House on Eden

It's definitely not "bad" bad, but it's not good either.

As several have said it had potential (that it did not reach) and feels like someone's high school project.

I really like found footage and this one borrows a bit too heavily from Blair Witch and Hell House IV in the settings and character interactions. The severely shaky cam in parts is a big distraction.

If you're a fan of these folks from their other things, perhaps you would enjoy this more. I don't follow them at all so maybe some of it was missing for me.

I gather it was filmed in a week on a small budget and I think one has to appreciate that.

Even though I found the end lacking, still a better finish than The Substance.

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.

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!

It's really not terrible, and something like this has potential. I just wish we got to see/learn more of the interesting parts, and less Kris being rude to everyone. The movie really seemed like it was 3/4 wandering in the woods and the other 1/4 was the story. This honestly left me with more questions than interest.. Just a little more story and I would have been pleasantly surprised but imo it fell flat. Not a failure though, the vfx were cool, I like the concept of found footage, Celina was properly spooky and I'm glad they made a film(maybe it was just over hyped for me)

Pleasantly surprised. I knew the actors were content creators, but I'd only seen short clips here and there. I liked Kris in the Smosh Reddit episode, so I decided to check out the movie. The acting felt really natural, and I felt like I was along for the ride with 3 friends.

There were three solid jump scares that actually got me good but I do wish we got more background on the setting lore. My biggest issue was the overuse of handheld camera shots at the beginning. The constant motion started to give me a headache so I had to close my eyes.

Still, for a first-time writer and director, this was a fun and impressive debut. You can tell she has some interesting ideas.