The film studio behind the successful occult thriller Longlegs, featuring Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe, has revealed a new horror film from YouTuber Chris Stuckmann, with a big name already attached to the project.
Neon announced on Tuesday night (July 16) that it had secured the rights to Shelby Oaks, a full-length found-footage horror film made through a $1.39m Kickstarter campaign in 2022. The total amount raised makes it the most-funded horror film in the history of the crowdfunding platform.
Set in the early 2000s, the film follows Mia (Camille Sullivan) as she investigates the mysterious disappearance of her younger sister Riley (Sarah Durn), discovering a link between the disappearance and their childhood. Brendan Sexton III from Don’t Breathe 2 also joins the cast.
This marks the directorial debut of Stuckmann, an American content creator and author who produces YouTube videos about films, gaming and anime. It’s no surprise then that the character of Riley is also a YouTube content creator who is working on a web series called Paranormal Paranoids in the story.
Horror maestro Mike Flanagan, famed for his string of successful Netflix series including The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and Fall of the House of Usher, as well as his film work on Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, Oculus, and Hush, has been announced as the executive producer for the project. He’s also in the spotlight for taking on a ‘radical new’ take on The Exorcist for Blumhouse, reports the Daily Star.
The production team behind the film includes Stuckmann himself, alongside Aaron B. Koontz, Ashleigh Snead, and Cameron Burns. Joining forces with Flanagan in the executive production arena are Trevor Macy, Melinda Nishioka, Adam F. Goldberg, Paul Holbrook, Sean E.DeMott and Tony Killough.
Issuing his fans with the update on Shelby Oaks, Stuckmann revealed on his YouTube channel: “We officially have a distributor. It’s hard to communicate just how monumental this is for an independent film.”
He expressed his profound gratitude, adding: “I am so grateful that a company like Neon has acquired worldwide rights to Shelby Oaks and is beginning to work on a global strategy for the film.”
Neon, which recently released Longlegs, has been lauded for its ingenious marketing tactics, notably for keeping Nic Cage’s face hidden in all trailers for the titular character. This buzz-building approach reaped rewards, as Longlegs raked in a staggering $22.6 million on its debut weekend, marking it as Neon’s most lucrative launch weekend to date.
The theatrical release date for Shelby Oaks is still under wraps. However, the film is set to make its global debut at the Fantasia International Film Festival starting tomorrow, July 18.
Interestingly, Flanagan is expected to be honoured with the prestigious Cheval Noir lifetime achievement award at the festival, an accolade previously bestowed upon renowned filmmakers like John Carpenter and Guillermo del Toro.