House on Eden (dir. Kris Collins)

By: Dave Hughes

Found footage is one of the most divisive sub-genres of horror. It began with Cannibal Holocaust in 1980, and became more mainstream with The Blair Witch Project in 1999. Since then, countless filmmakers have tried their hand at the genre with mixed results. Some films have developed cult following where others faded fast. The latest to throw its hat in the ring is House on Eden directed by Kris Collins (Ginormo). Although House on Eden features the usual abandoned location and handheld camerawork that is a staple of found footage, it is a film with its share of struggles and lack of care for its leads.

House on Eden stars TikTok personalities Kris Collins and Celina Myers as paranormal investigators who explore an abandoned house deep in the woods. The setup will be familiar for horror fans with a haunted location and overzealous investigators who do not know when to call it quits. As the team goes further inside, their equipment begins to fail and strange noises come from the walls. This house and its past clearly hold more than the investigators expected. 

Found footage lives or dies based on  how well it balances realism with watchability. In House of Eden the first 25 minutes struggle with that crucial balance. As the characters move through the woods, the camera shakes and turns so aggressively that it’s hard to stay oriented. The viewer is often still trying to figure out where they are while the characters are reacting to something off screen. It’s disorienting in a way that breaks the tension instead of building it. 

There is an attempt at mythology in House of Eden centered around the house’s past. This isn’t anything new to the genre but when done correctly, it can raise tension and deepen the fear. Movies like [REC] (2007) and Hell House LLC (2015) use backstory effectively to deepen the fear while not overexplaining. In House on Eden the mythology is mentioned and lightly explored but it is not deep enough to add to the tension. It feels like a checkbox more than a real source of suspense which leaves the scares unearned and setting hollow.  

House of Eden’s biggest misstep is the lack of care for its characters. None of the three leads are likeable or compelling, and the film does little to make the audience invested in what they are experiencing. Horror works best when the audience shares the fear with the characters, but here that element is missing. It could be due to the 77 minute runtime of the film, but the tension falls flat as a result the scares just feel like noise. 

Director and writer Kris Collins clearly knows her horror.  There are several shots throughout the film that have been inspired by genre staples and one scene late in the film that will especially entertain fans of The Blair Witch Project. However, the narrative structure she chooses is disjointed, making it hard to pin down what the film is trying to achieve. The pacing is oftentimes rushed with a short runtime however it impacts the moments of unease felt by the audience. The result is a film that constantly pulls in different directions, with tension that never fully takes hold and a story that feels scattered by the end. 

Target Score: 2/10 House on Eden falls flat in areas of character development which drains the film of any real tension. While Collins was inspired by found footage films that came before, that influence is not enough without the emotional impact and character development witnessed on screen.