HOUSE ON EDEN (2025)

New in select theaters from RLJE Films and Shudder!
Directed/Written by Kris Collins.
Check out the trailer here!!

A trio of paranormal investigators/YouTube influencers (writer/director Kris Collins, Celina Myers, Jason-Christopher Mayer) travel to a little-known haunted location known as the House on Eden, where a young girl went missing decades ago. Upon arriving at the house, the investigators relationships begin to fray as strange happenings occur in the periphery.

Are the actors successfully acting like they aren’t acting?
The actors are playing themselves as TikTok influencers and I know this is hypocritical, me being somewhat of a YouTube influencer myself, but films about influencers annoy me. There is quite a bit of mugging for the camera by the trio, as they think much more about what will get them more hits than their own safety. But on top of all of that, there does seem to be more going on under the surface, as HOUSE ON EDEN really gives a behind the scenes of resentments, pressures, and issues that arise in a world that hinges on short clips online. Director/writer Kris Collins does a great job of being the leader of the group, often neglecting to feelings of others. It definitely seems that the house is affecting her and amplifying her brash, gung-ho attitude, but she conveys the increasing intensity of these feelings well. Her co-host Celina Myers serves as fine comic relief and definitely has an over the top attitude that might rub some people wrongly. But she provides much needed comic relief when things get tense. Cameraman Jason-Christopher Mayer gets less to play with, but does a great job being the eyes and ears of the film, but really gets overshadowed by the other two leads. Long story short; these guys do a good job of acting natural, as natural as TikTokkers can be, that is.

Does the footage found seem authentic and untouched by additional production?
HOUSE ON EDEN really impressed me at how authentic it all feels. While I do think that there is some kind of omniscient editing going on as the story switches between the cameras all three are using. This could have been rectified by a simple opening scrawl saying that the following footage was found and edited together by authorities in order to get a clear picture of what happened. HOUSE ON EDEN didn’t have that. Still, I commend this film for not using music to punctuate and prepare the audience for scares. It makes a world of difference when there isn’t the anticipatory synth chord and the scares occur out of the blue. HOUSE ON EDEN takes a page from THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and opens without and title cards or anything, only identifying it is a movie after the final reel runs out, making it a much more authentic watch than most found footage films made today.

Why don’t they just drop the camera and get the hell out of there?
Sometimes this group do drop the camera or forget one is running. But because this is a paranormal investigation there is an intent to film everything. Every trick in the paranormal investigation book is used; glowing balls that illuminate when tapped by the supernatural, radio scanning opening up lines of communication, and EVP recordings of prompts to communicate with the ghosts. While the popularity of those paranormal investigation shows may be passing, HOUSE ON EDEN recreates one well.

Is there an up-nose BLAIR WITCH confessional or a REC-drag away from the camera?
There are a couple of up-noses, but they are not confessionals. But only because the camera person is so scared, they forgot to turn on the camera and clutch onto it for dear life. Thankfully, HOUSE ON EDEN adopts the feel of BLAIR WITCH rather than copying tired iconic scenes from more popular films.

Does anything actually happen? Is the lead in too long and the payoff too short?
There is a nice gradual increase of strange things happening pretty early on in HOUSE ON EDEN. There is a wonderful little moment in the middle when everyone blacks out and wakes up the next day that really brings out the character in each of our players, while deepening the threat. Yes, there’s a rush to the end. But this is definitely not a boring film by a long shot.

Does the film add anything to the subgenre and is it worth watching?
HOUSE ON EDEN doesn’t necessarily add to the genre apart from being a really good found footage film. It is genuinely scary. It all feels real. And the threat, which I am keeping vague on purpose, is a lot of fun. Yes, I’ve seen this type of ending before. But I appreciate the fact that filmmaker Kris Collins has made a terrifying, claustrophobic, and white-knuckle old school scary movie about kids with cameras in the woods and inside of a haunted house. Sometimes, it’s the simple things that work. And HOUSE ON EDEN works all of that well.