Stephen Cognetti has written and directed every entry in the Hell House LLC franchise, which began in 2015 and currently consists of Hell House LLC, Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel, Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire, and the recently released Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor. While doing the press rounds for The Carmichael Manor, Cognetti talked to Bloody Disgusting about his hopes for future installments, saying he has ideas that would require higher budgets and that he would like to move away from the found footage style all of the films have been shot in so far.
Cognetti said, “I make references to this event in a few of the movies, including this one, but also the third one as well is what happened at the Rockland County Fair, back in the day. That’s something I always talk about, this event, and never really making it.
Cognetti said, “I make references to this event in a few of the movies, including this one, but also the third one as well is what happened at the Rockland County Fair, back in the day. That’s something I always talk about, this event, and never really making it.
- 11/14/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
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...
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...
- 10/31/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Writer/director Stephen Cognetti’s Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor, the fourth installment in the found footage series, leaves the Abaddon Hotel behind for new scares and terrain. And it’s streaming Now. Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor began streaming exclusively on Shudder on October 30, 2023.
For the film’s release, Bloody Disgusting spoke to Cognetti about creating an original story away from the Abaddon and keeping the scares fresh within the found footage format.
For the filmmaker, Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire closed the chapter on Abaddon Hotel. The Carmichael Manor explores more of the origins behind the hotel’s mythology, yet it’s set in the present at an entirely different location, though not too far from the Abaddon Hotel.
It turns out that Lake of Fire was very nearly the end of the franchise for Cognetti, except he couldn’t shake loose...
For the film’s release, Bloody Disgusting spoke to Cognetti about creating an original story away from the Abaddon and keeping the scares fresh within the found footage format.
For the filmmaker, Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire closed the chapter on Abaddon Hotel. The Carmichael Manor explores more of the origins behind the hotel’s mythology, yet it’s set in the present at an entirely different location, though not too far from the Abaddon Hotel.
It turns out that Lake of Fire was very nearly the end of the franchise for Cognetti, except he couldn’t shake loose...
- 10/30/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
It is exciting to be alive in the 21st century in part because it's when the "Hell House LLC" movies started coming out. I didn't say how big a part.
Starting with 2015's "Hell House LLC" and extending now through four films, writer-director Stephen Cognetti has achieved a rare thing worth celebrating: the creation of an original film franchise that gained word-of-mouth recognition without studio support. A close peer in this space would be "Terrifier," the series of ultra-bloody killer clown films writer-director Damien Leone has been piloting into the world since the 2008 short "The 9th Circle." "Hell House" hasn't been going for quite as long and consists of haunted house films, not slashers. But it's another difference between the franchises that's most salient to raise for this discussion of "Hell House's" latest: the "Terrifier" movies have only been getting better, while the "Hell House" films have gotten worse.
Starting with 2015's "Hell House LLC" and extending now through four films, writer-director Stephen Cognetti has achieved a rare thing worth celebrating: the creation of an original film franchise that gained word-of-mouth recognition without studio support. A close peer in this space would be "Terrifier," the series of ultra-bloody killer clown films writer-director Damien Leone has been piloting into the world since the 2008 short "The 9th Circle." "Hell House" hasn't been going for quite as long and consists of haunted house films, not slashers. But it's another difference between the franchises that's most salient to raise for this discussion of "Hell House's" latest: the "Terrifier" movies have only been getting better, while the "Hell House" films have gotten worse.
- 10/30/2023
- by Ryan Coleman
- Slash Film
Stars: Robert Savakinus, Stephen Cognetti, Bridget Rose Perrotta, Destiny Leilani Brown, James Liddell | Written and Directed by Stephen Cognetti
When I reviewed Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire, I said it seemed they had taken the franchise as far as it could go. Writer/director Stephen Cognetti seems to have had the same thought because, as you can probably tell from the title, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor provides some backstory to the events at the hotel rather than being another extension of the saga.
In 1989 The Carmichael Manor was the scene of a baffling and brutal crime. Two members of the family were killed in their beds. The other two, father Arthur Carmichael (Robert Savakinus) and his son Patrick (Stephen Cognetti; The Hid) were missing. But there was only one set of footprints in the snow outside the house, presumably those of Arthur, who was thought to be the killer.
When I reviewed Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire, I said it seemed they had taken the franchise as far as it could go. Writer/director Stephen Cognetti seems to have had the same thought because, as you can probably tell from the title, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor provides some backstory to the events at the hotel rather than being another extension of the saga.
In 1989 The Carmichael Manor was the scene of a baffling and brutal crime. Two members of the family were killed in their beds. The other two, father Arthur Carmichael (Robert Savakinus) and his son Patrick (Stephen Cognetti; The Hid) were missing. But there was only one set of footprints in the snow outside the house, presumably those of Arthur, who was thought to be the killer.
- 10/27/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Writer/Director Stephen Cognetti may have finally closed the door on the hellish Abaddon Hotel in the previous installment of the cult horror franchise Hell House LLC, but the saga isn’t over. The fourth entry, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor, introduces a new setting entirely to set the stage for the next chapter. Cognetti cleverly expands the mythology while returning to the atmospheric foreboding and scares that made the original film such a cult favorite in the first place. While The Carmichael Manor feels like a refreshing return to form, it’s also clear that this franchise is ready to leave the shackles of the found footage format in the past.
It’s 2021. Cold case internet detective Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta), along with girlfriend Rebecca (Destiny Leilani Brown) and troubled brother Chase (James Liddell), travel to Rockland County, New York, to spend five nights at the reportedly haunted Carmichael Manor.
It’s 2021. Cold case internet detective Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta), along with girlfriend Rebecca (Destiny Leilani Brown) and troubled brother Chase (James Liddell), travel to Rockland County, New York, to spend five nights at the reportedly haunted Carmichael Manor.
- 10/25/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Three intrepid film-makers set out to investigate spooky goings-on at a remote property. If you suspect this plot was worn out, you’d be wrong
It’s to Hell House franchise creator Stephen Cognetti’s credit that this fourth film in the series manages to lovingly revivify two horror tropes usually to be found mouldering at the back of the genre closet: the found-footage expedition and demonic clowns. That is partly on account of the mythology he has accrued over the last three instalments, centring on occult goings-on at the Abaddon Hotel on New York’s rural outskirts; it is embroidered and deepened by this quasi-prequel, helping fit out those cliches with an unsettlingly long shadow.
Everything in the film is framed by a group of documentary-style talking heads, discussing the tragic attempt of their friend Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta) to make a true-crime exposé of the Carmichael Manor. This is the site of what,...
It’s to Hell House franchise creator Stephen Cognetti’s credit that this fourth film in the series manages to lovingly revivify two horror tropes usually to be found mouldering at the back of the genre closet: the found-footage expedition and demonic clowns. That is partly on account of the mythology he has accrued over the last three instalments, centring on occult goings-on at the Abaddon Hotel on New York’s rural outskirts; it is embroidered and deepened by this quasi-prequel, helping fit out those cliches with an unsettlingly long shadow.
Everything in the film is framed by a group of documentary-style talking heads, discussing the tragic attempt of their friend Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta) to make a true-crime exposé of the Carmichael Manor. This is the site of what,...
- 10/25/2023
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Stephen Cognetti, the creator behind the spooktacular Hell House LLC series, cranks up the dread yet again in his latest installment, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor. While The Abaddon Hotel from earlier films in the series has become a hallmark of terror for the franchise, this new installment explores a different haunted setting, the Carmichael Manor. Does this new haunt measure up to the terrifying charm of the Abaddon? Hold onto your night lights as we delve into this latest found footage fright!
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor is set in 2021, with internet sleuth Margot Bentley (Bridget Rose Perrotta) leading a reluctant crew into the heart of the Carmichael Manor’s mysteries after getting a hot ghost-hunter exclusive; five uninterrupted nights at the estate, the site of the unsolved 1989 Carmichael family murders. Armed with a few handheld cameras, Margot, her real estate girlfriend Rebecca (Destiny Leilani Brown...
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor is set in 2021, with internet sleuth Margot Bentley (Bridget Rose Perrotta) leading a reluctant crew into the heart of the Carmichael Manor’s mysteries after getting a hot ghost-hunter exclusive; five uninterrupted nights at the estate, the site of the unsolved 1989 Carmichael family murders. Armed with a few handheld cameras, Margot, her real estate girlfriend Rebecca (Destiny Leilani Brown...
- 10/24/2023
- by Kimberley Elizabeth
Last year, Terror Films announced that writer/director Stephen Cognetti would be continuing his found footage Hell House LLC franchise with Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor – and earlier this month, we learned that Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor is scheduled to begin streaming on both Shudder and AMC+ on Monday, October 30th. Before we reach that date, the film will also be screening at the 14th annual Telluride Horror Show, which will be running from October 13th to 15th. With those dates right around the corner, the trailer for Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor has arrived online, and you can check it out in the embed above.
Terror Films refers to Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor as “the first chapter of what will become known as the Hell House LLC Origin Films”. This one is set in 2021 and will show what happens...
Terror Films refers to Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor as “the first chapter of what will become known as the Hell House LLC Origin Films”. This one is set in 2021 and will show what happens...
- 9/20/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Last year, Terror Films announced that writer/director Stephen Cognetti would be continuing his found footage Hell House LLC franchise with the prequel Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor – with the plan being that the finished film would be released through the Shudder streaming service sometime in the fall of this year. Now we know exactly when Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor is going to start streaming on both Shudder and AMC+: Monday, October 30th. It’s going to be a Devil’s Night Premiere!
Terror Films refers to Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor as “the first chapter of what will become known as the Hell House LLC Origin Films”, so it sounds like we’ll have multiple Hell House LLC prequels to look forward to. This one will show what happens when a group of cold case investigators stay at the Carmichael Manor,...
Terror Films refers to Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor as “the first chapter of what will become known as the Hell House LLC Origin Films”, so it sounds like we’ll have multiple Hell House LLC prequels to look forward to. This one will show what happens when a group of cold case investigators stay at the Carmichael Manor,...
- 9/5/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Stars: Chris Cimperman, Ariella Mastroianni, Michael L. Parker, LeJon Woods, Renee Gagner, James Liddell, Grant Schumacher, Michael L. Parker | Written and Directed by Bruce Wemple
Most of writer/director Bruce Wemple’s films fall into one of two categories. There are films about cryptids like Dawn of the Beast and The Retreat. And there are films dealing with abnormalities with time such as The Tomorrow Job and Lake Artifact.
Island Escape seems to be an attempt to bring the two themes together with this story of an accident at a research base on the Isle of Gran Manan. We know something is really wrong as the prologue shows a helicopter pilot being killed by what appears to be a bestial version of himself who then tries to fly off in the chopper only to have it explode in mid-air.
Meanwhile, after a barfight, Chase is approached by Alison who claims...
Most of writer/director Bruce Wemple’s films fall into one of two categories. There are films about cryptids like Dawn of the Beast and The Retreat. And there are films dealing with abnormalities with time such as The Tomorrow Job and Lake Artifact.
Island Escape seems to be an attempt to bring the two themes together with this story of an accident at a research base on the Isle of Gran Manan. We know something is really wrong as the prologue shows a helicopter pilot being killed by what appears to be a bestial version of himself who then tries to fly off in the chopper only to have it explode in mid-air.
Meanwhile, after a barfight, Chase is approached by Alison who claims...
- 8/10/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
This summer has been packed with horror on the big screen, with films including Insidious: The Red Door, Talk to Me, Haunted Mansion and Meg 2: The Trench currently playing in theaters nationwide. This week, one of horror’s classic icons joins them at the box office.
Here’s all the new horror releasing August 8– August 13, 2023!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
First up from Dread is the horror movie Island Escape, the latest feature film from prolific indie creature feature director Bruce Wemple (Monstrous, Dawn of the Beast).
Island Escape is available On Demand today, and it’s hitting Blu-ray on September 12.
In the film, “After a mysterious accident at a research camp on the Isle of Gran Manan, a CEO hires a team of blue – collar mercenaries to extract his daughter, a scientist working at the camp. Upon arrival, the team soon...
Here’s all the new horror releasing August 8– August 13, 2023!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
First up from Dread is the horror movie Island Escape, the latest feature film from prolific indie creature feature director Bruce Wemple (Monstrous, Dawn of the Beast).
Island Escape is available On Demand today, and it’s hitting Blu-ray on September 12.
In the film, “After a mysterious accident at a research camp on the Isle of Gran Manan, a CEO hires a team of blue – collar mercenaries to extract his daughter, a scientist working at the camp. Upon arrival, the team soon...
- 8/8/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Up next from Dread is the horror movie Island Escape, the latest feature film from prolific indie creature feature director Bruce Wemple.
First Showing debuted the official Island Escape trailer this week, seen below.
In the film, “After a mysterious accident at a research camp on the Isle of Gran Manan, a CEO hires a team of blue – collar mercenaries to extract his daughter, a scientist working at the camp. Upon arrival, the team soon learns that not only is the island surrounded by a wormhole that causes time to reset every three days, but it’s also crawling with hideous and dangerous monsters. As they learn more about the nature of time, space and the creatures on the island, they quickly realize that death may be the easiest way to escape.”
Ariella Mastroianni, James Liddell, Grant Schumacher, and Chris Cimperman star.
Island Escape will be available On Demand on...
First Showing debuted the official Island Escape trailer this week, seen below.
In the film, “After a mysterious accident at a research camp on the Isle of Gran Manan, a CEO hires a team of blue – collar mercenaries to extract his daughter, a scientist working at the camp. Upon arrival, the team soon learns that not only is the island surrounded by a wormhole that causes time to reset every three days, but it’s also crawling with hideous and dangerous monsters. As they learn more about the nature of time, space and the creatures on the island, they quickly realize that death may be the easiest way to escape.”
Ariella Mastroianni, James Liddell, Grant Schumacher, and Chris Cimperman star.
Island Escape will be available On Demand on...
- 7/20/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
"How do you survive against an island full of stronger, faster, deadlier versions of your previous self?" Fs is exclusively debuting the official trailer for an indie horror film titled Island Escape, the latest feature from director Bruce Wemple. While Island Escape is at its core a horror film filled with monsters and gore, it combines several other genres such as sci-fi, action, and romance, to keep you guessing every step of the way. After a mysterious accident at a research camp on the Isle of Gran Manan, a CEO hires a team of blue collar mercenaries to extract his daughter, a scientist at the camp. Upon arrival the team soon learns that not only is the island surrounded by a wormhole that causes time to reset every three days, it's also crawling with monsters. As they learn more about the nature of time, space and the creatures haunting them on the island,...
- 7/19/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Stars: Paul Kandarian, Anna Shields, James Liddell, Chris Cimperman, Caitlin Duffy, Michael L. Parker | Written and Directed by Bruce Wemple
First Contact, the latest film from writer/director Bruce Wemple, sees him mixing the monster movie themes that he’s used in films like Dawn of the Beast with the time travel and sci-fi concepts from Lake Artifact and The Tomorrow Job with a hint of Lovecraftian cosmic terror. Add in some musings about family and the result is an entertaining if somewhat muddled, film.
Dr. Ian Bradach is a scientist working on something that seems incredibly important, finds his work interrupted by the arrival of a creature who we can’t really see, but we can tell is very hostile. It all ends with a column of bright white light exploding skyward.
From there we join Casey as she arrives at her father’s house. Her estranged brother Dan...
First Contact, the latest film from writer/director Bruce Wemple, sees him mixing the monster movie themes that he’s used in films like Dawn of the Beast with the time travel and sci-fi concepts from Lake Artifact and The Tomorrow Job with a hint of Lovecraftian cosmic terror. Add in some musings about family and the result is an entertaining if somewhat muddled, film.
Dr. Ian Bradach is a scientist working on something that seems incredibly important, finds his work interrupted by the arrival of a creature who we can’t really see, but we can tell is very hostile. It all ends with a column of bright white light exploding skyward.
From there we join Casey as she arrives at her father’s house. Her estranged brother Dan...
- 6/6/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
"Look man, don't take your relapse out on me!" Global Digital Releasing has debuted an official trailer for an indie drama called Two Ways To Go West, the latest feature made by graphic designer / filmmaker Ryan Brookhart. The film is about three men who get together for a bachelor party at a hotel in Las Vegas, discovering their pasts are not all forgotten and they must deal with their demons. Two Ways to Go West is a "powerfully confronting drama featuring superlative performances from" the cast. The film stars James Liddell, Paul Gennaro, Drew Kenney, Levy Tran, Gino Cafarelli, and Kathrine Narducci. Looks like one of these extra low budget films that takes place all in one room, with nothing but dull conversations. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Ryan Brookhart's Two Ways To Go West, direct from YouTube: After testing his sobriety at a bachelor party on the Las Vegas strip,...
- 7/6/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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