“Shelby Oaks” is a frustrating movie. A film that was flying under the radar when Mike Flanagan became aware of it and helped secure more funding quickly became anointed as a movie to keep an eye on. As it made its way toward release, the hype built until it was finally released to a giant shrug.
The film is a frustrating mix of found-footage and traditional filmmaking, and doesn’t quite feel true to either discipline. In fact, the switch between the two was jarring enough to make me want to turn off the film.
The film tells the story of a missing paranormal investigator who disappeared during what is thought to have been a trip to a haunted area. The film opens with footage of the young woman and her team as they conduct numerous investigations and encounter strange phenomena that the public claims are fake. As the film transitions to a traditional narrative, we join the missing woman’s sister as she struggles to find any information about what happened. As the sister delves into the mysterious town under investigation, past revelations surface, along with a clue that may place her sister at the center of a horrifying supernatural prophecy.
I have a lot of issues with the film.
The switch from found footage to traditional is jarring. The film is well made, and looks and sounds good, but it is SO different in how it feels and plays out that it feels like two films were forced together. The traditional footage feels overly slick and polished. The found-footage material isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s interesting and piques my curiosity. The traditional footage just reminded me of one of a hundred similar films.
The acting is decent enough, but we don’t get to know any of the characters. It’s a slow, deliberate pace, but we have very few moments to learn anything about the players. As the story plays out, there are huge lapses of common sense or logic – AH, something scary lurking nearby, I’d better run…but continue looking in dangerous places a few moments later.
At its heart, it’s a simple story, and there really was no reason for the found footage. It distracts and confuses more than it helps. The use of actors like Keith David only serves to show that they got money, and distracts further.
The ending is interesting, and can warrant another watch if you connected with the film, as I wager things will play out differently knowing a few things in advance. I am not sure the ending is earned, sadly, as, like the rest of the film, it all feels like it is checking boxes along the way.
For all the hype, this feels like that’s all there was. Sure, the film is slick, with genuine scares and creepy moments, but it all leads to something very familiar. And getting there leaves more questions than it has answers for.
There are some folks who will dig this and really get into it. I didn’t. For all the hype, it just didn’t bring anything new to the table as a traditional movie or as a found-footage film. There are some really horrifying moments and ideas here, but they are robbed by a pedestrian story that has nothing to say. And, if we’re honest, it drives me crazy when a movie fakes it as an FF movie, just to pull the bait and switch.
Girl, don’t slum, be who you are!
TL;DR: Hype can’t help this creepy feature hide the creaks in the floorboards.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14999684
2 out of 5
