Movies - Shelby Oaks : A chilling new trailer unveils the most ambitious horror debut of the decade

By Mulder, 29 september 2025

There are films that arrive with modest whispers, and then there are those like Shelby Oaks, which build into a storm years before audiences step into the theater. Written, produced, and directed by Chris Stuckmann, this supernatural horror mystery has already carved out its place in cinematic lore as the most-funded horror film in Kickstarter history. The newly released trailer cements the sense that this is no ordinary genre exercise, but a deeply personal vision that fuses the raw intimacy of found footage with the sprawling mythos of paranormal dread. Starring Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton III, Michael Beach, Sarah Durn, Robin Bartlett, and the legendary Keith David, the film follows a woman’s obsessive quest to uncover the fate of her long-missing sister, only to realize that the childhood demon they once imagined may have been real all along.

The story of Shelby Oaks is inseparable from its creator. Back in 2016, Chris Stuckmann and his wife Samantha Elizabeth were filming one of their Halloween YouTube specials in a Tennessee cabin, playing with the tropes of “Cabin in the Woods” horror. A masked killer, a VHS camcorder, and a flash of imagination planted the seed for what would later evolve into Shelby Oaks. What began as a concept about missing YouTubers morphed, through years of rejection and failed financing, into something far more layered: a reflection of Stuckmann’s own upbringing, when his sister was shunned from their religious community. That wound—being told a sibling is “spiritually dead”—echoes in the film’s central character, Mia, played with haunting conviction by Camille Sullivan, whose desperation and resilience carry the emotional weight of the story.

The journey to the screen was as harrowing as any haunted house tale. Initial attempts to finance the film went nowhere, as executives found it too unconventional, too unclassifiable. Instead of shelving the dream, Chris Stuckmann turned to Kickstarter in 2022, despite warnings it could backfire. What happened next was extraordinary: over 11,000 backers rallied, propelling Shelby Oaks to a record-breaking $1.4 million campaign, the most successful horror project in the platform’s history. This wave of grassroots support transformed a YouTube sketch into a feature film shot across eerie Ohio locations like Greenwood Farm, the Ohio State Reformatory, and the long-abandoned Chippewa Lake Park. The atmosphere of those settings bleeds into every frame, heightening the sense of desolation and forgotten nightmares that defines the film.

Support from established figures in horror elevated the project further. Mike Flanagan, Trevor Macy, and Melinda Nishioka of Intrepid Pictures joined as executive producers, drawn by Stuckmann’s drive and resourcefulness. Flanagan—himself familiar with starting small on Absentia—not only offered guidance from the scripting stage to post-production but also connected Stuckmann with seasoned collaborators. Notes and mentorship also came from filmmakers like David F. Sandberg, Sev Ohanian, and the writing duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Behind the camera, Andrew Scott Baird brought a moody, textured eye to the cinematography, while editing was shared between Patrick Lawrence and Brett W. Bachman, the latter brought on during reshoots in 2025 to sharpen the pacing and amplify the violence. The score by James Burkholder and The Newton Brothers pushes the unsettling tone further, blending spectral atmospherics with emotional undercurrents.

The film’s timeline was anything but smooth. Post-production was halted in 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, leaving crucial dialogue replacement sessions unfinished. By early 2024, however, the film was finally locked, ready to embark on its festival journey. Its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2024 was met with glowing praise for its first half and for Camille Sullivan’s mesmerizing performance. Later screenings at FrightFest and Fantastic Fest reaffirmed its status as one of the most anticipated horror films of recent years. With distribution secured by Neon in the United States and Metropolitan FilmExport in France, the film is set to hit U.S. theaters on October 24, 2025, just in time to haunt Halloween audiences, and French theaters on November 19.

Critics who’ve caught early festival screenings have been effusive. HeyUGuys called it “creepy as hell,” SciFiNow described it as “nightmarish, traumatising and terrifying,” and Mashable found it “unnerving as hell.” Collider dubbed it “a horrific nightmare,” while SlashFilm went further, claiming it “redefines the horror genre.” Such acclaim not only underscores the raw effectiveness of its scares but also the resonance of its themes: obsession, loss, and the invisible chains of family and faith. It’s telling that Shelby Oaks began as a fan-driven project—its DNA is steeped in the love of horror, crafted not just for audiences but with them.

What makes Shelby Oaks particularly fascinating is its resistance to easy categorization. Chris Stuckmann drew inspiration from Joel Anderson’s Lake Mungo with its faux-documentary dread, and from M. Night Shyamalan’s uncanny tension in films like The Sixth Sense and Signs. Yet, instead of merely emulating, he bends these influences into something uniquely his own. At its core, the film is about one woman’s refusal to accept closure, to settle for absence. In that way, it is less about jump scares and more about the suffocating weight of unresolved grief—a theme that transforms the horror into something uncomfortably human.

Now, with a polished new trailer intensifying the anticipation, Shelby Oaks feels like both a culmination and a beginning. It is the culmination of nearly a decade of persistence, a Kickstarter gamble that paid off beyond anyone’s expectations, and a deeply personal exorcism for its creator. But it is also the beginning of Chris Stuckmann’s career as a feature filmmaker, arriving with the kind of debut that most directors can only dream of. In an industry that often chews up fresh voices, Shelby Oaks stands as proof of what can happen when audiences rally behind a story that defies the formula. It’s a horror film born from memory, obsession, and community—an unsettling cocktail that promises to linger long after the credits roll.

Synopsis :
Obsessed by her sister's disappearance, a woman embarks on a desperate quest that leads her to the heart of a terrifying mystery, orchestrated by an elusive evil.

Shelby Oaks
Written and directed by Chris Stuckmann
Story by Chris Stuckmann, Samantha Elizabeth
Produced by Aaron B. Koontz, Cameron Burns, Ashleigh Snead, Chris Stuckmann
Starring  Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton, Michael Beach, Sarah Durn, Robin Bartlett, Keith David
Cinematography : Andrew Scott Baird
Edited by Patrick Lawrence, Brett W. Bachman
Music by James Burkholder, The Newton Brothers
Production companies : Paper Street Pictures, Intrepid Pictures
Distributed by Neon (United States), Metropolitan FilmExport (France)
Release dates : July 20, 2024 (Fantasia), October 24, 2025 (United States), November 19, 2025 (France)
Running time : 102 minutes