Camille Sullivan on Shelby Oaks and Working With Chris Stuckmann – INTERVIEW

Chris Stuckmann’s chilling debut, Shelby Oaks, blends realism, raw emotion, and relentless horror.

From writer-director Chris Stuckmann and executive producer Mike Flanagan, Shelby Oaks stars Camille Sullivan (Hunter Hunter), Brendan Sexton III (Don’t Breathe 2), and Sarah Durn (Where the Crawdads Sing). The film follows Mia (Sullivan), a woman frantically searching for her sister Riley (Durn), who ominously vanished in the final tape of her investigative YouTube series, Paranormal Paranoids. The film opens in theaters nationwide on October 24.

Fantastic Fest and First Impressions

Shelby Oaks had its festival debut at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, where the film immediately struck a chord with genre fans. For Sullivan, it was an unforgettable introduction to the passionate horror community. “It was my first time at Fantastic Fest, and it was fantastic,” she said with a laugh. “The audience was enthusiastic and 100% in on the movie. The whole thing was a pleasure. A movie like this is made for that crowd, for sure.”

Sullivan said watching the film at Alamo Drafthouse made the experience even more thrilling, especially since it was his first time there. “I’d never been to an Alamo Drafthouse ever, and I thought it was so cool. I wish we had them here in Canada,” she added.

Blending Horror Styles

What makes Shelby Oaks unique is its seamless blend of found footage, documentary realism, and traditional horror. The film constantly shifts perspective as Mia’s investigation deepens, creating an unnerving sense of authenticity.

“One of the things I really loved about it was the mashup of filmmaking techniques,” Sullivan said. “There’s found footage, there’s documentary style, and then there’s traditional horror. We were able to shoot mostly in chronological order, which helped make those transitions feel natural from a character perspective.”

For Sullivan, that choice gave the film—and her performance—an emotional throughline. “At the start, the documentary crew is there, so that kind of interview style makes sense. But when things take off from there, Mia’s journey changes in such an extreme way that the shift in tone totally makes sense.”

The Power of Shooting in Order

Shooting in chronological order is practically unheard of in modern filmmaking, but Stuckmann fought to make it happen—and it made a huge difference for Sullivan. “It’s amazing for an actor,” she said. “My job was a thousand times easier right from the get-go. As Mia’s getting tired and beaten down, I’m getting tired and beaten down. I didn’t even have to play as much—I started to look worse, and that’s just a fact.”

She recalled one particular sequence where the production’s commitment to realism stood out. “When I had to watch a tape in the movie, that tape was actually there,” she said. “I was able to watch the whole thing and do a 15-minute take. That’s almost unheard of.”

That realism came with a physical toll. Sullivan admitted that the film’s emotionally draining story, combined with its many night shoots, led to some eerie side effects. “Even the first week of shooting, I had nightmares every night,” she said. “I wasn’t sleeping anyway, and with all the late-night filming, my system was really going through it.”

Real Locations, Real Terror

Shooting in Ohio, the production used real, abandoned locations—including a prison and an amusement park—to heighten the sense of unease. For Sullivan, those spaces weren’t just settings—they became part of the story.

“Almost all were real locations,” she explained. “The prison is real, the abandoned amusement park is real. You’re there at night, and it’s super spooky. I even did a little wander around with a flashlight just to see how scary it could get. It was pretty scary, so when I went back to the scene, hopefully I brought that real fear with me.”

Being in those environments helped her lean into the isolation of her character. “A lot of the film is Mia on her own,” she said. “You’re reacting to things that might not even be there, so I tried to get very specific about what I was seeing—what my thoughts were, what I’d do next—so I wasn’t just playing fear, I was feeling it.”

From YouTube to the Big Screen

For horror fans, Shelby Oaks also marks a major moment for Chris Stuckmann, who rose to fame as one of YouTube’s most respected movie critics before making his feature debut. Sullivan said the transition was seamless. “He was such a generous director,” she said. “He made my job easy and was very open to discussing scenes and ideas I had, and he was super respectful—just an absolute pleasure.”

She added that his passion for filmmaking and understanding of the genre translated beautifully on set. “He’s been studying film his whole life, and you can feel that. He knows what makes a scene tick, and he knows how to get that out of his actors.”

A Built-In Fanbase

Before Shelby Oaks ever rolled cameras, it already had a following. The film’s Kickstarter campaign became one of the most successful in crowdfunding history for a horror project, fueled by fans of Stuckmann’s Paranormal Paranoids ARG (alternate reality game).

“They’d already raised the money and made the Paranormal Paranoids videos before I’d even signed on,” Sullivan said. “I thought it was such an incredible way to market a movie—people already wanted to see the conclusion to this story.”

For Sullivan, the project embodied a rare sense of community. “This really was the little movie that could,” she said. “So many people came together for the love of film and for the love of Chris. I just want to say thank you to all the backers. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

A Horror Experience Meant for Theaters

With its mix of emotional storytelling, immersive filmmaking, and raw scares, Sullivan hopes Shelby Oaks inspires audiences to rediscover the thrill of seeing horror on the big screen.

“I hope it finds an audience of people who love to go to the movies and love to be immersed,” she said. “It’s like a roller coaster of emotion. I remember seeing A Tale of Two Sisters once—it was so scary, and the audience was screaming and reacting the whole time. I hope we get that kind of crowd for Shelby Oaks.”

The Next Chapter

As for what’s next, Sullivan hinted that she’ll be returning to the genre soon. “Yes, I do want to continue doing horror,” she teased. “And I’m pretty sure I’ve got another one coming up—but I can’t say what it is yet.”

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