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Before we get into the spoilers, let us have ourselves a little chat about what all four films had in common that worked to their benefit, their detriment, and their enjoyability. Hell House LLC offers much in the way of horror, much of which is executed extremely well.

Each film kicks off with a review of the horror, instantly drawing you into the mystery, making you aware in no uncertain terms that terrible things happened and it is the enterprise of the current group of explorers to unravel the mystery and provide closure to the story. After this brief, yet intense opening, the stories begin.

Each film, after the bloody introductions, move into the usual sort of character introductions and narrative setup. You learn how and why everything is being recorded, and by whom. You quickly discern who your favorites are. If anyone is to survive, you know who you want to survive; and if everyone dies, you know who you’ll be rooting for to make it as far as possible, and hopefully die quickly and painlessly.

Each film performs phenomenally where creepiness is concerned. The horror never comes at you all at once. It builds. A misplaced mannequin here, a slight turn of the head there. There were only two clowns in the inventory, why are there three here? Everything is fine until the first moment where a character exclaims “What the fuck?” From that point on, the water starts to boil and things begin heating up. And then?

Everybody dies.

Just kidding. Not everybody. This is, however, where the similarities end.

Continued after the break

Warning: spoilers ahead

The first film, Hell House LLC, is pretty straightforward found footage haunted murder trope. The small staff goes in, things start getting spooky, and the result is absolute bedlam, mayhem, and murder by clowns, or ghosts, or people inhabited by clowns or ghosts, or both. Who knows? It’s the first film, there’s no background provided on the place, just some people dying on opening night. No big deal, and not too deep.

We here at the Calamity believe this straightforward approach is what makes this first film incredibly strong. These people don’t know any better. Allegedly. This gets a little muddled, but is inconsequential to the more pressing issue of a presence terrorizing the staff, and later the patrons on opening night. If you only watch one Hell House LLC entry, make it this one.

The second film follows closely in the mockumentary style of the first, but with the addition of a newscast, which cheapens the whole effect, if cheapen can be used here in any meaningful sense, given the low budget of the film. The acting was subpar in some cases, and they simply could not help themselves but include a villain’s soliloquy which felt very much out of place. Still, these things provide some backstory to the origins of the Abaddon Hotel, even if the execution is less than stellar. As a whole, the film is a resounding okay, but worthwhile for the lore it provides if you’re really into that sort of thing.

The third film follows the first in terms of narrative: here we are again, watching yet another group claim to transform the Abaddon Hotel into an attraction worthy of patronage, despite its malevolent history. The primary difference is the viewpoint. In the first film, a documentary crew recovered the footage created by Hell House LLC, so we see what happened in retrospect. In this film, we are seeing the attraction, Insomnia, being built in realtime. Things start going south, we’re fed bits and pieces of lore alongside background of the Insomnia founder, and then everything goes to hell just like the first two except …

Except this third film does not follow in the footsteps of its predecessors. The ending is unexpected and a little bizarre. This is not the dreary ending we find in the other films; everyone dies, yes, but then they’re saved from eternal torment? What is this? We’ll save the details for your, hmm, appreciation, in the case you haven’t seen this film prior to reading this review. We will, however, say that it sticks out, and not in a good way, as it just does not feel like Hell House. Was it ultimately the end goal of the series to close down the hotel in such fashion? It is far too contrived if so.

Continued after the break

We finally arrive to the fourth film. The setting is different, the story is different, but ties are drawn to the Abaddon Hotel and the Carmichael Manor over the course of the film. The explorers uncover the history of cult behind the horror at the Abaddon Hotel, while the horror in the manor makes itself known. In some ways, this film is on par with the terror of the first: slow build, rising intensity, excellent creepy factor. In other ways, it falls short of the grandeur of the first: we’re not drawn down into the horror as deeply and with as much fervor as the Abaddon Hotel provided. Regardless, the mystery of the entire franchise makes this film worth the watch, particularly if you are a lore goblin, as most of us are, here at the Calamity.

If you are fan of found footage, then this series is an absolute must watch, despite any drawbacks described above. In whole, it is a fun ride, the creepiness is well-tuned, and we do love ourselves that sweet sweet lore. If found footage is not your cup of tea, the first film is still a great watch, and you can forego the rest of it.

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