- Release year: 2023
- Director: Stephen Cognetti.
- Producer: Joe Bandelli.
- Screenplay by: Stephen Cognetti.
- Cinematography by: Josh Layton.
Synopsis: three people go into a haunted house and get exactly what they were looking for.
Shotgun Commentary: the most terrifying sequel of the Hell House LLC saga.
Review
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichel Manor brings yet a new story for the Hell House LLC collection. After the ending of Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire (2019), a change in location was necessary to keep the story alive, and what better way to upgrade than a clean manor in exchange for the dingy, old hotel.
The mess and the trigger
The story continues to follow the usual structure, this time, with a group of three curious sleuths who are actively looking for ghosts for their website. More accurately, one sleuth, and two people who love her but could not care less about hauntings. You might already be thinking about it, but yes, there is definitely a pattern in this saga of reckless people diving head first into trouble with a group of brainless followers going after them despite all warnings and against all logic.
For this particular instalment, the driving force of disaster is a woman named Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta). She is obsessed with solving the unsolved as a result of a traumatic experience in her childhood. As a result, she goes around sleeping in “haunted” properties in search for the real deal. And the real deal she finds. Margot might be among the most self-centred characters of the whole franchise, making her annoying from early on in the film, and decidedly loathsome after you hit the one-hour mark.
The enabler and the victim
Her girlfriend and enabler Rebecca (Destiny Leilani Brown) is not too far behind in the scale of obnoxious characters. She has one of the most overused personalities for horror: the hot-and-cold.
She is grumpy and prejudiced against the whole situation until she sees the house the WiFi, and then everything is perfect, she would follow her girlfriend to the ends of the earth. Then, strange occurrences take place, and her attitude does yet another 180º, wanting (understandably) to get the hell out of dodge. A second later, Margot says she doesn’t want to leave for one reason or another, and Rebecca changes her mind yet again… This goes on throughout the whole film, becoming so tedious that you begin to root for the ghosts, the creepy cult, or even a meteor if it will put an end to the endless loop.
Last but not least, there is Chase (James Liddell), Margot’s unstable brother. Chase is, by far, the most likeable of the trio. Now only does he not give you any reason to suspect that he might be relapsing, but he actually tries to get everyone out several times. His great personality is only overshadowed by an even better quality: he is the only character in the whole saga that actually intends to attack the evil ghosts rather than just yell and wait to be killed. Whether that is actually useful or not, you’ll find out if you watch the feature.
Final thoughts
Annoying characters with no sense of self-preservation aside, the story is actually a lot of fun. If you consider the definition of fun as “so stressful I almost pull a tendon from cramping so much” (true story). The use of doorframes and corridors as spacial sources of distress never gets old, and it is definitely a step up from the classic basement setting that the franchise relied upon so heavily. Overall, there is a big step-up in visual quality, and the new setting is the perfect location to explore it.
All in all, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor might have the worst characters, but it has one of the best stories of the whole franchise. The ghosts inside the house are probably the creepiest assembly so far, and the spacial change is a fantastic choice. If you want a proper chilling experience, go to SHUDDER and get to watching!
Advice to take from this movie:
- Sometimes a relationship just needs to die, and that’s fine.
- Your sibling might have a death wish, but you don’t have to have it too.
- If your gut is telling to get the hell out of somewhere, DO.
What’s your take? Have you watched Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀