What is it about the Hell House LLC franchise that struck the right chord with fans? Fangoria ranked Hell House LLC the 12th scariest found footage movie (after The Blair Witch), and Paste Magazine ranked it fifth. Hell House LLC and The Houses October Built quickly caught the attention of horror fans around the globe, but the latter [seemingly] fizzled out while the former just got its fourth installment. Why is that? Both films tried expanding their universe and only one succeeded. (It should be noted when I interviewed Bobby Roe over two years ago, he said there was a third Houses in production, but that remains to be seen.)
The Houses October Built is the more optimistic of the two, once you know the crew survives the haunt from the first film, it’s pretty clear they’ll survive the haunt from the second, and so on. In contrast, Hell House finds itself to be more cruel and nihilistic. By having a new cast (sans a few talking heads, some cameos, and a story arc in Hell House LLC 2) in each film, they can ramp up the kill count. This does, in turn, make Houses feel more realistic, but Hell House is able to use a paranormal angle to strike more fear into audiences. Two films about haunts told two different ways. But what happens when a franchise spends three films in one location and then upends everything with an origin story in a completely different location? Let’s take a look.
A Change Up in the Typical Hell House LLC Formula
The lore behind Hell House unquestionably gets pretty messy throughout the second and third films, and even with my love for the franchise, it created some burnout. It’s not that the lore felt like it was being retconned or forced, it just came at us too quickly. Instead of doling out tidbits of information, like the first film, the second and third films spend most of the film scaring us and then speed-running its lore. Taking audiences out of The Abaddon Hotel, while still giving us a select bit of the Hell House story was the best move Cognetti could have made. By Hell House III: Lake of Fire, audiences knew the location inside and out. It started to feel stale, though there is something about how Cognetti handled the intimacy built between audiences and the hotel over these three films that kept me engaged.
Part prequel, part new tale, Hell House LLC Origins introduces us to the man behind the clown mask, Patrick Carmichael (Gideon Berger). It could be argued who the real antagonist of this franchise is, some will say Patrick Carmichael, and some will say Andrew Tully (Brian David Tracy). The correct answer is likely Andrew Tully because without Andrew Tully, there’d be no Patrick Carmichael clown ghost haunting the halls of the abandoned Abaddon. That being said, there’s no question about WHO is the scariest protagonist. Can I just say though, stop with the damn clowns! My heart literally cannot take it anymore! You scared me, okay? You win!
A Masterful Use of Set Design Proves Effective
The space between the four walls of The Abaddon Hotel is claustrophobic and atmospherically ripe for terror. Going from the incredibly confined space of the hotel to a sprawling eight-thousand-square-foot mansion is a challenging task. Stephen Cognetti perfectly adapts to the vast setting and still creates an oppressive force with the location alone. This is reinforced by the fact that we don’t see too much of the mansion. We see enough, but Cognetti tries to keep us captive in a handful of rooms. In effect, a paralytic terror sets in on the viewer in a way that left me couch-locked for at least 10 minutes after the credits rolled. Over the past week and a half, I couldn’t enter my living room if there were no lights on.
The majority of Hell House LLC Origins centers around the three main characters: Margot Bentley (Bridget Rose Perrotta), her partner Rebecca Vickers (Destiny Leilani Brown), and Margot’s troubled brother Chase (James Liddell). Limiting the number of on-screen characters was also the right move. Instead of making us jump between three different sets of characters with three different objectives started to bog the franchise down. It’s obvious Stephen Cognetti took the lessons he’d learned from making the first three films to heart. Say what you will about the first three films, but Hell House LLC Origins is technically the most impressive film in the series.
Why Hell House LLC Origins is a Must-Watch
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor is the breath of fresh air this franchise needed. I almost wish Stephen Cognetti held back some of the lore so we could get another film with this storyline. Who knows, maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve. Hell House LLC Origins is beyond effective in every sense. If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ll love it, and if you’ve been burnt out by the franchise, I highly suggest you watch this. Watch this film late at night with the lights off…unless you’re too chicken.
