Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire

They should have left the first movie alone but unfortunately, no one wants to be a one hit wonder. Sooner or later, you are bound to return to your original works and ruin it to the ground in a desperate attempt to monopolize. I guess this is one example but there are better examples (Paranormal Activity) but I will get to that eventually.

After the disastrous event at the premier opening of a Haunted House show called the Hell House that led to the death of fifteen people including the creators of the event and the disappearance of two separate investigation teams years apart. The Abbadon hotel that was used as the staging site for the event has now become an urban legend that frequently draws investigators and other inquisitive minds to try and uncover the dark mystery behind the disappearances.

The latest dimwit to fall prey to this is a Billionaire software mogul enamoured with the concept of after life after surviving a near death experience of his own. Russel Wynne has purchased the property to restart his performance art show and invites a sophomore investigative journalist, Vanessa Shepard, to cover the show as well as get behind the scenes footage. But as the coverage is underway, it becomes apparent that Russel is not just another hapless idiot. It almost seems like he is expecting something to happen and the people are just bait.

If you survived the second film and made it this far you might as give this movie a watch as it concludes the story... for better or for worse. The other reviewers are right in that this particular installment does lack the creeping intensity of the first two movies but it does manage to conclude a budding conspiracy that was layered on pretty thick at the end of the second film. For what it's worth the acting is a step up from the first film and story is cohesive enough to follow through to whats going on. I cannot guarantee that you will love the ending but it is a definite closure to the overall story.

Loved the first Hell House (7/10) and the 2nd was serviceable (5/10). I was expecting more from this one. The story was convoluted and the writing was weak. You've got a location where dozens of people have died or gone missing and everybody just flocks back likes its no big deal, even when similar unexplained things begin to happen again. Sure. Sad way to end the story.

The first Hell House LLC was so good, an excellent found footage which used limited perspective to its advantage. Part three, like the second, has a handful of good moments and is watchable enough, but falls apart in the last third when it really should be getting going.

I don't mind finding ways to incorporate the actors of the previous films but the film relies far too much on re-using footage from the previous movies as a way to establish this. It totally shoe horned in and the audience doesn't really care, it's just there to make sure the actors all have role in the third (and likely final) installment. I mean, it's nice everybody gets to come back for a cameo or whatever but the whole "now they're ghosts who are trapped in the building" thing kind of feels pointless and by the fifth or sixth time it just seems gratuitous. Wouldn't it have been better to use "unreleased" footage from the previous movies instead of badly incorporating them into the current timeline?

Also, the play or whatever they're showing in the house is terrible. There's barely any set, the "acting" is awful and the story is moronic. Who the hell would be impressed by "Insomnia"? As theater, it's worse than a haunted house and that's saying something. I've seen a play where the audience went from room to room and it was pretty cool. I would be mad, as an audience member if I showed up and it was like the worst version of Faust ever.

The movie has some moments. But they just overuse things from the previous movies too much. Like, why are those clowns still there? I mean the blonde girl going into the basement is pretty much the highlight of the movie, but it just doesn't make sense. And I could not stop thinking about how that guy's scar seemed so fake and not like something someone would get in a car crash. For me, the whole ending just kind of did what the first movie did but worse.

There's a twist, which is ridiculous and... surprisingly Christian? It's sad because I honestly enjoyed a lot of the movie, thinking it better than the second, until it began its downward spiral in the second half.

A good found footage movie is always welcome, and clearly they're harder to get right than you might think. But please, lets let go of all this angels and devils nonsense. And stop re-using footage in your sequels, it wasn't cool in Silent night Deadly Night 2 and its not cool now.

Agreeing to film a documentary, a filmmaker joins an entrepreneur setting up an interactive fear-conquering show at a rumored haunted hotel, but while doing the behind-the-scenes work for the show come to realize that darker secrets are at play within the building and must stop it from happening.

This one wasn't all that bad conclusion to the franchise. When this one works, it's due to the enjoyable atmosphere created here that's quite eerie and creepy. As expected, the location of the hotel is used to fantastic effect with the notion of using the premise of a fear-based haunt opening at the location to bring out some creepy and chilling moments in the various walk-throughs of the darkened corridors. The sharp corners and pitch-black hallways are once again put to good use with several fine jump-scares, especially with the utterly creepy clown props strewn around used as the basis for the scenes, and combined with the slow-moving scenes that build up to something potentially happening before it does. That comes into play with the finale as the chaos of the demons coming free and running wild slaughtering anyone and everyone they come across throughout the building and even outside creates a fun, over-the-top action scene which has a lot to like about it. These here are the films' best aspects that hold it up overall. The film does have some pretty big flaws featured here. The main issue is the complete stupidity featured throughout the film that makes for a pretty jarring and discordant offering. The fact that the previous incidents that took place at the hotel are ignored in favor of bringing an interactive experience designed to take participants into their darkest fears at that location is an utterly lame way of ensuring the hauntings continue there. The stupidity to do that doesn't endear any sympathy to anyone involved here in the proposed show, especially when the film flip-flops between the past experiences both as a warning not to stay there or as motivation to keep the show at the hotel by way of beating the past incidents into the narrative through flashbacks clumsily inserted into the storyline to make the connection. Complete with the usual notion of being completely unwilling to turn the camera off when they're lives are at stake for no real reason, it's all apart of the general stupidity on display in the film. The other problem with this one is that the finale to this one is a completely underwhelming and overall mess that arises here. The attempt to bring together the various plotlines of the previous inhabitants to the hotel grounds in a satisfactory manner keeps this one going through several odd and jarring dialog pieces to try to tie everything together. With the mixture of on-set found-footage shot during the incidents in the past mixed with talking-head interviews of various people attempting to explain what went wrong just like the others at the location, this sets you up to know something's gone wrong even before it happens. The attempted explanations featured here due to that come off so ham-fisted and illogical that despite the use of closing off the storyline the final moments featured here just make no sense whatsoever and have no purpose for being shown, really taking this one down quite heavily.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

This was a bit of a letdown to be honest.

The first HHLLC was an amazing, under the radar gem that genuinely ranks as one of the best horror films of the last 20 years.

HHLLC II was never going to live up to the first but it gave it a real good try and save for some 'by the number' characters it was still a great horror.

HHLLC III was released today and after a year of waiting I was quite disappointed! Boring in parts, annoying cast and anticlimactic, I would rather I had just watched the first one again!

Give it a watch as part of the trilogy but after part one, lower your expectations.