House on Eden (2025) Movie Review - Actually Quite Enjoyable

Welcome to Knockout Horror. If you are new here, we review horror movies, explain horror movie endings, and put out horror movie ranking lists. So, today we are checking out a found footage horror movie that I had heard a little about but didn’t actually know any of the background of – House on Eden (2025).

Paranormal Found Footage

I went into this movie completely blind, as I do with the majority of the films I watch and review. I had heard some vague rumblings about House on Eden from the found footage community. But I didn’t really understand why it was being singled out against a whole cluster of similarly low budget found footage flicks.

I didn’t look into it because that kind of goes against my ethos on this site. I like to review films with as little information and preformulated opinions as possible.

The story is pretty simple and fairly standard for the genre. Three paranormal investigator YouTubers head deep into the woods to find a secluded home. Believing that it is haunted, they head inside in the hopes of finding some spooky stuff to make a few videos on. Little realising that they are about to get a lot more than they bargained for.

Again, fairly typical stuff. The movie starts out with our protagonists road tripping to their destination before hitting a quick hike through the woods. The rest of the film is your standard haunted house fare with a few paranormal investigation scenes scattered in and the occasional scare.

The whole YouTuber, influencer, theme is growing when it comes to found footage. Something which is evident in films like Chateau and #MissingCouple. Both of which I quite enjoyed. This is where things with House On Eden get a bit more interesting, though.

An Interesting Backstory

You are going to have to forgive me here. I’m no boomer but I really don’t do TikTok. I spend a lot of time on YouTube but the things I watch are spread over a pretty narrow range.

It’s mainly NFL related videos, gaming stuff, car videos, and a few specific interest related topics. I’m not the most worldly wise person when it comes to influencers and the like.

The two stars of House on Eden, Kris Collins and Celina Myers are absolutely enormous social media personalities. And when I say enormous, I mean followings the size of decently sized countries. KallMeKris and CelinaSpookyBoo share a collective 70+ million TikTok followers. That’s just insane!

It goes without saying that these are two tremendously talented women. It also goes without saying that their popularity is, potentially, clouding the way a lot of people look at this film. I mean, I can’t shake the feeling that a lot of viewers are framing it like some sort of big budget production rather than a tiny, DIY, ultra low budget, passion project.

Let’s Be Honest

We need to be honest when it comes to House On Eden. Despite the people who made it being tremendously successful, this is about as DIY as they come. Seven days of filming and virtually no budget. Kris Collins didn’t need to write, direct, fund, and star in this movie for anyone’s approval.

I can only imagine that she swims in a sea of money, ala Scrooge McDuck, thanks to her social media presence. She didn’t need to do this. In fact, she probably put herself in the crosshairs of overly harsh critics just by making this film.

This is just a passion project from a group of people who, I imagine, really love horror. That’s the way I am going to look at it. No different from how I reviewed Life of Belle (which I really liked) and The Texas Witch. I always grade found footage on a curve and I am going to look at this movie in exactly the same way.

Obviously Not Perfect

So let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way with first. Is it a bit derivative? Yes, it is. It is found footage horror, there hasn’t been an original found footage horror in about a decade. It’s just the nature of the genre. Can it be overly reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project? See my previous answer.

Does it feel a little bit messy in parts? It does! Like many low budget found footage horror movies, it probably could have benefited from some tighter editing, a little more structure, and better pacing. The crew’s inexperience is evident on occasion.

House on Eden isn’t a perfect film. It has a decent number of flaws but no more than I would expect from any other first time director. It is guilty of some of the typical found footage related sins. Particularly the shaky cam which is a bit over the top in parts. Some of the dialogue clashes a bit, at times, and I really feel like we could have used a few more scares during the early parts of the movie.

With that being said, it’s what you might expect for ultra low budget found footage horror. The story has been done before, the social media influencer stuff is getting a bit overly familiar, it is fairly predictable, and the location isn’t quite as spooky as I had hoped for. There are moments where this film shines, though, and shows a lot of promise.

Lots of Promise

The first positive is definitely the confidence and charisma of both Kris and Celina. Terrible acting is one of the things that will instantly drag low budget found footage down. That’s not a problem at all, here. Both ladies are fantastic; they are both ultra confident on camera and they actually enunciate which is something that is sorely missing from low budget movies. They know how to talk to a camera and that goes extremely far when it comes to this type of format.

Chemistry between the characters is great, they are obviously friends in real life. Celina’s “shit shack” is a stroke of genius for anyone who wants to camp but is a shy toiler user. I really enjoyed the variety of different cameras used and I thought the 8mm shots were a great inclusion. To be honest, I think I nerded out over that a little bit and probably annoyed my fiancée.

I felt a little bit sorry for Kris with how much Jay was shoving the camera in her ass. At least she has been hitting those squats and lunges, though; that’s all I will say about that. There’s some decent zingers here and there and the character’s interactions made me chuckle a few times.

The story had a defined beginning, middle, and an end which is more than can be said for a lot of low budget found footage. The backstory behind the haunting was interesting enough and I thought the final scenes worked quite well. Kudos to them for leaning into the shock factor. You will know what I mean when you watch. The movie’s only 78 minutes long, as well, which is a great length for a horror.

Understanding who this movie is aimed at will go someway to appreciating it a little more. This is squarely targeted at people who love YouTube paranormal investigations. When it comes to that type of thing, they have nailed it. Fans of those types of videos will find a lot to enjoy.

Should You Watch House On Eden?

I think if you go in with your expectations correctly aligned, you might enjoy House on Eden. Don’t expect a big budget horror movie purely because the makers are successful social media personalities. This is an ultra low budget passion project from people who love horror. From that perspective, House of Eden is actually enjoyable. Sure, it has its flaws and is fairly derivative but fans of YouTube style paranormal content should find plenty to enjoy.

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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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