House on Eden

I think people are being overly critical of this movie. They had something like seven days to film and no budget. Shudder picked it up after it was made, so the creators didn't even have Shudder money when making it.

With those limitations, I saw a lot of promise. The concept turned out to be cool. Like others, I'd have liked to see that explored more and more depth to the horror elements, but I also respect the limits they had.

This is a first time writer/director for sure. But I would definitely watch another movie by them. I really enjoyed all three of the actors. I've loosely followed Kris for a while now, but all comedic things, so I was surprised when someone mentioned a horror found footage by content creators and Kris was a part of it. But good surprised.

This movie is worth a stream.

Holy motion sickness, batman. If unsteady camera work makes you ill, skip this movie. I know they were trying to go for "authentic" found-footage, but they erred on the side of far too much shaky-cam running and it got to the point where I was seasick and honestly baffled (and getting increasingly annoyed) by how much time the cameras were out of focus.

Anyways, we watch as a group of ghost-investigating youtube vloggers head towards some little-known abandoned haunted house they NEVER give any background on, but somehow believe will be their biggest break and best video ever. We are then treated to a pretty classic haunted house story, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

There are some glaringly odd choices which reveal the budget and the makers' lack of experience/ nuance. Such as the vloggers walking to the 'derelict' house on an obviously-just-mowed-and-maintained trail, and the house being absolutely, immaculately clean, with fresh linens and pristine, well cared for, potted flowers; the artistic flop of having all of the characters use huge, bulky cameras with different resolutions instead of their phones; an inability to get the viewers to like and care for the characters; some plot gaps; and a fumbling of the ending typical for this genre.

But there are some genuinely creepy moments and the acting and editing are better than normal for this kind of movie. If this were just a freebie on Prime or found on a random TV channel with completely unknown actors, people would think it was pretty good. But the 'hollywood' hype and expectation for what is, essentially, a self-produced, amateur movie, are likely leading to many finding it disappointing.

So despite the flaws, this slots in as a solid-enough example of its type and a decent option for someone wanting a low-budget, classic-style haunted house type movie to watch.

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! :)

I'm generally not a found-footage girlie, but viewed through the lens of a low-budget indie project, I think it's a pretty fun film. I enjoyed the references to demonology, even though it was pretty surface-level, and some of the less in-your-face scares put a big "oh that's creepy" grin on my face.

Now for my critiques. Kris's character feels the most fleshed out with clear desires and flaws, but the other characters, especially Celina, don't feel quite as realized.

For a House film, I would have liked more time in the house and less time messing around in the woods, especially since basically nothing happens during the first half of the film. I also would have liked a lot more lore and backstory on the house and its past. The convenience store scene especially could have been used at the beginning to add some foreshadowing.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the film as an indie project, and would be interested to see more.

....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.