Written by Sam Clark 

Certificate: 15 

Running time: 91 minutes 

Director: Chris Stuckmann

Back in 2023, there was the manic phenomena ''Barbenheimer'' which celebrated both Barbie and Oppenheimer releasing on the same day. Since then, there's has been desperate effort to replicate it, but to no avail. Each film was a massive smash hit, both critically and financially. Barbie and Oppenheimer were the two biggest and best films of the year for some, but not for me. Both of these giants were defeated by the small, indie horror debut feature Talk To Me, from twin brothers Danny and Michael Phillipou who formed the YouTube duo ''RackaRacka''. I was so knocked out by this and rendered completely and utterly speechless by what this did, that anyone with YouTube based background looking to become a filmmaker has my immediate attention. Chris Stuckmann is the latest addition to that canon, and to whom I share a rather sentimental relationship to. 

Before I turned to UK based Film Critics and journalists for my general film reviews, he was the individual who I watched and trusted the most. I have known for years that his ultimate ambition was to become a filmmaker, and I knew what this film was and what it was about long before seeing. The reason being that he has heavily documented the journey to get here on his channel. And even though I do not watch him anymore, it's great to see him having achieved his goal, and it's still odd seeing his name on screen. Alas, we finally have Shelby Oaks, which he has written and directed. The film focuses on a paranormal investigation team called the ''Paranormal Paranoids'', who posts videos on YouTube, and they are led by Riley Brenan. They investigate hauntings in abandoned buildings in a small town called ''Shelby Oaks''. 

After an investigation at an abandoned prison and amusement park, Riley vanishes and the rest are then discovered dead. Riley's sister Mia has spent the last 12 years trying to get to the bottom of what happened, and is still riddled with grief and obsession. A camera is then recovered, which contains the footage of their final moments which only makes Mai all the more determined. She still believes Riley is alive, despite all the evidence pointing to the contrary. She travels back to Shelby Oaks desperately in search of answers; but does not who or what she will come face to face with. As is the case with most feature debuts, this certainly had a particular sense of the term ''manage your expectations''. 

However, as is the case with Shelby Oaks, it's a flawed piece of horror, but a flawed piece of horror with undeniable ambition and surprisingly impressive visual spectacle. Despite not being as impressive as other work from those of the same background, Stuckmann has still stuck the landing here. It's also unsurprising YouTube is featured in the story as much as it is. The influences and inspirations are certainly center stage and some may argue that it's unoriginal and reminds you of other work, which is true. But that did not prevent the film from getting under my skin, rather effectively I may add. It is essentially The Blair Which Project meets Hereditary. 

If Stuckamnn were to move forward with this career, which I believe he is now able to do, I'd advise he stick more to directing instead of writing. Most filmmakers tend to write their first debuts, mainly due to the fact that they want to be able to bring their first vision to life as oppose to trusting another writer to do so. Shelby Oaks is fairly unremarkable from a screenplay perspective and there's not a whole bunch that stands out or jumps out at you, but that's where the film is thankfully saved by Stuckmann's direction.

After an opening 10 minutes that is somewhat underwhelming, something drastic and shocking happens within the blink of an aye which kickstarts the film, and from then on everything is delivered with enough bite that hooked me straight in. For a film that cost's $1.2 million dollars (bread money in this particular industry but impressive for a crowd funded film), I was genuinely astonished by how well this looked and hats off to him to being able to achieve that, this looks as though it costs ten times that. Here we have someone who is able to make a lot out of a little, which bears well for him going down the line. But after years of talk and anticipation, he has certainly proven to this once loyal viewer he has what it takes, which I couldn't be happier about and more proud of. Here's to the future. 

Shelby Oaks is in cinemas now.