Shelby Oaks Director Chris Stuckmann on Getting Under the Audience’ Skins and Handling Criticism

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Neon presents another chilling story with Shelby Oaks, a film designed to deeply disturb audiences. Directed by Chris Struckmann, it centers on a woman’s frantic efforts to find her sister who vanished years ago. The disappearance may be connected to a frightening imaginary creature from their shared past.

Shelby Oaks director Chris Struckmann recently chatted with Russ Milheim from TopMob while at Fantastic Fest 2025. They spoke on the red carpet about his film and how it’s designed to be a truly unsettling and disturbing experience for viewers.

Struckmann explained that he initially set out to create a film that felt unsettling and eerie, concentrating on those “creepy feelings that have always genuinely frightened him in horror.

Chris Struckmann is also a respected film critic, so he’s prepared for how people will react to his own movie. “It’s fair game,” he explained to TopMob, continuing that if “you create something and share it with the world, people are naturally going to form an opinion.”

However, he ultimately “made this film because I want to inspire other hopeful filmmakers like me.”

Shelby Oaks is coming to cinemas on October 24, 2025. You can find additional quotes and complete video interviews further down this page.

One more standout movie at Fantastic Fest 2025 was Universal’s Black Phone 2, which reimagines Ethan Hawke’s villain as a modern take on Freddy Krueger.

Chris Struckmann on How He Handles Criticism

“Look, It’s Fair Game.”

  • TopMob: “As someone who comes from reviewing movies and whatnot, how deep into the reviews and reactions to your own movie are you getting? How do you handle that? How do you take that in as a reviewer yourself?”

Chris Struckmann: I mean, it’s completely open to discussion. If I were selling couches online, people would naturally share their opinions – some would love them, others wouldn’t. It’s just the nature of creating something. When you share your work with the world, people will inevitably have opinions about it. So far, things are going well. It seems most people are enjoying the film, which is fantastic.

And also, I created this film hoping to encourage other aspiring filmmakers, people who can relate to someone like me – a YouTuber from Ohio who didn’t have much to begin with – and who can see that it’s possible to achieve something great with the support of so many incredible fans. Ultimately, I want to return the favor and share the inspiration that so many others have given me over the years.

How Shelby Oaks Will Get Under Audiences’ Skin In New Ways

The Goal Was to “Tell a Film That I Felt Was Creepy or Sort of Unnerving.”

  • TopMob: “In finding terror in this story, can you tease how this movie is going to get underneath the audience’s skin?”

Chris Struckmann: The main idea from the start was to create a film that felt unsettling and creepy. I’ve always been drawn to horror movies that achieve that, like ‘Lake Mungo’ and ‘Noroi: The Curse’ – both of which are presented as documentaries. They’re both really odd and effectively creepy.

I’ve always been drawn to horror that’s genuinely unsettling – those creepy vibes really get to me and actually scare me. It’s funny, because a lot of typical horror tropes don’t bother me as much. But films that feel deeply disturbing, like they’re getting *inside* your head, those are the ones that stick with me. With this movie, I really wanted the horror to feel intimately connected to our main character, Mia, and her desperate search for her sister. It needed to be a truly personal experience for her.

Growing up, I lost touch with my sister for a long time due to my upbringing. I was estranged from her and didn’t even know where she lived. I really wanted to weave that personal experience into a story with genre elements, and I hope it works-that it feels both emotionally resonant and deeply personal, because stories that feel truly personal are the ones that genuinely frighten me.

Camille Sullivan: I experienced a lot of-the filming locations were incredibly immersive and genuinely frightening. Whenever I could, I’d try to explore on my own, especially when we were shooting in the prison. I’d walk around in the dark to get a feel for it, and it really was quite scary, yes.

Sarah Dunn: Right, and building on that point, I believe the scary part of ‘Shelby Oaks’ really comes from the characters themselves. There are just a lot of unsettling people in that world who are genuinely frightening. For example, Norma, and it really explores the idea that horror comes from within humanity, the horror that exists inside all of us. We’re all capable of being the scary story.

Watch the full conversations with the cast and director of Shelby Oaks at Fantastic Fest here: 

During Fantastic Fest 2025, TopMob had a conversation with the director of Sisu: Road to Revenge to discuss how the next action film will be even more intense and thrilling.

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2025-09-30 18:06