"Shelby Oaks" is what happens when found footage meets flat storytelling.

Popular YouTuber and film critic Chris Stuckmann makes his directorial debut with Shelby Oaks, produced by Neon. Co-written with Samantha Elizabeth, the film attempts to blend found footage thrills with traditional horror storytelling; however, it ultimately feels like a YouTube video that forgot to hit “Save Draft.”

The story begins in 2008 with a clever found-footage setup: Riley (Sarah Durn) and her crew from the Paranormal Paranoids channel investigate Shelby Oaks in pursuit of ghosts and online clicks. The next morning, the crew has vanished, three bodies have been discovered, and Riley is missing.

Fast forward twelve years, and Riley’s sister Mia (Camille Sullivan) remains obsessed with finding answers. Things take a dark turn when a strange man (Charlie Talbert) appears, drops off a VHS tape, and takes his own life right in her living room. It’s at this point that you realize that logic left the film long before he did.

Naturally, Mia decides to watch the tape (because what could go wrong?) and becomes embroiled in a conspiracy involving her sister, a disturbing town history, and a supernatural presence. Against the backdrop of her well-meaning but largely ineffective husband (Brendan Sexton III), Mia takes on a detective role in a script that feels pieced together from discarded drafts of The Ring and The Blair Witch Project.

To her credit, Camille Sullivan delivers a strong performance, but she struggles against dialogue that feels like early AI text models generated it. Michael Beach and Keith David—two actors who could make even a grocery list sound threatening—make brief appearances before disappearing like decent scares in the second act.

By the third act, Stuckmann introduces Robin Bartlett as the resident creepy old lady, and just when it seems the film might improve, it crashes headfirst into the pothole of horror clichés. You can sense Stuckmann’s passion for the genre, but enthusiasm doesn’t always guarantee a satisfying outcome. Perhaps this story would have been more effective as a short film focused solely on Riley’s disappearance.

Kudos to Stuckmann for successfully crowdfunding and completing the film—that’s an achievement that many aspiring filmmakers never realize. However, Shelby Oaks demonstrates that while garnering YouTube views may be easy, creating genuine terror is an entirely different challenge.

Final Grade: D+

“Shelby Oaks” opens in theaters tomorrow, October 23rd.