thewatcherreviews

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[thewatcherreviews]

Hell House LLC (Spoiler-free review)

TL;DR

Movie Warnings: Sexual harassment (A male character uncomfortably pursues a female character in a few scenes, she is implied to be uncomfortable)

IMDb rating: 6.4/10

My rating: 8/10

Worth it?: Yes!

Full and SPOILER-FREE review under the cut

I have always had a soft spot for found footage horror. Creep was one of my first horror movies, and one of (if not the first) that I liked. I wanted to watch Hell House LLC the moment I saw it- I like campy haunt attractions and found footage. It's the kind of movie I should've jumped on the moment I saw it- and I didn't. I neglected to watch it until I signed up for Tubi and saw it there.

Hell House is a mockumentary about a group of friends (or coworkers) who make haunted houses every year. This year, they're making a haunt in an abandoned hotel in the town of Abbadon (no, it's not worrying that it's named after a demon- I promise). In the beginning of the movie, we see news footage telling us that on opening night, 15 people died, including most of the haunt crew. The rest of the movie is mostly camera footage documenting the setup of the haunt and their stay in the abandoned hotel. Things start to go wrong- props begin moving when they're not looking and they discover that the basement has a pentagram drawn on the wall and a bible sitting on the floor. Then they hear a rumor from an actor who lives in the area. The movie continues to hint that something bad happened on opening night, and the police are hiding what really went down.

I went into Hell House with relatively low expectations. Having three sequels doesn't make it a good series. The plot is cliche. I was very pleasantly surprised by it. The acting and effects were great, the dialogue felt natural, it felt very real. The characters really felt like a group of friends messing around. The clips were connected enough to have a clear story, but not so connected that it broke the immersion that comes with found footage.

I wouldn't say it's a particularly scary movie. There's a couple moments that might startle the weak-hearted, but it's not in-your-face gore or corny jumpscares. It's relatively subtle, like a scary figure in the back of a shot, or turning a corner and something is there that isn't supposed to be there. It does a decent job of building up action, working its way from a mundane home video to something much more freaky.

One of the few reasons that I took points off was... the characters. I didn't like the characters. I either found them annoying, or they were extremely forgettable. A few of them also acted a little strangely towards the two female characters and it's visibly uncomfortable, but I think it's added in to feel more like real guys with only two women in their group. It is unfortunate, but it is realistic. The other reason I took away points was because it was very predictable. There's not much I can say, but I knew what was happening pretty early on.

Overall, I think Hell House LLC is a good movie for a Halloween party with friends or if you're just looking for something a little eerie. It's a fun movie, not profound or disturbing, just fun to watch. I would definitely recommend it, even as a beginner found footage horror because it just isn't that scary.