Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks made its long-awaited debut on Friday, becoming a member of a yr stuffed with thought-provoking impartial horror motion pictures directed by YouTubers. Stuckmann is without doubt one of the hottest YouTubers inside the movie criticism house, however is lastly fulfilling his ambitions of constructing a film himself.
His debut movie obtained loads of help from his viewers, changing into the most-funded horror movie on Kickstarter. It is the right first, full-length function for Stuckmann, a passionate horror fanatic, and is an inspiring story of how following one’s ardour can result in a dream fulfilled.
Stuckmann will not be the primary YouTuber to transition into directing function movies, and his debut comes at a time when filmmakers like him have gotten a rising development, particularly inside the horror style. Shelby Oaks is the newest indie horror mission to show that the following era of nice horror administrators could also be coming from YouTube.
A Few YouTubers Have Made Nicely-Acquired Horror Movies In 2025
One of many first filmmakers to return from YouTube is Dan Trachtenberg, whose first feature-length movie was 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane. Trachtenberg began out as a number on The Completely Rad Present, the place he reviewed motion pictures, tv, and video video games with two different hosts. He additionally directed the quick movie, Portal: No Escape, which obtained hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.
Following his profitable first movie, Trachtenberg directed Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers, and Predator: Badlands, which is ready to premiere later this yr. He proved YouTubers might make the transition from web content material to movie and tv, resulting in a growth in YouTuber horror administrators who’ve discovered success,.
This summer time, Danny and Michael Philippou, who gained reputation via their channel RackaRacka, launched their second movie, Convey Her Again. The movie wasn’t a field workplace smash, nevertheless it carried out effectively with critics and audiences, receiving an 89% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is their second important indie darling after gaining notoriety for 2022’s Discuss To Me.
One other provocative indie horror this yr is Collectively, directed by Michael Shanks. Previous to his function debut, Shanks created the channel timtimfed, the place he made quick movies and comedy sketches. Collectively obtained a 91% critic rating on RT, with many praising the movie’s distinctive and disturbing tackle relationships, together with its charming performances from Dave Franco and Alison Brie.
Presently, Shelby Oaks holds a 59% critic rating on RT. Whereas not precisely an overwhelmingly constructive response, it is a good first begin for Stuckmann. It is unbelievably exhausting to direct a film, and he proved he is succesful behind the digicam, even when a number of the opinions are combined.
Nonetheless, it is seemingly not the final movie he’ll direct, particularly inside the horror style. Shelby Oaks additionally will not be the final indie horror movie from a YouTuber, and Stuckmann’s inspiring journey might result in much more filmmakers rising from the platform.
- Launch Date
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October 2, 2025
- Runtime
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99 minutes
- Director
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chris stuckmann
- Writers
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Chris Stuckmann, Sam Liz
- Producers
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Trevor Macy, Aaron B. Koontz, Mike Flanagan, Cameron Burns, Sean E. DeMott, Melinda Nishioka, Ashleigh Snead