House on Eden

Ugh, when the movie started and it dawned on me that this was a 'found garbage' type of movie, I have to admit that my expectations went from slim to none. Sure, I had never even heard about "House on Eden" prior to sitting down to watching it. And had I known that it was a 'found garbage' subgenre of horror movie, I would not even have picked it up. I absolutely loathe this subgenre of horror.

Movies that are written by, directed by and starring the one and same person tends to be questionable affairs. And "House on Eden" was one such movie, and to top it off, it was also a 'found garbage' movie. So yeah, things were definitely not stacked in favor of the movie.

Writer Kris Collins, whom also directed the movie and starred in the movie, put together a pretty straightforward script and storyline. It was somewhat on the generic and stale side, though.

Needless to say that I was, of course, not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. The acting performances in the movie were actually fair.

The movie's cover was actually the best thing about the ordeal, and it over-sold the movie by a landslide.

There are far better horror movies out there, even if you enjoy these pointless 'found garbage' type of movies.

My rating of writer and director Kris Collins's 2025 movie "House on Eden" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

....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.

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.

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.

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.