One of the best things about the found footage genre can also be one of its most frustrating. By its very nature, classic found footage movies can never answer all your questions because the camera has to stop. The footage almost always ends with some big, scary revelation, but things can’t go beyond that because….well, the footage had to be found. On one hand, that can make for terrifying moments, and imagination will often be scarier than reality. On the other hand, it would be nice to learn exactly why that guy was standing in the corner from time to time.
Shelby Oaks, the feature debut of YouTube film critic Chris Stuckmann, does both. Starting things in both found footage and faux documentary styles, the film builds an intriguing, creepy mystery before totally changing the point of view and becoming a traditional narrative film. The choice gives the audience the best of both worlds as we get all sorts of creepy found footage moments, but also actual concrete answers about how and why it’s all happening. It’s a transition that’s a little awkward, but ultimately works because the story it’s telling keeps us engaged.
That story centers on Mia (Camille Sullivan), a young woman being filmed for a documentary about her missing sister, Riley (Sarah Durn). Riley was part of a four-person paranormal hunting YouTube team who all went missing. Three were eventually found, but Riley was not—and for over a decade, Mia has held out hope of finding her.
For the first act of the film, the point of view is that of the documentary’s director as we learn about Riley and her YouTube channel, Mia’s struggles with losing her sister, and the background of the town they went missing in, Shelby Oaks. But when something completely changes the direction of the documentary, Struckmann completely changes his point of view. All the faux documentary we watched that inlcuded lots of found footage of Riley and her team’s final mission goes away. Suddenly, Shelby Oaks is a normal film where the characters aren’t aware there is a camera because in their world, there isn’t.
From there, the point of view flips back and forth a few times depending on which best serves the story. Considering how we’ve become so accustomed to faux documentaries, found footage films, and narrative films each on their own, moving between the three styles can feel jarring at times. But the mystery of this missing YouTube group is too delicious to ignore, especially as new revelations come to light.
What helps even more is that at every stage, Stuckmann finds ways to keep us on the edge of our seats. Sometimes it’s a jump scare or a character noticing something in a reflection of footage. Other times, it’s as simple as keeping the camera lingering on something for a few beats longer than usual, just to let our eye wander and see what we discover. Often there’s nothing, but once in a while there’s something, and not knowing keeps the scares fresh and interesting.
As the film reaches its conclusion, a few overly coincidental incidents risk hurting the film, but the way the script pays them off by the end covers all that. Ultimately, Shelby Oaks cares about two things: creating a mystery that scares us, and giving us answers that are potentially even scarier. It takes a few leaps of faith and messy transitions to get there, but by the end, that doesn’t change the result. This is a horror film for and by the YouTube generation: one that’s inspired by many horror films of the past, with little regard for when or how to borrow from them. As long as it’s cool and scary. Which Shelby Oaks is.
Shelby Oaks just had its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025, and opens in theaters on October 24.