‘House on Eden’ VOD Review
Stars: Kris Collins, Celina Myers, Jason-Christopher Mayer, Carrie Kidd, Barb Thomas | Written and Directed by Kris Collins
There’s a growing trend of YouTubers stepping behind the camera and into the director’s chair, and House on Eden is the latest example. Written, directed, produced by, and starring Kris Collins, the film sees Collins and two regular collaborators playing fictionalised versions of themselves in a found-footage horror that leans heavily on their online personas. The catch? If, like me, you’re not already familiar with who these people are, the film does very little to help you get up to speed.
The setup follows three social-media paranormal investigators heading off to an undocumented, remote house that promises unseen horrors and potential viral gold. Once inside, they conduct a series of spirit-communication experiments as the atmosphere slowly tightens and hints of cultish, vaguely biblical menace begin to surface. To the film’s credit, House on Eden does occasionally show restraint, favouring slow-burn unease over constant jump scares, and there are moments where it genuinely holds its nerve and builds a decent sense of dread.
Technically, the film is also more polished than your average found-footage effort. The camera work is relatively steady, the editing slick, and the multiple viewpoints mean it often feels closer to a traditionally shot horror film than a scrappy camcorder nightmare. There’s at least a plausible reason for all the cameras too, given the characters’ influencer background, which helps maintain some internal logic.
Unfortunately, that goodwill quickly erodes thanks to a weak first act. The film assumes you already know – and like – these personalities, offering no context for their channels or prior work. Instead, we’re thrown straight into a barrage of loud, abrasive behaviour that makes the trio feel vapid and obnoxious rather than engaging. The logic of the setup doesn’t fare much better either: an “undocumented” house somehow discovered via online forums, a clearly well-kept property casually dismissed as abandoned, and a lot of hand-waving where proper groundwork should be.
Once the investigation kicks in, the film settles into very familiar found-footage territory, rarely doing anything to distinguish itself from countless genre peers. Some of the more overt supernatural moments also feel awkwardly staged, bordering on pantomime, with suspiciously convenient camera framing that undermines any sense of authenticity.
In the end, House on Eden is watchable but forgettable. There are hints of atmosphere and a decent technical sheen, but the misjudged setup and generic execution drag it down. Die-hard found-footage fans might find enough here to justify a look, but for everyone else, this is a slightly below-average effort.
** 2/5
House on Eden is on digital platforms now.
