Shelby Oaks

Great debut for Chris Stuckmann. It was an amazing movie experience from a first time writer director. His love for movie making is quite transparent in his piece. I'm reminded of the first time I watched Duel or Reservoir Dogs, being riveted and hooked from start to finish. The acting was flawless, the sound design was gripping and visually it was gorgeous with a special nod to the lighting department.

Very much looking forward from Chris Stuckmann's other projects that will now, surely, have much bigger budget to put to the big screen those stories he has been working on for years. Glad I got to shake the hand of a great movie lover like me that now many will get to love his movies as well.

A hilariocity this is not. This is Chris Stuckmann's first film, and he directs as though he is a veteran filmmaker. Having just viewed "Shelby Oaks" at Fantasia, I can honestly say that it did not disappoint. I am of course biased, being a long term fan of his YouTube channel, but I would argue that it has little to no effect on my 10/10 rating. This is a great film which will I believe will please both fans of Stuckmann and people unaware of who he is. It is no exaggeration to say I love this movie and would definitely recommend it to others looking for a new good horror movie. Can't wait to see what he does next.

I know it is actually meant to be found footage ... but then again, if this was a found footage movie, it would not use real cameras and switch back and forth between formats ... that said, having someone like Mike Flanigan standing behind (or in front of) your movie is quite the achievement and badge of honor I'd say.

This really drives home quite a few points to say the least. And it also has quite a few twists - before the movie started we were told not to give away anything ... even without that I would not have done it anyway. I don't like when people think it's ok to do that and spoil other peoples fun .... or enjoyment ... or just plain suspense they might have ... well had! So there is a bit of a Blair Witch feeling to this, but I would say it is a sort of update ... not just doing one style ... but making it more of a mystery ... I can say I saw the ending coming ... the very last twist was quite see through ... sometimes you have to throw some things out ... be it believes or whatever else comes in handy ... or convenient to further the story and plot ... you'll understand ... really well done! Shame the director couldn't be at the Festival (he had a cold - like the rest of his family ... and he did the sane thing ... not coming infecting others) ... would have liked to pick his brain on some stuff ... still really well done and check it when it comes out.

This review is following a screening from Fantasia Festival and I realize that this is a first feature film and Chris seems like a nice guy but this was amateur hour.

I'll start with the positives, the cinematography was excellent and the lead actress was for the most part pretty credible. This film also had a promising prologue, although mostly riffing on Blair witch projects premise. Finally Keith David classed the joint up in a small role.

On the negative side, the relationship with the husband and lead was beyond poorly written, with a poorly acted argument sticking out in my memory. I was stunned when I was advised the husband is a working actor with many credits to his name.

The worst sin is that it's a horror film that just isn't scary, relying on cheap jumpscares and poor cgi dogs. The third act and ending also leave much to be desired where the audience was audibly laughing at what I would think were serious moments. The abysmal ending left me ambivalent rather than shocked as I imagine Chris intended. The biggest ruse is that this has been picked up for distribution, I can't see an average audience unfamiliar with Chris' YouTube career connecting with this film.

I really thought this movie would be something different, but instead it follows a generic found footage movie. The budget considering being quite low for a film kinda shows.

The acting was passable but it's the directing and writing that really affects the movie. The plot just gets lost along the way and the pacing suffers.

As a horror movie fan if you're expecting to get scared, then this film will pile on more disappointment. I was hoping that Chris as a horror fan would understand the genre more and stray away from it's usual tropes, but nope his movies falls into typical stereotypes.

I guess being a decent critic doesn't mean you will automatically become a good director and it shows painfully throughout the entire runtime of the film.