The first thing you will notice about the horror genre is that the sub-genres are normally pretty well defined. Whether it be a slasher like I Know What You Did Last Summer, an occult horror like The Conjuring or a folk horror like The Witch, the rules and tropes of each sub-genre are well defined and rarely cross-over.
That isn’t the case with Shelby Oaks, written and directed by popular Youtube personality Chris Stuckmann, as it is brave enough to switch horror sub-genres mid film and as absolute surprise it actually works.
The film begins as a found footage horror as a documentary team cover the disappearance of Riley (Sarah Durn – Where The Crawdads Sing) who alongside three other paranormal investigators disappeared when they travelled to an abandoned town called Shelby Oaks to film another episode of their popular web series.
As the documentary team interview a range of people about the disappearance they are shocked to the core when while interviewing Riley’s sister Mia (Camille Sullivan – Hunter Hunter) a strange man shows up at her doorstep and then commits suicide right in front of her.
From there Shelby Oaks switches to being a mix of occult and folk horror as when Mia works out that the man is a violent criminal named Wilson Miles (Charlie Talbert – Rebel Ridge). As she examines that footage found on the tape that Wilson was holding Mia begins to realise that perhaps Riley’s disappearance might be linked to the demon that the two of them saw when they were younger.
As she puts the pieces of the mystery together Mia realises that Riley might still be alive and despite the strain it puts on her marriage she decides to take a trip to Shelby Oaks to see what she can discover.
Refreshing
There is a lot to this film that means it shouldn’t work but somehow it overcomes that to be a fairly enjoyable horror flick. The switching of sub-genres in the opening twenty minutes rightfully should be a death knell for the film but to be honest it is somewhat refreshing.
When the film started I would be lying if I didn’t admit that was thinking ‘oh no not another found footage film.’ The opening of the film feels like Stuckmann is going for a Blair Witch Project for the YouTube generation feel but when the film applies the brakes and suddenly takes a turn in another direction I found myself sitting up in my cinema seat and beginning to take notice.
For me the suspense and intrigue of Shelby Oaks begins at the moment that Wilson Miles shoots himself. From there the film finds its feet and while it doesn’t exactly re-invent the wheel it does enough to be different and to keep its audience guessing. And while there are a lot of unanswered questions about the occult side of the film you will still find yourself feeling fulfilled by the time the end credits roll. In fact if you are like what I was you will find yourself starting to think about how a sequel could answer some of those questions.
The other key factor to Shelby Oaks working is the acting performance of Camille Sullivan. Without her being at the top of her game there is no way this film could ever have worked. Sullivan literally has to carry this film – and must do it using a range of acting styles. From the ultra-naturalistic feel of being the interviewee in the early parts of the film right through to being a scream queen when she visits the old prison Sullivan delivers on all levels.
I’m sure when he first put pen to paper Stuckmann was hoping that Shelby Oaks would be a film that would change the horror landscape the way that The Blair Witch Project did. The film doesn’t exactly reach those heights, but it does enough to engage its audience throughout and show that perhaps Stuckmann has what it takes to be the next decent horror director in the genre.
Shelby Oaks is currently screening in Phuket and is rated ‘18’
3/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus.