Shelby Oaks (2024)
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A woman's desperate search for her missing sister leads her into the heart of a haunted town's dark secrets.
The story
Twelve years after a group of paranormal investigators, known as the Paranormal Paranoids, vanished while exploring a ghost town, a woman named Mia remains haunted by the disappearance of her sister, Riley. Mia's life is strained by the mystery and her inability to have children. When a mysterious stranger arrives at her door and dies, he leaves behind a tape that provides a glimpse into the terrifying events that occurred in Shelby Oaks. Driven by a growing obsession, Mia begins to investigate the truth behind the tape and the fate of her sister, leading her toward the abandoned town and the dark secrets hidden within its ruins.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film begins with the disappearance of the 'Paranormal Paranoids' in the ghost town of Shelby Oaks. Twelve years later, Mia is haunted by her sister Riley's disappearance. After a stranger dies at her door leaving a tape, Mia sees the footage of the Paranoids being attacked by a man named Wilson Miles. Mia's investigation leads her to learn about demonic symbols and the possibility of an occult ritual. Her husband, Robert, leaves her due to her obsession. Mia travels to the town, where she finds a farmhouse inhabited by Norma, the mother of Miles. She discovers that Miles, under Norma's influence, kept Riley captive to conceive a child for a demon named Tarion. Mia finds Riley and the baby, and while she frees Riley, Norma performs a ritual over the child. Mia eventually faces the truth: Riley's childhood fears were caused by Tarion watching them. In a final confrontation, Mia pushes Riley out a window; Riley is devoured by hellhounds, and Mia is ultimately caught by Tarion.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 91
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Chris Stuckmann
- Writers
- Chris Stuckmann · writer
- Cast and characters
- Camille Sullivan · Mia; Sarah Durn · Riley; Brendan Sexton III; Keith David; Derek Mears; Emily Bennett; Charlie Talbert; Robin Bartlett
- Genres
- supernatural mystery horror
- Themes
- sisterhood; obsession; occultism
- Tone and mood
- eerie; doomy
- Premise and plot tags
- found footage; mockumentary; mystery; supernatural
- Source material / true-story basis
- A spec script and a fictional online alternate reality video series titled 'The Paranormal Paranoids'.
- Content notes
- violence; gore
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the atmosphere and the first act's found-footage style, while others criticized the second half as being less consistent or derivative.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 41 · scale: 100 · review count: 21; CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was the most-funded horror film on Kickstarter by March 2022.; The production was inspired by the director's real-life relationship with his sister.; The film features a transition from found footage to a standard narrative.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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