‘Shelby Oaks’ (2024)

‘Shelby Oaks’ follows Mia (Camille Sullivan) a woman trying to solve the mysterious disappearance of her younger sister Riley (Sarah Durn). As part of a paranormal investigator crew the ‘Paranormal Paranoids’, Riley disappeared 12 years ago. With the other 3 members of the group having been found dead since, Mia tries to uncover the mystery behind Riley’s disappearance.

One day Mia pleads for public support to a documentary crew when a visitor comes to the door. Answering to an unknown man, he shoots himself in front of Mia. Shocked and in disbelief, police arrive to the scene. Concealing evidence, Mia pries a mini-DV tape from the man’s hands, labelled ‘Shelby Oaks’.

Viewing the tape in hopes of uncovering where her sister is, Mia begins an investigation that leads her to a prison in the now abandoned town of Shelby Oaks. Speaking with the former warden, Mia uncovers that the man who shot himself was Wilson Miles (Charlie Talbert) a violent offender with a complicated past.

Investigating further, Mia tells her estranged husband Robert (Brendan Sexton III) she believes Riley’s disappearance is tied to satanic rituals as there are demonic symbols cropping up throughout her investigation. Rebuffed, Mia goes to Shelby Oaks by herself. Creeping through the prison, Mia is lead to a solitary house by an unusual dog. There she finds an old woman, Norma (Robin Bartlett), eventually revealed to be Wilson’s mother.

Discovering Riley had been kept in the house over the last decade in order to produce a demonic offspring with Wilson, Mia frees her sister and the two follow distant cries to find Riley’s baby. Fearful, the two decide to run, with Mia taking the child with them.

Riley and the child are taken to the hospital and later discharged, with Mia taking the two in to care for them. That night, Riley prepares to kill the baby with Mia witnessing the attempt. Unsuccessful, Riley is thrown from the window by a demonic entity with Mia left behind, holding the child and now under the influence of the sinister presence.

The feature’s opening salvo, albeit not an unfamiliar trope, delivers exposition through news broadcasts, home videos and via interview with a detective and with Mia as she pleads for public support as she is still trying to locate her sister after 12 years.

With an even flow, the information ebbs and flows, easing us into the reality of ‘Shelby Oaks’ without feeling clunky or overtly patronising. A hard feat to accomplish early on in the feature, the opening sequence immediately stands out and promises an upward trajectory to a project that could have been written off as a hollow ‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1999) replica.

A tour de force from Sullivan as Mia, the actress takes what could have been a detached and phoned in performance to unexpected heights. From witnessing a stranger shoot himself to examining the cassette tape chronicling Riley’s last days before her disappearance, Sullivan imbues life into Mia as she suffers more horror in one day than most would in a lifetime. Shocked and pained by loss, Sullivan fights on to understand what had happened to her little sister, fighting though the fear and anguish to solve the mystery and find closure.

Perhaps missing the mark when it comes to found footage films however, the novice Chris Stuckmann’s feature directorial debut lacks the nuance and rumination that is required of the grainy video material. Disallowing for moments of true intensity and focus, the film underwhelms when Mia’s search for her sister fails to sufficiently entice.

Even as we dig deeper, the mystery dissipates towards the end of the feature and delivers something more akin to a familiar and standard Hollywood production, full of dull concepts, predictable turns and simplified beyond what is necessary.

A valiant effort that starts out strong, ‘Shelby Oaks’ suffers at failing to maintain a consistent level of suspense and anxiety throughout. With an outstanding performance from Sullivan, the fear factor translates well and is conveyed convincingly for the most part, but is subdued eventually as the narrative follows, and concludes on, an unsurprising path.

Score: 2/4