Abandoned Town's Haunting Secrets Unraveled in Chilling Documentary

In October 2025, a new horror film titled "Shelby Oaks" is generating buzz in the genre community. The movie, written and directed by YouTube movie critic Chris Stuckmann, blends found footage and mockumentary elements to tell the story of a YouTuber named Riley who went missing while investigating the titular abandoned town in rural Ohio.

Over a decade after Riley's disappearance, a documentary crew interviews her sister Mia, who is determined to uncover the truth. The details of the case are chilling - the rest of Riley's ghost-hunting crew was found brutally murdered in a remote cabin, and mysterious figures appear in the last known footage of Riley. The setup is effectively eerie and intriguing, promising a clever, modern ghost story.

However, as the film progresses, it takes a sharp turn away from its documentary roots, shifting towards a more conventional horror style reminiscent of recent films like "Hereditary." Stuckmann's storytelling and world-building become increasingly clunky and derivative, with the film relying heavily on familiar tropes and jump scares. Despite some stylistic flourishes, "Shelby Oaks" ultimately fails to distinguish itself, becoming a "lumbering golem of hyped-up pull quotes about other people's stuff."

While Stuckmann may have drawn inspiration from personal experiences, such as his sister's excommunication from the Jehovah's Witnesses, these elements are not effectively translated to the screen. The film's muddled conclusion suggests that there was not much of an original idea to begin with, leaving audiences with a forgettable horror experience.