Shelby Oaks

Mia has never stopped looking for her sister Riley after she vanished, and her search pulls her back to the small, unsettling town of Shelby Oaks. Chasing bruised leads, odd recordings and whispered rumors, she questions neighbors and sifts through evidence that contradicts itself. As she follows each new thread, the town's calm edges peel away and secrets ripple outward, making the disappearance feel connected to something larger. Allies and antagonists shift, and reality and superstition begin to overlap in ways that increase the danger around her. Mia keeps pressing forward, trusting fragments of memory and proof even as the answers grow harder to pin down. It remains unsettling indeed.

Shelby Oaks premiered in 2025, created by Sam Liz and Chris Stuckmann, starring Camille Sullivan, Sarah Durn, Brendan Sexton III, Robin Bartlett and Michael Beach, pairing classic horror motifs with found-footage and true crime stylistic elements for modern audiences worldwide.

It opened in a limited theatrical run before moving to video on demand, producing modest box office, while streaming and social discovery later helped it find a broader, younger audience outside the initial theatrical window, and international genre fans too.

After release, clips and fan theories spread online, especially around the film's found-footage and audio elements, prompting discussions about how horror uses archival material. Some scenes became frequent reference points among late-night horror communities and independent creators. Podcasts and reaction videos fed the conversation, creators debating ethics of portraying disappearances.

Critical response was mixed, reflected by a 5.813/10 (166 votes), with reviewers praising the leads' performances and atmospheric tension while faulting pacing and familiar genre beats. Themes center on grief, obsession, community secrecy and the slipperiness of memory and evidence. Camille Sullivan's performance drew notice, and viewers argued over explanations.