desired. Most of the characters feel underdeveloped, and while the first half builds decent suspense, much of it evaporates by the third act.

The cast leans heavily on Sullivan, and she carries the film well. I enjoyed following her on this investigative quest. Unfortunately, even her strong performance can’t fully save the movie. The ending feels less satisfying than it should, partly because the film shows too much instead of leaving some things to the imagination.

In the end, Shelby Oaks isn’t the groundbreaking horror film we all hoped for, but it does deliver enough to keep genre fans like me engaged. However, due to some stumbling blocks towards the finale, it ultimately falls just a little short.