Everyone’s entitled to at least one good scare on Halloween, but writer/director Stephen Cognetti’s Hell House LLC found footage franchise is filled with them. Even better is that they all take place in and around Halloween. Now four films deep, with the most recent Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor arriving on Shudder this week, the franchise’s expansive mythology is only matched by its dedication to crafting found footage terror.
Whether Cognetti is layering in subtle background gags meant to quietly induce chills or delivering more visceral jolts through direct counters, these are the four scariest moments.
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor – Margaret Carmichael Plays Peek-A-Boo
Poor Chase’s (James Liddell) room is down the hall and isolated from his sister’s room, leaving him more vulnerable to the eerie supernatural happenings at the Carmichael Manor. That makes him the first to encounter the playful yet sinister ghosts lurking about, including Margaret Carmichael. While Chase is investigating strange happenings at night, down a dark, empty corridor, he’s greeted by a mysterious hand gripping the wall and seemingly creeping around the corner. It gives way to one creepy masked specter, playing peek-a-boo and attempting to lure him further into the dark. This scare highlights what the Hell House LLC franchise excels at, layering in subtle scares that linger, allowing them to slowly wash over the viewer until danger alarms register far too late.
Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel – Ouija Summons
This late scare comes when Brock Davies (Kyle Ingleman) and his cameraman enter the Abaddon for a paranormal investigation, specifically seeking answers from the ghost of the hotel’s owner, Andrew Tully, who committed suicide along with his cult followers. Brock creates a makeshift Ouija to make contact with Tully and, through clever pan and scan camera work, discovers he’s summoned a captive audience. What makes this scare so effective is that, at first, Brock seems unimpressed with the sudden influx of bodies that fill the room. This pays off in a subsequent scene that sees Brock make a second attempt, only to summon a rather lively and curious ghost girl eager to get acquainted. The first scene ends with a minor scare that lulls the audience into suspecting the shock has passed. The second takes advantage by delivering a far more potent chill.
Hell House LLC – Night Visitor
A Halloween haunt crew picks the empty Abaddon Hotel for their latest seasonal attraction and moves in to get it ready in time. Naturally, they don’t realize it’s been uninhabited for a reason, and the hotel’s spooky denizens waste no time welcoming their new tenants. One of the most startling moments of this creepfest is when one of the members awakens in the middle of the night by a strange sound. He turns on the light, unaware that a ghost has been sitting in the dark, watching him. When he notices her, he turns the light off and buries himself under the covers. Not even safety blankets can ward away the entity; the ghoulish night visitor finds him anyway.
All Four Films – The Freaking Clowns, Man
There’s no shortage of compelling, spine-tingling scares in the franchise, thanks to those damn clowns. From the original to The Carmichael Manor, the familiar clown mannequins took on a life of their own. They became irrevocably intertwined with the horror and lore of the Abaddon Hotel and beyond. Cognetti smartly keeps it simple; the clowns rarely move on screen, which adds to their terrifying presence. It’s the anticipation that they’re patiently waiting to close in around their prey that instantly instills tension and dread. If stairs are involved or they’re blocking an exit? Forget it; you’re doomed. From the first time they appear in Hell House LLC, popping up in places they couldn’t have on their own, those clowns continue to hold us tight in the grip of fear. The clowns’ demonic game of “Red Light, Green Light” induces coulrophobia.
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