I’d been waiting on this movie since the pandemic. I could’ve sworn I donated money, but I didn’t see my name in the credits. No harm; no foul; life’s a blur, especially then. I’ve still got a lot in common with this film’s director.
That said, let’s see what the fine folks at Wikipedia have to say about this film:
The story for Shelby Oaks was written by Stuckmann and his wife, Samantha Elizabeth. An independent production, the film was crowdfunded through Kickstarter. By March 2022, it had become the most-funded horror film on the platform after raising $650,000.[15] Principal photography took place in Stuckmann’s home state of Ohio in mid-2022.
Shelby Oaks had its world premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival on July 20, 2024, after which Flanagan became attached to the project, eventually becoming an executive producer. The film was subsequently re-edited and underwent reshoots before it was released at Fantastic Fest in September 2025.[16] The film was released theatrically in the United States by Neon on October 24, 2025,[17] and received mixed reviews from critics.
The Rev-iew:
I’ve watched Chris Stuckman’s film reviews on YouTube for a decade now. With the exception of once or twice, he and I are normally on par with what tickles our film-fancies. Then, one day, he got personal.
Come to find out, he was a repressed child growing up in a house of weaponized religion. He was obsessed with film, but bound by his home’s beliefs. Movies were forbidden.
I related to his confession on multiple levels, and I vowed to support his feature debut, “Shelby Oaks.”
Then, life happened. I bought tickets for an Alamo Drafthouse showing, and my wife had to take a business trip. My ten year old isn’t into horror films, so I couldn’t make the showing. I didn’t ask for a refund; I just let it slide. Stuckman got my money regardless.
Then, I pre-purchased it on digital and awaited the home release with much antici – pation. I got COVID, and it put me down for two weeks. The last thing I wanted was to get deep into a much awaited film while sick. Mentally, every time I watched it from then on, it would remind me of being sick. I have a weird brain. Just ask Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It makes me feel like my nose is stuffy, and that film came out in the late eighties!
Now, finally, after months of avoiding reviews and spoilers, I had my moment.
Did I like it? Absolutely.
Did I love it? No.
Did I ruin the experience by hyping it up in my own head for years, and then dangling it out in front of my own face upon availability, until the PERFECT moment arrived? Possibly.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love what’s in this film, but I felt as though a lot of Stuckman’s own love ended up on the cutting room floor. I think a longer, more fleshed out version – something with a major studio budget, yet minimal final-cut interference – is warranted.
I spent ten years of my life as a paranormal investigator in the early days of social media. The story of a missing paranormal YouTuber hit pretty close to home with me. Then, the older sister is a part of a current YouTube documentary about the missing family documentarian? Where does it end? Wait…
What if we make a film about a chick in a film about a chick in a film? Genius?
Where this movie does shine is in its subtlety. I felt influences from both The Blair Witch Project and Hereditary at times. If you’re going to draw influence from a seasoned professional for on-screen suspense, Ari Aster isn’t a bad choice! Also, although paranormal, the paranormal was very much grounded in realism. No sky beams; No over-the-top CGI. Chef’s kiss.
Now, let’s talk about Camille Sullivan. This lady should teach a master-class on how to appear frightened on film. If anything, her performance is the selling point. At times, I felt it may have overstayed its welcome on screen by a microsecond or two, but she sold me on every scene. Damn those naughty editors and their silly microseconds.
I was really hoping this would be my favorite film of the year, but Sinners is a bad ‘Mamma Jamma’. Ultimately, Stuckman has emerged as a mighty fine horror filmmaker despite his upbringing. That’s the true success story here. Unfortunately, I write film reviews, not people reviews.
It’s impressive for a first film, so here’s to a better experience in the second viewing.
The “comments” section is at the very bottom of the page. That way, if you’re going to be a poon, I can try to sell you a book on the way down.
The Reverend’s Reads
To most, 1865 was an eye-opening year. The American Civil War was officially over and the soldiers fortunate enough to survive the bloody conflict returned home to collect the pieces of their former lives. To young Arizonan, Robert Jack, the fateful desert homecoming marked the end to all he once knew. Forgiveness is overrated. Death is final. Revenge, however, dances between the fine lines of mortality and eternity. Love always finds a way.
“Reading Jim Walker and the Redemption Hymn is equal parts quirky fun and riveting action. Cloud’s confident, entertaining voice draws the reader in like an old radio western: the perfect bite-sized story with a main character you’re ready to follow through every adventure he finds himself on. So, tune in next time…”
– Megan Stockton, author of Lovely, Dark & Deep
The history books would read that Jim Walker was brutally executed after the Battle of Goliad, but a few promises in the right ear blurred the contrast between blood and ink. Now an aging bounty hunter on the verge of retirement, his services are requested in the Northern Arizona Territory to solve the terrifying mystery of the Verde River Massacre. With guns from a local Deputy, courage from a saloon proprietor, and a deathbed confession from an all-too-familiar Medicine Woman, Jim sets off on what could be his final adventure. Will he lay the ghosts of his past to rest once and for all, or is he simply whistling his Redemption Hymn?
“Someone call DC and tell them this is how you write a female hero character!” – Lisa Lee Tone, Bibliophelia Templum
Angel Burns is a young firefighter with a shrouded history. During a routine night at work, she stumbles upon a demonic ceremony that brings her memories out of hiding – as well as her repressed supernatural powers. Angel soon learns her life was intended for things greater than extinguishing fires for mortals. Now on the payroll of the Vatican, Angel embarks upon an epic quest to protect the Gutenberg Bibles from evil. If successful, she will secure peace for generations. If she fails, the power of the ancient books will bestow an eternity of darkness upon all humanity!
Toby Liberman is nearing the end of his rope. After a fateful confrontation with his wife’s lover, he is chased into the woods only to be discovered by an unidentifiable creature. He is attacked and rendered unconscious. Upon waking at the scene of a gruesome triple homicide, Toby is arrested as the sole suspect and thrown into a jail cell with a strange man that knows way too much about his predicament. The stranger reveals to Toby that he now possesses the curse of the werewolf. Using his new-found strength to flee his captors, Toby begins to discover that things are not what they seem in the sleepy town of Twin Oaks, TX. Now hunted by law enforcement, as well as the town’s gun toting civilians, Toby seeks vengeance against his false accusers and embarks upon a quest to clear his name once and for all.
A Curse Beyond Comprehension. A Power Beyond Belief. A Girl Far From Home. Katie Liberman is your typical eighteen-year-old college student…or at least that’s what her family thinks. Picking up five years after the events of A Taste of Home, Katie has dropped out of school and embarked upon a dangerous quest to find Kurt Jimmerson, the New York City attorney responsible for her family’s werewolf curse. Unknown to her, the attorney’s grip on the ‘City That Never Sleeps’ is tighter than imagined and she’ll need any and all help available to be victorious. But… where do you find friends when you’re Far From Home?
Twin Oaks, Texas is at war! Taking place immediately after the Far From Home events in New York City, Katie Liberman has returned to rescue her birthplace from the clutches of her nemesis. As the paranormal battle of North vs. South rages in the shadows, the tiny town must decide to fight against the odds or become one with the darkness. Blood will be shed and only one will survive as the final battle of the Home Series concludes.
I know this is the part where I’m supposed to talk about the book, but I feel as though the synopsis needs its own preface to truly understand. 2023 was quite an eye-opening year! I began it by living my dream as a vintage steam locomotive fireman, but that dream was soon squashed thanks to my writing career. It won’t matter that you wrote your extreme horror offerings years ago and under a pen name. Also, it won’t matter that your publisher and author friends from days gone by express pleasantries and kind, nurturing words to your face, because they’ll clique-up and talk trash the minute you turn your back. F**k the biz, create. Create for art, not clicks. Click for love, not hate. Those are words true artists should have no issues living by, yet most seem to hide behind their keyboard shields, flinging ill-thought words of destruction toward once-trusted ears. Don’t pour something into everything; pour everything into something. Do it all by yourself if necessary. With any luck, 2024 will be the year of The Reverend. I’m not exactly sure what that means yet, but we’ll find out together. Anyway, here are a few short stories and poems I wrote as C. Derick Miller in 2023. I stole them from myself. Fair and square. Enjoy.
Poetry has always come naturally to me. Whether it is an expression of emotion toward someone I care about, or a display of humor pointed in the direction of those I loathe, it is my true outlet. Several of these works were written in a passenger seat while exploring the highways of the United States and somehow managed to survive “The Great Ex-Wife/Ex-Girlfriend Poetry Purge” of 2019. Others were penned during COVID-19 quarantine. Although it may not be the most epic poetry collection you’ve ever read, it all contains bits of blood and soul. You will feel something. Guaranteed.
“This profound collection of horror brings classic monsters into new light in the modern day” – B.L. Blankenship, God Walks The Dark Hills series.
The modern world is a crazy place. Worrying about childish politicians, empty grocery store shelves, and our pending membership to the “global disease of the week” club, it leaves very little time for the average reader to finish an entire novel. This is where Six from Five Seven: Short Stories from a Short Man comes in clutch! A story per day to keep the impending apocalypse away, with a single day left over to contemplate why you purchased this book in the first place. That sounds like an entertaining week when compared to the one you were destined to have regardless. What do a cursed husband, a privileged brat, a curious prostitute, a repressed savior, a vengeful son, and two hell-bound soldiers have in common? Their stories lie within the pages of this collection and invite you to tag along on their journeys of fate, redemption, and demise. When finished, you, dear reader, can hide this book inside your basement with the rest of those important documents you wished you’d never taken home. The FBI won’t be happy, but at least they’ll know you’re a cool person for owning a copy while conducting the raid. That must count for something, right? Let’s hope the judge thinks so!
Also, there’s a few other things not listed here that are floating around out there. Best of luck with the hunt.
Current Projects
Rev. Dare Cloud
Reverend · adjective. worthy of adoration or reverence. synonyms: sublime · sacred.
is a Dallas author, musician, and gonzo journalist. Some of his works include the controversial splatter-western Starving Zoe (written as C. Derick Miller), the Taste of Home trilogy, and the ongoing Jim Walker series. He is also the co-host of the American Justice Podcast and Senior Writer/Junior Producer for AtuA Productions LLC. His literary crushes are (of course) Hunter S. Thompson, J.D. Salinger, and Kevin Smith. Preach truths, toke jokes, and shoplift Amazon.
“You’ve got to press it on you You’ve just been thinking That’s what you do, baby Hold it down, Dare!” – Gorillaz
The Gonzo Wolf 
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