Recently, an announcement was made confirming the fourth entry in the found-footage horror Hell House LLC franchise. The film is slated to drop on Shudder in October 2023. As the wait for the next installment begins, now is the perfect time to revisit and reevaluate the microbudget mockumentary that started one of modern independent horror’s most popular running franchises, Hell House LLC.
Directed by filmmaker Stephen Cognetti, and released in 2016 to streaming services, Hell House LLC is a mockumentary-style found-footage horror film, starring a cast of relative unknowns. Despite its shoestring budget and lack of star power, the film was met with overwhelmingly positive critical reception, and an equally ebullient reaction from horror devotees. Featuring a subtle twist on popular found-footage tropes and enigmatic world-building, Hell House LLC garnered a passionate core of fans and launched what has become one of the most considerably well-liked, modern independent horror franchises. In the vein of nostalgic direct-to-video series’ like Wes Craven’s Wishmaster or the later Hellraiser entries, Hell House LLC has become a low-budget cult phenomenon for the streaming era.
What Is Hell House LLC About?
The story of the original Hell House LLC revolves around a documentary crew investigating the mystery surrounding a haunted house production at the abandoned Abaddon Hotel, in a small upstate New York town of the same name. The small crew putting on the haunted house attraction (the titular Hell House LLC) arrives and takes over the dilapidated structure under appropriately cryptic circumstances. Shortly after arrival, they learn about a local legend that tells of former hotel owner, Andrew Tully, who committed suicide shortly after the closure of the hotel. The business was forced to shutter its doors due to Tully’s implicated involvement with the disappearance of several guests and rumors of his leadership role in a satanic cult.
As the Hell House team preps their haunted house attraction, increasingly unnerving supernatural occurrences begin to take place, culminating in the death of fifteen people on opening night. The film wraps with the documentary crew, led by a nefarious shape-shifting spirit, entering the Abaddon themselves. Upon their arrival, they are attacked and dispatched by demonic spirits that spawn from what appears to be a portal to Hell in the Abaddon Hotel’s basement.
Does Hell House LLC Hold Up?
The Hell House LLC film itself is a solid twist on the found-footage formula. The meta-textual element of the documentary film crew proves a fun and intriguing addition to the sub-genre and appropriately ratchets up the tension. The characters within are generally engaging, even when they appear to make inexplicably poor decisions as the narrative progresses. The most successful component (and likely the crux of Hell House LLC’s passionate fandom) is the introduction of original lore that invites mystery and isn’t overtly explained. The microbudget horror does suffer at times from its clear financial constraints. None of the key elements in the film’s climactic moments are shot clearly, and the geography of the hotel itself is muddied. Nonetheless, the scares are mostly legitimately disconcerting and effective.
What Is the Legacy of Hell House LLC?
The Hell House LLC franchise, despite continued powerful fan interest, has shown to be a collection of diminishing returns critically. But its legacy remains important, critical reception notwithstanding. The ambition of a low-budget original horror series, constructing a complex and lore-heavy narrative throughline, is one to be lauded and appreciated. The franchise has done a considerably worthy job of carrying the torch first lit by the straight-to-video horror properties of a bygone era.
With the fourth chapter in the Hell House LLC story on the way, it’s clear that the demand for more exists in spades. As the wait for the forthcoming installment begins, fans can rest assured that Hell House LLC continues to be a worthy and exciting entry into the modern horror canon. Whether the next picture can live up to those same expectations remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain — Hell House LLC or otherwise, more independent horror is an excellent thing.
Check out Hell House LLC and its sequels streaming now on Shudder.
