Naman Shrestha
Written and directed by Chris Stuckmann, ‘Shelby Oaks’ serves as a continuation of the director’s online reality series about the Paranormal Paranoids. Set in the titular town, the supernatural horror movie revolves around the disappearance of a young woman named Riley, who is a member of a group of paranormal investigators called the Paranormal Paranoids. During their investigation of the abandoned town of Shelby Oaks, Riley suddenly goes missing. Her sister, Mia Brennan-Walker, sets foot in the mysterious town in search of her long-lost sister.
Mia’s desperate and obsessive search for her sister takes her down some eerie paths. While she is looking for Riley, she suspects that the imaginary demon her sister told her about several years ago may be the reason for her disappearance. Featuring stellar performances from a talented ensemble cast comprising Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton III, Keith David, Sarah Durn, Derek Mears, Emily Bennett, Charlie Talbert, Robin Bartlett, and Michael Beach, the psychological mystery film takes place in the fictional town of Shelby Oaks, which serves as a haunting presence where evil seems to be lurking.
Shelby Oaks Filming Locations
‘Shelby Oaks’ was shot in its entirety in the state of Ohio, primarily in the Cleveland metropolitan area. A few portions were also filmed in Mansfield, Ohio. In May 2022, principal photography for the horror film finally commenced after the director, Chris Stuckmann, raised enough funds for the production. After nearly a month, the shooting reportedly wrapped up in the first week of June of the same year. Less than three years later, in March 2025, the cast and crew reunited at the sets for reshoots and increased the amount of violence and gore in the final cut, doubling the budget in the process.
Cleveland Metropolitan Area, Ohio
‘Shelby Oaks’ was primarily lensed in the Cleveland Metropolitan Area, Ohio. In particular, a few sequences were filmed at Greenwood Farm, a historic farm at 264 Richmond Road in Richmond Heights. Spanning 17 acres, the estate features a 19th-century barn, a farmhouse and several other historical outbuildings. The cast and crew also visited Chippewa Lake Park, located in the village of Chippewa Lake in Medina County, for the purpose of filming. According to reports, the abandoned amusement park served as a stand-in for the same in the horror film. It was quite popular in the community in the 1960s, but went out of operation in 1978 and has been left deserted since then. Therefore, it served as an ideal spot to showcase the eerie and haunting atmosphere, as well as a heightened sense of dread in the narrative.
Filming was also conducted in the Cleveland Public Library in Cleveland. One of the leading library systems, its main library is located at 325 Superior Avenue. The production team made proper use of its premises to paint the chilling visual canvas of ‘Shelby Oaks.’ In a conversation with Mamas Geeky, Sarah Durn, who plays Riley, offered some insights into the filming process. When asked about the approach director Chris Stuckmann took while creating the found footage sequences, she stated, “It was so fun to shoot the found footage aspects. Chris gave us so much freedom to just play. It felt so organic because it was just me, the other paranormal investigators, and Chris most days. And sometimes Chris’s friend Joe, shout out to Joe. But it was so easy as an actor because you were just doing the thing that you would have done. It wasn’t a huge crew, and there weren’t a bunch of lights. It was so minimal.”
In the same interview, Camille Sullivan, who portrays Mia Brennan-Walker, was asked about her experience of shooting the documentary part of the film. She explained, “Actually, that’s a pretty comfortable place to be as far as acting goes. You’ve got your one spot that you just sit in. And then it’s real, like, if I was giving an interview, you’re just talking. That’s all you have to do, and the emotion comes up like it does in an interview. It’s one of the most straightforward pieces of it for me.”
Mansfield, Ohio
For the purpose of shooting, the production team of ‘Shelby Oaks’ also traveled outside the Cleveland metropolitan area and set up camp in the city of Mansfield. In particular, they utilized the premise of a famous production location — The Ohio State Reformatory — which features in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘Air Force One.’ Situated at 100 Reformatory Road in Mansfield, the historic prison opened in 1886 and was shut down after more than a century in 1990. The filming unit captured several pivotal sequences both outdoors and inside the facility, mostly at night.
The cast and crew members had a difficult time shooting scenes that involved a few dogs. After having a tough time with them, they imported dogs from Siberia, Russia, and Sweden for an entire day to shoot in a green-screen environment. During an interview with Hollywood Reporter, the director, Chris Stuckmann, opened up about his experience of shooting with dogs. He stated, “As I learned shooting an indie movie, there’s a reason people say, ‘Don’t shoot with kids, and don’t shoot with animals.’ It just takes so much time. To get one close-up of a dog takes quadruple the amount of time it takes to get a close-up of an adult person. And on an indie film, when you literally do not have budget for overtime, that is the type of thing that can be detrimental to a production.”
