rewrite this title Shelby Oaks: Chris Stuckmann horror film gets an R for violence, gore, and more

Four years have gone by since Chris Stuckmann, a movie critic and author with a channel on YouTube that has over 2 million subscribers, signed a deal with Paper Street Pictures to write and direct the mystery horror film Shelby Oaks. Three years ago, the project became the most-funded horror film project in Kickstarter history, with its crowdfunding campaign pulling in over $1 million. (The initial goal was $250,000.) Filming took place in the Cleveland, Ohio area back in 2022, genre regular Mike Flanagan came on board as an executive producer last year, and Neon not only picked up the distribution rights, they also dropped more money into the budget for reshoots that included adding more “gore and violence.” Now, Shelby Oaks is finally set to reach theatres on October 3rd, and with that date swiftly approaching, the finished film has finally received its rating from the Motion Picture Association. It’s rated R for violent content/gore, suicide and language.

Combining documentary, found footage, and traditional film styles, Shelby Oaks centers on Mia’s frantic search for her sister Riley, after Riley ominously disappeared in the last tape of a group of paranormal investigators called the Paranormal Paranoids. As Mia’s obsession grows, she begins to suspect that the imaginary demon from Riley’s childhood may have been real. The project has been inspired by, and accompanied by, a long-lead online marketing campaign around the subject. The film stars Camille Sullivan (Hunter Hunter), Keith David (The Thing), Brendan Sexton III (Session 9), Michael Beach (If Beale Street Could Talk), Robin Bartlett (Shutter Island), Charlie Talbert (The Big Short), Emily Bennett (Alone With You) and Sarah Durn (Where the Crawdads Sing).

Stuckmann is producing Shelby Oaks with Aaron B. Koontz, Ashleigh Snead, and Cameron Burns of Paper Street. Adam F. Goldberg, Paul Holbrook, Sean E. DeMott, and Tony Killough are also executive producing, with Shawn Talley, Alex Euting, and Farrell Rose co-producing. Mike Flanagan executive produced the film alongside Trevor Macy and Melinda Nishioka through their company Intrepid Pictures. They joined the project to provide guidance and input during the post-production process.

JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had the chance to watch the movie a while back and gave it a 5/10 review, concluding, “…it’s far from the brilliant debut one might expect, given that Neon is giving it a major release it doesn’t really deserve…” But he saw the movie before the reshoots happened, so maybe those have helped it out.

Are you looking forward to Shelby Oaks? What do you think of the reasons given for its R rating? Let us know by leaving a comment below.