{"id":113209,"date":"2025-10-31T00:56:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T00:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/113209\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T00:56:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T00:56:07","slug":"hell-house-llc-returns-with-a-format-change-and-plenty-of-frights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/113209\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hell House LLC\u2019 Returns With a Format Change and Plenty of Frights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Across four films, the Hell House LLC series has used found footage<\/a> to investigate the diabolical goings-on in Abaddon, New York, where you\u2019ll find a creepy old hotel, a murder mansion<\/a>, vicious cultists, and an unholy number of camera-toting journalists. The fifth film in Stephen Cognetti<\/a>\u2019s series, Hell House LLC: Lineage, returns to that hellish town for more exploration, but with a big difference this time around: Lineage is not a found-footage film.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a risk, but it makes a lot of sense, allowing Cognetti the freedom to explore Abaddon\u2019s mysteries without framing the movie as a documentary or featuring the shaky, dimly lit footage that\u2019s inextricable from the found-footage aesthetic. Instead, Lineage can make style choices that no other Hell House LLC movie could, including the dream sequences and waking nightmares that plague its main character.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s helpful to have a narrative structure anchoring Lineage, which goes much deeper into the uneasy history of Abaddon that\u2019s established in the previous films. The earlier Hell House LLC movies tended to rely on talking heads to contextualize the unhinged events glimpsed in the recovered footage. Here, it\u2019s happening in real time, and while there are still some moments that feel like exposition dumps, they flow more organically into the story.<\/p>\n

\"LineageDon\u2019t do it! \u00a9 Shudder <\/p>\n

However, though it\u2019s the most technically accomplished of all the Hell House LLC movies, Lineage is not an ideal entry point for newcomers. The first film, which was released in 2015 and is a cautionary tale about hosting a haunted house attraction inside a hotel that\u2019s actually haunted, is the only series entry that works as a standalone.<\/p>\n

Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel (2018) and Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire (2019) are very much intertwined with that first film. Part two follows an investigative team dead-set on finding out the truth about the Halloween haunt tragedy (it doesn\u2019t end well), while part three imagines the hotel\u2014now a destination for thrill-seeking trespassers\u2014will soon be home to Insomnia, an immersive theater production paying homage to Faust (it doesn\u2019t end well).<\/p>\n

Part four, Hell House Origins LLC: The Carmichael Manor (2023), shifted locations out of necessity, both because it was getting ridiculous to assume any sane human would enter the Abaddon Hotel after so much mayhem\u2026 and also because the hotel burned down at the end of Lake of Fire.<\/p>\n

The main character in Origins\u2014which, as the name implies, is as much prequel as it is sequel\u2014is Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta), a web sleuth fascinated with the Carmichaels, the former occupants of a mansion just outside Abaddon that has seen its own array of tragedies. It also has deep ties to the Abaddon Hotel and its cultish mysteries, and Margot, her girlfriend Rebecca (Destiny Leilani Brown), and Margot\u2019s brother Chase (James Liddell) move into the house for a short period to do some hands-on research (it doesn\u2019t end well).<\/p>\n

There was a certain grimy charm to the Abaddon Hotel, whose claustrophobic hallways, hellmouth-encasing basement, and maddening lack of exits proved dangerously alluring to anyone with dreams of viral fame. As one character in Lake of Fire jokes, sort of, \u201cEveryone who enters with a camera barely seems to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The place had an almost sentient energy that exerted a pull on curiosity seekers despite its dangerous track record and a way of playing mind games that another Lake of Fire character dubs \u201cAbaddon eyes.\u201d Characters think they see something, but on closer inspection can\u2019t tell if it was real or not. And viewers can relate. The Hell House LLC films make great use of almost subliminal glimpses of ghosts (or clowns, even worse) popping up unexpectedly in dark corners.<\/p>\n

\"LineageVanessa investigates. \u00a9 Shudder <\/p>\n

But the Carmichael Manor, with its elegant wood accents and floral wallpaper, has a colder, more elegantly sinister vibe. The fourth Hell House LLC film poked into the Carmichael family\u2014in the world of the films, they\u2019re a true crime cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre\u2014but Cognetti also took advantage of the mansion setting to stage a more traditional, if still found footage, haunted-house tale.<\/p>\n

Origins was the scariest Hell House LLC film, at least until Lineage came along.<\/p>\n

At last, a Hell House LLC movie that does not contain a scene where either a character or the viewer is moved to wonder, \u201cHow is someone still filming this?\u201d Lineage picks up with Vanessa Shepard (Elizabeth Vermilyea); in Lake of Fire, she was the Morning Mysteries host given behind-the-scenes access to Insomnia\u2018s pre-production process.<\/p>\n

As already mentioned, that doesn\u2019t end well\u2014though Vanessa survives, barely, and reflects on her experiences in the documentary that frames Lake of Fire\u2018s found footage. In that film, Vanessa stands in for the audience, half in disbelief about the things she\u2019s seeing and hearing and half determined to find out what\u2019s really going on. She\u2019s also the only character to come right out and say, \u201cYou\u2019d think at some point the town would just stop having events here\u201d\u2014an absolutely logical question, albeit one that would mean the end of any more Hell House LLC movies.<\/p>\n

In Lineage, at least, we get a more well-rounded look at Abaddon as a community. There\u2019s a town council that\u2019s seemingly trying to move the town in a positive direction, despite its body count. There\u2019s a drive-in theater. People hang Halloween decorations. And many, many residents are in therapy\u2014including Vanessa, who\u2019s understandably still shaken up about her recent brush with death.<\/p>\n

But Vanessa\u2019s not the only troubled soul in town. As Legacy explores, \u201cAbaddon eyes\u201d have infested the general population, as locals start believing they\u2019re being chased by malevolent spirits. Vanessa\u2019s doctor attributes it to lingering trauma after the deaths of Margot and company in The Carmichael Manor, but we soon learn the ill wind that\u2019s blowing originates even farther in the past.<\/p>\n

\"LineageAlicia reacts. \u00a9 Shudder <\/p>\n

Similar to The Carmichael Manor, Legacy functions as\u00a0both a prequel and a sequel. Vanessa is struggling to find her way; she\u2019s separated from her husband (no great loss, from what little we see of him) and is nursing a not-so-secret drinking problem, an issue especially since she\u2019s become a bar owner after leaving journalism behind.<\/p>\n

So she\u2019s decidedly unenthused to meet Alicia (Searra Sawka), an investigator who\u2019s researching Abaddon\u2019s past. Alicia arrives armed with the trove of vintage photos and notes Margot and Rebecca discovered in part four. Soon, Vanessa begins to realize her distressing dreams\u2014which center on the Carmichael Manor, a place she\u2019s presumably never been\u2014hint there\u2019s something more significant and cosmic going on than just PTSD.<\/p>\n

Hell House LLC: Legacy is not without its flaws. Alicia\u2019s storyline feels underbaked. She\u2019s got a lot of potential, but we never get a sense of who she is or what\u2019s motivating her, especially considering the risks she ends up taking.<\/p>\n

But probably the biggest drawback, at least for a more general audience, is that to understand Legacy\u2019s nuances, you must watch all of the previous films and have a keen memory of their details. You must be a fan already.<\/p>\n

The reveals in Legacy won\u2019t feel as stunning if you don\u2019t remember what the Carmichael family went through (from part four, the series entry that also explains why there are so many damn clowns around), or Vanessa\u2019s time at the Abaddon Hotel (in part three), or the nuggets of information about the series\u2019 main antagonist, cult leader Andrew Tully, going all the way back to part one. Often, there are brief flashbacks to help you remember, which is useful. But to get the full impact, you must be familiar with the series.<\/p>\n

\"LineageThe clown waits. \u00a9 Shudder <\/p>\n

That can be frustrating, though it\u2019s impressive to realize how carefully Cognetti has been seeding this story over the years. But again: you won\u2019t be as impressed if you don\u2019t recognize what\u2019s being referenced.<\/p>\n

You will also need to be excited about the idea of watching more Hell House LLC movies after Lineage, because the door is left wide open for more. (Cognetti confirmed to io9 that Lineage will be his final film in the series<\/a>, though he\u2019s hopeful the story will continue on with another creator.) If you were hoping for a solid conclusion to this saga, you won\u2019t find it here.<\/p>\n

But if you are a diehard fan\u2014and Hell House LLC definitely has a dedicated following, otherwise Shudder wouldn\u2019t keep ordering up new ones\u2014you won\u2019t be disappointed. This movie was made for you. Lineage answers lingering questions, poses new ones, and widens the mystery in ways that feel completely earned, rather than retconned. Also, just to make sure this is clear: it\u2019s got some excellent scares.<\/p>\n

Hell House LLC: Legacy hits Shudder October 30.<\/p>\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel<\/a>, Star Wars<\/a>, and Star Trek<\/a> releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV<\/a>, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Across four films, the Hell House LLC series has used found footage to investigate the diabolical goings-on in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[93,67139,68558,67140,61,60,270,28635,67141],"class_list":{"0":"post-113209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-hell-house-llc","10":"tag-hell-house-llc-origins-the-carmichael-manor","11":"tag-hell-house-llc-lineage","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-movies","15":"tag-shudder","16":"tag-stephen-cognetti"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}