RebelPanda

This by-the-numbers biopic drags on way too long, mistaking runtime for substance, while failing to offer any meaningful perspective on women's or LGBTQ+ struggles despite its ironically charged premise. The film fixates on Christy's abuse from her husband from start to finish, only to wrap up her hard-earned freedom in a few lines of on-screen text.... reducing her story to trauma when there's clearly so much more to her. It's frustrating to watch obvious cruelty play out for over two hours, only for the film to take no creative risks and leave Christy with a story she deserves better than.

Gorgeous production, moody lighting, and eerie music set the tone for a promising start to Shelby Oaks. The slow, dialogue-heavy mockumentary setup builds tension well... but the movie completely derails, turning into an underwritten supernatural horror with zero payoff.

The film tries to avoid cliché exposition but ends up offering no real explanation for its supernatural chaos. You can't just strip away horror tropes without replacing them with coherent storytelling. Subversion isn't the same as subtraction.