Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel

I hate dissing movies like this that obviously stretched it's tiny budget to the max....but it couldn't have been so much better! The acting is...woof. The "talk show" bits are just massively uncomfortable and there is almost no subtlety to any of it. It starts at a 10 and tries to stay there for the whole thing.

'Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel' is my second Stephen Cognetti film, the first being 'Hell House LLC', and already I'm beginning to see some trends in his film-making - some positive, some not so. He seems to really struggle with the beginnings of his films and then tends to find his way as it goes along. Also he writes some terrible dialogue, especially in the non-horror scenes. But what saves all this and makes his films extremely watchable is that he seems to be a master at directing horror.

This house/hotel setting that he has created for these films is truly terrifying. Everything about it just works. The creatures moving about inside it, the maze-like feel it has and the feeling of overwhelming dread when a character is in there are just terrific. Not often do individual scare moments get me but this film has one that really caught me off-guard and had my heart leaping. I didn't see it coming and combine that with the imagery and I'm not afraid to say it got me.

If Cognetti can either fix his dialogue and the clunky non-horror scenes he writes, or get a script-doctor in to do it for him and just let him focus on the horror side of things, then he has a big future ahead of him. He has created something special with The Abandon Hotel and I very much look forward to checking out the third installment now.

I loved the first one! The acting wasn't cringe in any way. Now the second one. It's terrible! The acting is painful. And Molly? Who is she related to? Her acting was worse than the high school production of Cabaret I just saw. Those kids should have Oscar's compared to her! When I was younger I used to think I'd never hack it! And the fact that she has this role, this opportunity to bring someone's story to the camera....and she is SO TERRIBLE AT IT! It upsets me.

Now I never hate oh actor's. But this chick didn't even try. And she made me p-o'd this whole movie. I really thing someone should buy the rights and do it better. This story is so great, it deserves a touch up.

At random, the announcement that Hell House LLC 2 was coming to Shudder just hours ago popped into my head and I decided to take a look as I enjoyed the very creepy atmosphere of the original.

This one goes on to reveal even more about the Abaddon Hotel, where the Hell House "event" opened during the first film and things get suitable creepy once again. There are a number of moments where I noticed myself tense and almost holding my breath, just as with the first one. But just like the first one, I felt the ending was weak, it feels messy and a bit too exposition heavy, and just not very scary.

That's not to say the film isn't scary as a whole, there are plenty of eerie scenes that really have the ability to just creep you right out. They're so simple too and I think that's why they work, it doesn't feel overdone or over produced (I'm looking at you, The Nun). They let the unnerving moments linger, and all feels like it could be real, which is what you want with found footage. This is a film where it's low budget actually helps in that department.

I think the weakest aspect of the film is the acting, which is noticeably worse the first, where I felt those actors did a fine job, I don't recall ever thinking about their acting skills and everything seems believable. In Hell House LLC 2 the acting gives the production a bit more of an amateur feel. However once things get going the tension takes over and the actors also seem to improve for the most part. Except for one person, who's physical acting and dialogue delivery was just subpar the whole way through.

This one also tends to jump around a lot more than the first and feels a tad messy, but really the tension in this makes up for most shortcomings. It's obvious that writer/director Stephen Cognetti is a talented guy. When he's in the zone with the scary aspects he pretty much nails it, both in the first film and in this one. For fans of the first I would definitely recommend it. It's more of the same really, but still manages to be very creepy when it tries to be. I'd really like to see what Cognetti could do with more resources and a larger budget.

This is a perfect example of an unwarranted sequel leaving behind a bitter taste in one's mouth. The first Hell House wasn't exactly original: there are hundreds of found footage, paranormal films on the market. What separated it was the execution, the build, the unsettling creepiness and the intense, abrupt ending. The feel of the sequel is filmmaker's going to the well again hoping for a cash cow, but not having enough content to fill time, so they insert needles explanatory angles that ruin the mystique of the first film. Not a terrible film, mind you. Just don't go into watching Hell House LLC 2 with an expectation of it being comparable to the first.