Found footage horror is a trope that is riddled with far more misses than hits. A few stand above the rest, but more often we get left with something like DEVON - an experiment in indulgence that leaves its viewers wondering what they might have done to deserve such a slap-in-the-face.
As access to cameras and editing software has become more prevalent, more and more people are making content. Note I didn’t say “films.” Content creators are the new zeitgeist - a movement of User-Generated-Content that brings your friends and neighbors closer to your face while we all collapse deeper within ourselves. Some of these content creators are breaking the limitations of the phone screen and branching out to the cineplexes, to varying degrees of success.
If you survived the Pandemic then you likely know who Kris Collins is. Perhaps not by name, but you’ve almost certainly seen one of her many characters come across your TikTok feed, YouTube Shorts, or Instagram Reels. Kris rose to fame through TikTok in 2020 with light comedy and relatability as KallMeKris. Like many content creators who rocketed to fame quickly, she began to mingle in creator-circles, forging a friendship with Celina Myers, aka CelinaSpookyBoo. Celina’s content began as dad jokes, evolving into all manner of relatable antics and occasional cringe comedy. These two joined forces with Spooky AF Productions, a legitimate ghost hunting channel along with creators Sam and Colby.
Eventually the idea came to make a film based on these ghost hunting expeditions, mirroring the exploits of a couple of curious content creators armed with cameras and large personalities. Hence the film HOUSE ON EDEN, which releases in theaters on July 25, 2025.
The film follows characters Kris, Celina, and their producer/cameraman Jay as they drive out of their comfort zone on a surprise visit to the unexplored “House on Eden,” which Kris had read about beforehand. The film follows the beats of many found-footage films, featuring blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cryptids in the woods and jump scares in abandoned houses. They bring their toys, a la Ghost Adventures, and we spend much of the film watching them watch their tech and bicker. It helps that the principals are compulsively watchable, as many of us have conditioned ourselves to linger on their content when it comes across our faces.
What HOUSE ON EDEN does well, however, is expand the found footage trope past its limitations by adding a dimension of folk horror. For the reasons of its likeable “stars” and originality in composition (if not in execution), HOUSE ON EDEN is worth checking out for fans of its creators or the respective genres it employs.
I had the chance to speak with Kris, Celina, and Jason a few weeks prior to the film’s release, where we discussed the infusion of folk horror, the cult-like status of their own fame, and the thin line between comedy and horror. Enjoy!
HOUSE OF EDEN is released by SHUDDER and RLJE films in theaters on July 25, 2025 and likely to stream on the horror service of AMC+ soon.
Until next time, take scare!
-McEric, aka Eric McClanahan-
