House on Eden

House on Eden isn't the worst found footage film I've seen, but it's nowhere near the best. Ambitious but hollow.

House on Eden is the latest entry into the increasingly crowded found footage subgenre and another notable step in the growing trend of YouTubers crossing into feature filmmaking. This time it's Kris Collins (better known as KallMeKris), teaming up with fellow digital star Celina Myers (CelinaSpookyBoo) in a haunted house setup that blends The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, and the kind of chaotic energy you might expect from content creators who built their names on short-form, personality-driven videos.

To her credit, Kris Collins doesn't just appear in the film-she wrote and directed it as well. Unlike other creators who leave their YouTube personas behind (like Chris Stuckmann or the Philippou brothers), Collins tries to fuse her online presence with the cinematic experience. It's a bold move, but unfortunately, the final result is more of a jumbled collision than a successful fusion.

The core premise, paranormal investigators documenting a malevolent presence inside an abandoned house using a mix of Super 8mm, Hi-8, and modern digital cameras has its appeal. The use of varying formats is visually interesting at times, and when it works, it evokes an eerie, fragmented sense of dread.

But Then There's the Execution. The first act spends far too long in the woods with jittery, poorly framed shots and confusing direction. Sure, the characters are supposed to be content creators, but shaky cam does not equal immersive. Instead of drawing us into their world, it just makes it hard to follow what's happening. Bad angles, awkward cuts, and aimless dialogue slow the pacing to a crawl.

The biggest problem House on Eden faces-by far-is its lack of likeable or compelling characters. For a film so focused on "real" personalities, it's bizarre how hollow the leads feel. I didn't care if they made it out. I didn't care if they didn't. There's no investment and there for there is no tension built.

As a fellow YouTuber prepping to make the leap into filmmaking myself, I'll say this, my hat's off to Kris and Celina. This kind of project is hard. Most people just talk about making a movie... they did it. And that deserves respect. There's ambition here. There's effort. There's even the seed of a great idea. But in the end, House on Eden feels like a first draft of something that needed a clearer vision, better character work, and more time in the editing room.

....don't do it. The movie has no good reason to exist. Thinking witty banter and charm would get these three through any half baked concept I went to the theater and was gravely disappointed in how pointless the movie could be. It's a ghost hunters/Blair Witch Project mash up with KallMeKris and Celina and Jason yucking it up in the woods. Jason's male gazing Kris with his cam and.....Kris finds a house in the middle of nowhere that appears to be lived in but no one is there so it MUST be haunted.

Nothing of interest happens in the movie. Ghost Hunters, a show I don't even like would be better than this. The movie comes across as having unscripted dialogue for the most part as there is a threadbare plot creeping along. It does come to a wordless, silent, suspense-free head at the end. While I like her comedic short form content, Collins displays no ability for feature narrative work with this movie.

While there may have been a point intended, it is lost on the audience for having to endure the meandering banter back and forth. At least the movie likely cost less than a million to make. I don't think it'll turn a large profit theatrically.

This does not meet the standard of a horror movie. It is not scary and doesn't even seem like it wants to scare, set a creepy tone, or even be an interesting paranormal investigation piece.

Found footage movies generally tend to suck in my opinion. The formula is the same which is one step above reality tv. I'll admit the Blair Witch in 1999 was kind of spooky and had a decent premise to it. Here we have something that mashed every found footage horror movie you've ever seen. There's a cult in there somewhere connected to a strange spooky house and it's out in the secluded area of the universe. Sorta like a forest this one heavily borrowed from the 1999 movie and I even recognize a few other stolen situations from other horror movies. The movie starts out pretty decent. A blogger is blogging her experience in the haunted house of Eden. There are some spooky noises and a few jump scares until the second half where it becomes a letdown. The ending in these movies are setting you up for the big reveal these movies are known for. Here, it's almost like folks saw those boring A24 movies and put together a climax. Anyhow, this one is supposed to be headed for shudder soon which is better than dropping $12.

I hate writing this because I love these two women, but I could not get into this movie. The writing wasn't bad, it was just a bit juvenile and cheesy in many places, especially the beginning. I see what they were going for here, but it wasn't executed well. The hide-and-seek part was really weird.

And then it just goes downhill further. No memorable jump scares or spooky moments, and the ending has been done so many times already. It felt very Paranormal Activity.

Honestly, I could see them nailing a comedy/horror. Something like Dale and Tucker VS Evil or Army of Darkness. I want Kris to keep at it. Very creative person. Just needs to focus on what she's good at, which is comedy, and then fuse that with your interest in horror.

Don't give up!

Had me til the end. Love a good scare that doesn't need nudity to sell it. For me, it kills the entire thing. (I grew up watching the scaries w my mom & like to do the same w my kids, won't with nudity in it :-/ ) Hope the next one leaves this out. They have so much talent, no need to sell your bodies!!! One of my favorite things about watching Kris on YouTube is - she captivating AND modest! It's a whole vibe. She literally doesn't need to even show a shoulder - not a lot of women can say that. & she's always trying to make her Mom / family proud. "My Mom sent me this one too, so thanks Mom!" <3 Don't lose all that. Not a bad movie, just don't lose you in trying to "make it." Keep it for your hubby ;) ;) You're a rare one! :)