“Shelby Oaks” is the directorial debut of Chris Stuckmann, a prominent film critic on YouTube. Twelve years after her sister (Sarah Durn) disappeared, Mia Brennan-Walker (Camille Sullivan) is determined to find out who or what took her.
With the rise of true crime in the past few years, the film has plenty of intense mystery to satisfy. Raised in Ohio village Boston Heights, Stuckmann used Kickstarter to crowdfund the movie’s budget and filmed at several Ohioan spots. It significantly used Mansfield’s Ohio State Reformatory, famously filmed as the titular prison in “The Shawshank Redemption.”
Considering her filmography’s lack of main roles, Camille Sullivan was impressive in her stealing of the show. Mia was visibly disturbed by the events, but she and her dedication held their own. Even without her sister Riley’s citizen investigative experience, she will meet with anyone and go anywhere for any possible leads. From Canada, this is Sullivan’s first starring role in an American-made feature and she has a bright future for more characters like Mia with her energy and sense of darkness.
The story focused on ghost hunting YouTubers’ activities and it was occasionally presented as a documentary about them, including video and audio meant to look like found footage. It made for an innovative opening sequence to show before rolling the credits.
The authenticity took the audience back to old YouTube, which is important for immersing the audience. The sound design is exceptionally intense, particularly in the scenes with Mia investigating. The movie does not have to regularly use music to tell the audience something is scary. The intricate nature of the sound does the job, similar to “American Psycho.” This can be seen in the library scene’s hard clicking and the asylum scene’s gusts of wind. With the exception of Keith David, all of the cast members are relatively unknown. It made good use of having that indie cast, with focusing the budget more on presenting the story than on star power.
With a YouTuber making this and not casting other YouTubers in the cast, it really feels like a movie that motivates anyone, especially Ohioans in this case, to do indie projects. It also reduces the stigma of YouTubers and other influencers being production members in feature films. Speaking of budget use, there was nice production value, particularly with the Ohio State Reformatory. The constant bright light shining captured a nail-biting atmosphere, doing justice to its use in “The Shawshank Redemption.”
“Shelby Oaks” has made novel strides and, that being said, more indie films should be promoted and produced as such. More films should be shot in Cleveland and Ohio, especially with the variety of spots and inexpensive filming. “Shelby Oaks” deserves props for showcasing that with its exciting presentation.