#chris stuckmann

[sdnik0]

Man, YouTubers have been making some pretty sick horror movies lately-

NOT YOU

[flanaganfilm]

could you talk a bit on your decision to EP shelby oaks? super excited to see it!

Back in 2010, I was working as a reality TV editor, living hand-to-mouth, and dreaming of making movies for a living. I'd spent years trying to sell scripts with no luck. I had moved out to Los Angeles after graduation with big ambitions, but it had been almost a decade and I hadn't had any traction. It was looking like it was time to give up the dream of being a filmmaker and head back home.

I had just written a script for an indie horror movie that I wanted to make with my friends, my last attempt at kickstarting my career, but we had no idea how to get funding. We were all broke, we didn't have access to any financiers or studios or anything like that. So we decided to try out a brand new website, still in its beta testing phase, appropriately called... Kickstarter.com. We were looking for $15,000 but managed to raise $25,000 in 30 days based entirely on the generosity of friends, family, and strangers, which meant we could make our little movie.

The movie was a little indie called Absentia and it launched my career.

Over the years since I've frequently backed projects on Kickstarter, wanting to pay it forward. I tend to favor horror films. Most of the time I'm a silent backer, refusing the rewards and contributing anonymously, just hoping to throw a little extra support at some motivated, ambitious DIY filmmakers.

I saw Chris Stuckmann's Kickstarter for Shelby Oaks in 2022. I was already familiar with Chris as a film critic, and I really enjoyed his reviews on YouTube. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of genre cinema, and excellent taste. We'd traded emails over the years about his directorial ambitions, and he'd shared some scripts with me. I'd always wanted to help him out, but wasn't able to help any of those others get off the ground. It was a no-brainer to back his Kickstarter for Shelby, though, so I went ahead and pledged a donation.

Not that he needed my help. Shelby Oaks quickly became the most successful Kickstarter film in history, raising over 1 million dollars on the platform.

It was an extraordinary feat. I reached out to Chris via email to offer my congratulations and wish him well on the shoot, and said something like "if I can be of any more help to you, please let me know!" He got back to me pretty quickly and said he wanted to take me up on that offer... and asked if I'd be interested in coming on board as an executive producer.

This was actually a tough decision, as I hadn't really produced projects outside of my own. But Chris' passion and commitment to Shelby Oaks was contagious. He reminded me of what it was like to make Absentia, how difficult that was, how much it demanded of us all. How convinced I was at the time that if someone, anyone, would just give me a little help, I could show them what I was made of.

Chris had that same DIY fire in his eyes, and I knew that this guy was gonna make that movie whether I helped him or not... but that if I could help, maybe I could make just a little easier for him, so he could focus just a little more on the creative side of things, and less on the panic and existential dread.

I thought his script was very well done, and he had a clear vision for the movie he wanted to make... so I agreed. And from then on, it was just about trying to help Chris get whatever he might need, and offer my thoughts about the film as it came together.

My goal was to be helpful and unobtrusive. Shelby Oaks is Chris' film, through and through, and it has been a pleasure to watch him sculpt it. I had no idea how the film would come out in the end, but I had faith in the filmmaker. You always hope a first feature will be a launchpad to the second - it's dangerous to have hopes much higher than that. But in Chris Stuckmann fashion, Shelby Oaks quickly soared past those ambitions, landing a worldwide theatrical release from one of the most exciting studios in the industry - NEON.

I'm incredibly happy for Chris and so proud of him for seizing control of his fate and wrestling his dreams into reality. Filmmakers like him inspire me. It helps me remember where I came from, and my responsibility to hold onto gratitude to the people who put me where I am today, sometimes just by donating $5 on a website. I know Chris will inspire other indie filmmakers, and when the ground stabilizes under his feet and he is living the dream of his career, I know he'll also be quick to pay that forward to other filmmakers as they try to drag their dream projects into reality.

Shelby Oaks will be released in theaters everywhere on October 24th, 2025, courtesy of NEON and Paper Street Pictures. And I'm so, so happy for Chris Stuckmann.

[vllevalo]

TWIN PEAKS (1990-1991) x SHELBY OAKS (2024)

[shouts-into-the-void]

I feel a growing hatred for reviewers who are talking about Shelby Oaks and Iron Lung like "omg YouTube horror films" "can YouTubers make good films" because like. Yes. Yes they can.

Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, two of the best and most critically acclaimed horror movies of the last few years, were made by YouTubers. So was Skinamarink. Yet, maybe once have I heard anything about any of these in the conversation of if YouTubers are capable of making good films.

You can like or dislike Shelby Oaks and Iron Lung, but please can we stop acting like whether they're good or not has anything to do with the person making them starting out on YouTube? All that has any bearing on is click bait for film critics who heard "YouTuber" or "Markiplier" and immediately made an assumption based on that alone.

[agustinrmichel]

“You should be so proud of her.”

Tribute poster for Chris Stuckmann’s ‘Shelby Oaks’ (2025).

[filmap]

Shelby Oaks Chris Stuckmann. 2024

Ghost Town Stadium: Rubber Bowl, 789 Derby Downs Dr, Akron, OH 44306, USA Bridge: Hillandale Bridge, Euclid, Ohio 44132, USA Street: Chapman Ave. East Cleveland, Ohio 44112, USA See in map

See in imdb

[boyofzoot]

Shelby Oaks (2024)

[esqueletosgays]

SHELBY OAKS (2025)

Director: Chris Stuckmann Cinematography: Andrew Scott Baird