Shelby Oaks is a 2025 supernatural horror mystery about Mia’s obsessive search for her missing sister, Riley. Written and directed by Chris Stuckmann, the film blends conventional storytelling with found-footage and mixed-media horror while exploring grief, estrangement, belief, and the reliability of recorded evidence.
Shelby Oaks is a 2025 supernatural horror mystery about Mia, a woman searching for her missing sister, Riley, after Riley becomes connected to a paranormal video project. Written and directed by Chris Stuckmann, the film combines conventional narrative filmmaking with found-footage and other mixed-media techniques. Its strongest ideas concern grief, estrangement, obsession, and the uneasy question of whether recorded evidence can reveal a supernatural truth.
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This is a fictional feature film—not a documentary—even though its story is partly built around video investigations and documentary-style material. It is also Stuckmann’s feature-directing debut after he became known as an online film critic and YouTube personality.
What is Shelby Oaks about?
Mia’s sister Riley disappears while involved with a paranormal-focused video project. As the search continues, Mia becomes increasingly determined to reconstruct what happened and to follow the clues Riley left behind. That investigation draws her toward the mysterious Shelby Oaks and toward an unknown evil.
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#1 Best Overall
The film’s premise works on two levels. On the surface, it is a missing-person and supernatural-investigation story. Underneath, it is about a family relationship damaged by separation and unresolved belief. Mia’s search is not simply an attempt to locate Riley; it is also an attempt to understand the sister she may no longer have known.
The film’s emotional background has a personal connection to Stuckmann’s life. In a director statement, he discussed being separated from his sister after she left the religious faith in which they were raised. That context helps explain the film’s interest in family estrangement and belief, but Shelby Oaks should not be treated as a literal autobiography.
Is Shelby Oaks a documentary?
No. Shelby Oaks is an English-language scripted supernatural horror film. It uses found-footage influences, video recordings, investigation material, and shifts in visual style, but the story and characters are fictional.
The mixed-media approach is important because it puts the viewer in the same position as Mia: sorting through incomplete evidence and deciding what can be trusted. Some scenes follow a more traditional horror-film grammar, while others evoke paranormal documentaries, internet investigations, or recovered recordings. The technique gives the mystery a potentially convincing surface, although critics have disagreed about how effectively the film sustains it.
Who stars in the film?
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Camille Sullivan | Mia |
| Brendan Sexton III | Robert |
| Michael Beach | Detective Burke |
| Robin Bartlett | Norma |
| Keith David | Morton Jacobson |
Keith David is one of the film’s most recognizable performers. His participation is a useful part of the film’s appeal, but he is not the protagonist; the story is centered on Mia’s search. RogerEbert.com specifically singled out his scene as a notable performance moment, which is best understood as that critic’s assessment rather than a universal critical consensus.
Rank #2
Who made Shelby Oaks?
Chris Stuckmann wrote and directed the film. Before making his feature debut, Stuckmann was widely known for online film criticism and YouTube video reviews. That career history gives Shelby Oaks an unusual point of interest: it is a horror film made by someone whose public identity was built around analyzing other people’s movies.
The project was created by Aaron B. Koontz as a Kickstarter campaign. The campaign ran from March 1 through March 27, 2022, with a goal of $250,000. Kickstarter records 14,720 backers and $1,390,845 pledged. That figure shows how successfully the project attracted early support, but it should not be described as the film’s complete production budget. Kickstarter pledges are not the same thing as the total cost of production, reshoots, post-production, distribution, or marketing.
Shelby Oaks premiered at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2024. It later received distribution from NEON, and its reported release history included additional financing for reshoots and revisions. Those production details should not be used to speculate about the exact differences between a festival version and the theatrical release unless a specific cut has been documented.
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- World premiere: July 2024 at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival.
- U.S. theatrical release: October 24, 2025.
- U.S. streaming listing: November 11, 2025, according to Rotten Tomatoes’ retrieved listing.
The festival premiere date and theatrical release date are different milestones. Calling the film simply a “2024 movie” without explaining the distinction is misleading: it premiered at a festival in 2024 but opened theatrically in the United States in 2025.
Where can you watch or buy Shelby Oaks?
Availability changes by country, platform, account, and date. NEON’s current official film page displays a Watch Now option with a listed price of $5.99 in the retrieved page snapshot. That price should be treated as a current listing rather than a permanent universal price, and readers should confirm the platform and territory before paying. The presence of a purchase button does not by itself establish that the film is included with a subscription service.
Rank #3
- Movie dvd
For collectors who want a physical copy, NEON’s official shop lists the Shelby Oaks Blu-ray for $25. The same shop lists a Shelby Oaks Missing T-shirt for $35, a hoodie for $55, a Shelby Oaks Park T-shirt for $35, and a hat for $30. Prices and stock can change. The Blu-ray is the most direct home-video option; the apparel is official merchandise rather than evidence of a separately verified affiliate or marketplace listing.
What is the Shelby Oaks soundtrack?
The original motion-picture soundtrack is credited to James Burkholder and The Newton Brothers. Apple Music lists a 26-track digital album with a running time of approximately 53 minutes, dated October 31, 2025, issued by NEON Rated Music under exclusive license to Lakeshore Records.
The available research confirms a digital soundtrack release, not a physical CD, vinyl, or cassette edition. Collectors should therefore verify any physical listing independently rather than assuming that a soundtrack LP or disc exists.
Is Shelby Oaks worth watching?
The answer depends on what you want from a supernatural mystery. The film has a strong central hook, an emotionally motivated search, and an approach that gives found footage a clear connection to the story rather than using it only as a visual gimmick. Viewers interested in independent horror, paranormal investigations, and the transition from online criticism to feature filmmaking have several reasons to be curious.
Its reception, however, is mixed. In the retrieved Rotten Tomatoes snapshot, the film had a 55% Tomatometer score and a 53% audience score; both figures are volatile and should be checked again before publication. The site’s editorial summary praised the atmosphere and emotional investment while criticizing the latter portion of the film.
Brian Tallerico’s RogerEbert.com review was more negative, arguing that the film relies too heavily on familiar found-footage and supernatural-horror devices. Taken together, the available criticism suggests a film with an effective premise and atmosphere that becomes divisive as it moves toward its second half and conclusion. It is more accurate to call Shelby Oaks ambitious and unevenly received than to describe it as either a consensus success or a universally disappointing horror film.
Rank #4
Runtime, rating, and content warnings
Shelby Oaks is rated R. The rating information identifies suicide, language, violent content, and gore among the reasons for the classification. Readers should also expect supernatural horror and disturbing imagery.
Published runtime listings conflict: Rotten Tomatoes lists approximately 91 minutes, while RogerEbert.com lists 99 minutes. The discrepancy may reflect different listings or versions, so it is safer not to treat either number as uncontested without checking the specific release being discussed.
What kind of horror film is it?
Shelby Oaks sits between a missing-person thriller, a paranormal investigation, and a found-footage horror film. Its central tension comes from the collision between emotional certainty and evidentiary uncertainty: Mia is certain that Riley’s disappearance matters, but the recordings and clues do not necessarily provide a simple explanation.
That structure also explains the film’s main risk. Familiar devices—distorted recordings, unexplained phenomena, investigation footage, and escalating supernatural threats—can create atmosphere quickly, but they must eventually develop beyond their initial effect. Supportive responses have focused on the film’s personal stakes and mood; skeptical responses have found the later material repetitive or too dependent on established genre conventions.
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This overview avoids detailed discussion of the ending and later plot mechanics. Readers looking for an ending explanation should watch the film first, since the meaning of its evidence and revelations is central to the viewing experience.
Best Value
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shelby Oaks a documentary?
No. Shelby Oaks is a scripted English-language supernatural horror feature. It uses found-footage and documentary-style video material, but its story and characters are fictional.
When did Shelby Oaks come out?
The film premiered at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2024 and received its U.S. theatrical release on October 24, 2025.
Where can I watch Shelby Oaks?
NEON’s official page currently displays a Watch Now purchase option, but availability and pricing vary by territory and date. NEON’s official shop also lists a Shelby Oaks Blu-ray.
Is Shelby Oaks rated R?
Yes. The film is rated R, with suicide, language, violent content, and gore identified among the rating reasons. It also contains supernatural horror and disturbing imagery.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Shelby Oaks is a 2025 supernatural horror mystery with a compelling missing-sister premise, an unusually personal emotional foundation, and a distinctive path from Kickstarter project to NEON release. It is a sensible choice for viewers who enjoy paranormal investigations and mixed-media horror, though the divided response suggests that its atmosphere and premise may work better for some viewers than its latter half.
Quick Recap
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