Neon acquires upcoming debut “Shelby Oaks” from YouTube film critic Chris Stuckmann

Neon has acquired the worldwide rights to Shelby Oaksthe debut feature of filmmaker and popular YouTube film critic Chris Stuckmann. The acquisition follows Neon’s recent success with Osgood Perkins’ Long legs.

Shelby Oaksa crossover between documentary and found footage film, is set to have its world premiere on Saturday at the Fantasia Festival. Neon will organize the theatrical release in the US and oversee international distribution.

The main roles in the film are played by Camille Sullivan (Hunter Hunter), Brendan Sexton III (Don’t breathe 2) and Sarah Durn (The song of the crayfish). The story centers on Mia (Sullivan), who is desperately searching for her sister Riley (Durn), who mysteriously disappeared during the final recording of their investigative series. Paranormal ParanoidsThe project gained significant attention and financial support through a Kickstarter campaign in 2022 that raised $1.4 million, making it the most funded horror film on the platform.

Chris Stuckmann, known for his reviews of films, video games, anime and TV on YouTube, directed and wrote Shelby OaksHe is also a successful author with works such as The film fan’s bucket list: The 50 films of the 2000s that you must see before you die. The film was produced by Aaron B. Koontz, Ashleigh Snead and Cameron Burns for Paper Street Pictures. Executive producers include Trevor Macy and Melinda Nishioka for Intrepid Pictures, and horror veteran Mike Flanagan, Adam F. Goldberg, Paul Holbrook, Sean E. DeMott and Tony Killough.

Jason Wald, Neon’s vice president of acquisitions and production, negotiated the deal with Aaron B. Koontz, CEO of Paper Street Pictures, who represented the filmmakers.

In addition to Shelby OaksNeon recently acquired the North American rights to Mohammad Rasoulof’s The seed of the holy figUS rights to Osgood Perkins’ The monkey And goalkeeperas well as the North American rights to Julia Ducournau’s alpha And The unknown by Arthur Harari. The production company and the distributor also had the rights to Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning Anorawhich means her fifth consecutive win of the Palme d’Or at Cannes.