Evaluate: Shelby Oaks (2025)
Ranking: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5)
Shelby Oaks arrives with the promise of being a daring, reality-bending descent into supernatural paranoia — and to its credit score, it begins like a movie able to do one thing bold. Sadly, that ambition progressively dissolves right into a muddled, uneven experiment that by no means fairly figures out what it desires to be.
One of many movie’s greatest missteps is its refusal to decide to a storytelling format. It swings between cinematic sequences, faux-documentary interviews, and found-footage snippets with little sense of cohesion. Relatively than enhancing the thriller, the fixed stylistic switching turns into a persistent distraction. As a substitute of mixing kinds right into a unified entire, Shelby Oaks appears like three totally different films spliced collectively, every one interrupting the circulation of the final. The result’s a jarring viewing expertise that undermines the narrative stress the filmmakers are clearly striving for.
Much more disappointing is how rapidly the movie falls again on overly acquainted tropes. From the haunted-house beats to the missing-person rabbit holes to the predictable third-act spiral, Shelby Oaks borrows from so many predecessors that its early spark of originality will get smothered. What begins as a promising premise erodes right into a greatest-hits compilation of style clichés — the bounce scares you see coming, the ominous clues that lead nowhere, and the facet characters who really feel like echoes of higher movies.
After which there’s the ending. Relatively than providing a payoff to the buildup, the movie leans into ambiguity in a manner that feels much less considerate and extra like a story shortcut. Shelby Oaks leaves extra questions than solutions, however not within the haunting, lingering manner efficient horror usually does. As a substitute, it feels just like the story merely refuses to elucidate itself, dodging the duty of resolving its personal mysteries. It’s one other instance of contemporary horror mistaking vagueness for depth.
Ultimately, Shelby Oaks turns into one more entry in a style desperately in want of a shot of originality. There’s expertise right here, and moments the place you’ll be able to see what the movie may have been, however they’re misplaced within the noise of tropes, tonal whiplash, and unanswered questions. A promising concept that deserved a extra assured — and extra cohesive — execution.
