Hell House LLC (2015)

Creepy, but it could have been better, 13 October 2019

Found footage horror movie set in an abandoned hotel that some enterprising young people hope to turn into an elaborate Halloween haunted house.  But on opening night, things go horribly wrong and 15 people end up dead. An investigative journalist sets out to uncover the truth of Hell House.  

When Hell House LLC works, it’s incredibly effective.  There are parts of the film that really creeped me out.  If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s clowns. So, when dead-looking clown mannequins start moving mysteriously in the night, it’s uber-creepy to me..  Throw in a basement with Satanic drawings on the wall and old bibles scattered on the floor and I’m ready to hide until it’s all over. The backstory of the hotel and the hotel itself are also pluses for the film.  You get a weird, spooky vibe from the building even before anyone sets foot inside it. Finally, I like the fact that Hell House LLC is really two found footage movies in one. I won’t spoil anything, but the twist at the end worked on me.  

But as my rating would indicate, all is not perfect with Hell House LLC.  I have two chief complaints. First, almost every character involved in the haunted house preparation is as annoying as sin.  The entire time I was watching, I just hoped Paul and Danny would be among the dead. Second, and more importantly, not a single character in the movie displayed an ounce of common sense.  You hear strange things in the night - what do you do? Walk around with a camera and a weak flashlight? Well that’s what these people do. Turn on the damn lights! The lights work - use them.  And after you’ve seen strange things that shouldn’t happen (like a dead-looking clown moving around), do you get out? Not if you’re these lunkheads. The first time I saw some of the happenings they see, I’d be on the first bus out of town.  But because the characters in this movie act without an iota of common sense, they’re like lambs led to slaughter.

Overall, a real mixed bag.  Hell House LLC is creepy enough, but the characters really hurt my enjoyment.  

5/10