User Reviews

A summation of my reviews for the first two entries in the 'Hell House LLC' trilogy would be that writer/director Stephen Cognetti wasn't getting the regular scenes in his movie right, but that his horror scenes were world class. Interestingly 'Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire' serves to prove that the opposite of that is a much worse thing. This film has far better acting than the first two and also the dialogue is much better written, and yet it is the weakest of all three by a significant margin. Why? Because he forgot about the horror this time around.

The film has a tremendous amount of over-lapping shots from the first two films, mostly to show what happened in a certain part of the hotel/house or who a certain character was. At first this is helpful, but then it happens far too often from there on out and becomes very annoying and distracting. I think you just have to have faith that the audience has seen the first two films, and if they haven't then the information they are missing out on isn't hugely critical to the enjoyment of this one.

I think Cognetti was so intent on wrapping everything up into a nice little bundle storywise that he forgot what made the first two films so good, which was the epic horror sequences they featured. This one has little moments here and there, but there is never that big payoff that the first two films achieved. 'Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire' was a little bit of a disappointing way to end an otherwise very good horror trilogy. It's not unwatchable, but it is a big step in the wrong direction.

I liked the first (7/10), made peace with the second (5/10) and was frustrated by the third (4/10). I think it's awesome that there is such a trilogy, but it only got exponentially worse. I really wanted for that not to be the case.

The third part of "Hell House LLC" feels like more of the same with the same being much more amateur hour. Cheap is a fitting word here. It's hard to separate the positive things for there are so few of them, but in the bits and pieces was a good, short scare sequence, some ambitious concepts (with poor execution) and maybe something else. Shamefully, it's easy to point out the acute flaws, like the one that disappointed me the most, which was acting. At times there was on-the-nose, cringe-inducing performance materials, obvious and whacky (weakly) scripted dialogue citations & characters sometimes didn't make a lot of sense. At the start I was trying to be intrigued by the story, but the plot, with all its twists and turns, seems like a far fetch, a rushed script awkwardly executed. The amount of scares is smaller, somehow even the visual & technical aspects of the movie feel cheaper, showing off boring cinematography, very little new props/locations etc. in the game & an choppy, unintentionally funny climax with a shot that's seasoned with grade c cgi. Both video and audio editing doesn't excel with anything as well. One little thing I hated was the constant, repatitive flashbacks with the footage from the first two parts, it felt like anything but necessary.

Comparing it to its two predecessors, the third part feels undeservedly underdone and uninspiring. I don't know what happened, maybe it was financial issues or time issues, we-don't-have-any-good-ideas issues, but something went wrong, leaving us with a found-footage / mockumentary horror flick that rests below average and comes with a bonus disappointment, being the 3rd part of a franchise and all. I really wanted to like it more, but I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Wishing the filmmakers of "Hell House LLC" trilogy great future success, I give this one a 4/10.

I really liked the first one. The second one was not as good as the first, but I didn't think it was terrible. The third one, I mean, it is part 3, how much truly new ground could they cover? A bad horror sequel is Blair Witch 2, and this film is certainly better then that one. I think people get a tad judgmental, and troll just to troll. This film, imo, is a decent conclusion. It was a fun, jump scare flick that is a decent way to spend about 90 minutes. Shudder is a cool channel that gives fans of horror, thriller, and suspense a place to go and find a bit of popcorn fun.

If you dig the genre, like honestly, dig the genre, there are films that are far worse. Let the trilogy tell its story and move on. This is not life changing material, but who said it was supposed to be?

I'm a huge fan of the first one, which really captured a sense of impending dread. Even the second one, with its flaws, still managed to capture at least some sense of dread. But the third film is absolutely terrible.

First, it doesn't have the atmosphere of the first film. The first film had an almost grainy look to it, while this one has a soap opera video feel to it. Second, the climax is downright awful. Scenes which should be dimmer are brightly-lit, which nulls the scare factor. Also, the acting in the climax is terrible - to the point where I actually laughed throughout the last twenty minutes.

Sad to see a franchise with such good potential, quickly go down the drain.

Watching the Hell House Trilogy is like watching the Matrix Trilogy; the first was so damn good you get kinda psyched for the sequel but have some doubts because "how can they top that?"...and they don't. And it's bad...so you know in your gut the 3rd is gonna be bad but you just wanna know how the damn thing ends.

The first movie had so much dread and genuine creepiness to it. It's a shame that couldn't be carried throughout the series. Even the second one, the story was somewhat lacking but still there were moments of dread in it. This third installment just doesn't have that. I give it 6 stars because it kept me interested enough to watch to the end and it was by no means a boring movie. It simply had a lot to live up to...and the first movie in this series will always outshine the two that followed.

Was really hoping that they could salvage the wreck, that was the second film. They didn't. Should have been a one and done. Watch the first one, and then walk away

The second movie definitely wasn't as good as the first, but this? What the hell is this? How does it even have a higher rating than the 2nd atm? It feels like an amateur project in so many ways, especially towards the ending. Story, acting, effects, it's so bad that it makes you laugh, and considering how the first movie kept you on edge and delivered some good horror moments, it's sad to see how this series ended up. Not everything needs sequels and explanations. Don't bother watching this, it's basically recycled content from the first movie but with a lower budget and terrible acting, and it's not like you're gonna miss out on the "story". The story itself is very shallow and unsatisfying in how it ends. Maybe could've given it a 4 if it wasn't connected to the Hell House LLC series, but as a final movie this is terrible. 2/10.

Part 1& 2 not bad but this should not have been aloud to be released, They ruined a half decent horror trilogy with the 3rd installment. When you have $ 9,000 for a budget you don't make a movie..... you wait until you have more $$$

We are massive fans of the first movie. We absolutely loved it. We did not like the 2nd movie, but this one was MUCH better than the 2nd movie. Of course, it could never touch the first hell house. However, we enjoyed the 3rd film. It has the spirit of hell house Llc. As huge fans of the original we will give this a 7 and we definitely enjoyed it. If you like the first one but didn't like the 2nd, then watch this one and you'll be happy. We liked it!

Well, even though expectations were not high after the clunky 2nd act, this 3rd stab at recapturing the magic and tension of the first Hell House LLC falls even further off the mark. The script is weaker, the scares are less, and the acting is diabolical. Such a shame as the original was so good. Will be writing off parts 2 and 3 in my memory to return the original back to being a strong and scary standalone film.

I'm giving this a generous 3...Because at least they tried...I understand it was on a very small budget....PLEASE, makers of this movie, please go back and watch other really good horror movies on a small budget and learn...It can be done, if done properly...

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.

Cant even get into the story of this one, I knew from watching the trailer I had no clue what type of story I was gonna watching. The first one was awesome 2nd one good but not as good as the first one.But when you cant even work out the story you cant get into the movie. Dissapointing movie in the end should of just made it one movie.

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.

This movie as slightly better than the 2nd movie but it was still awful. The ending is stupid and didn't make a lot of sense when connecting the movies..it was a terrible explanation.

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the original Hell House LLC. It is truly a masterpiece of the found footage genre.

I liked the second one, but it was, if I am to be honest, far from the original.

Hell House 3, Lake of Fire though, is a return to the original form. Excellent film and acting all the way through. Whereas the actors in the first were amazing, and the ones in the second wooden, in this one, they raised the bar again. Believable, genuine and likeable throughout #3.

Though not as pure a found footage film as the first, this is an excellent conclusion to the series and we'll worth the time. And by the way, the creepy clown continues to be the scariest thing on screen in a generation!

To finish out this trilogy, I watched this back-to-back with the second movie. I initial thought was that this was going to be a step down. I was wondering if we were going to get more of the same or if this one was going to do the something a bit different. The synopsis here is the Abaddon Hotel will once again be open to the public. Russell Wynn (Gabriel Chytry) has taken his audience-interactive show, Insomnia, into the abandoned hotel that is rumored to be haunted.

Getting everything up to speed, we're 9 years after the events of the first movie and the Abaddon Hotel is set to be destroyed. It is too much of a liability and the town just wants to move on. That is until media mogul Russell steps in and purchases the hotel. There's a bit of talk that he's going to follow the same steps that the other group of the company Hell House LLC did and reopen this hotel for his theater troupe of Insomnia. They're also going to be quite cheeky and put on the play Faust there also, since it is a tale of good against the Devil.

Taking over for the show Morning Mysteries is Vanessa Shepherd (Elizabeth Vermilyea). From the sounds, the previous host went missing and Vanessa really doesn't want to do this piece on the Abaddon Hotel. She is convinced though by her producers and comes to the hotel. There she does her opening bit and meets with Jeff Stone (Sam Kazzi). I didn't realize this until much later on, but he's the CFO of Wynn's company. The two go inside and the ground rules are laid.

Vanessa is given full access to film everything. This makes sense as this is partially what made Russell the success that he is for the concepts he's come up with for his shows. We get to meet the actors. Gregory Sandvick (Leo DeFriend) is the lead in the play and the other actors aren't the nicest to him. There's also Max (Jordan Kaplan), who is playing the Devil. The other one that is important here is Jane Maloney (Bridgid Abrams). They are all given cameras to document things around them and this leads to some interesting footage as we go on as they prank each other.

Things seem to be going just fine in the hotel, but the longer they stay there, the weirder it becomes. There are rules set up that no one is to walk around inside after they wrap for the day and if they must, they need to do the buddy system. We see that Jane goes into the basement and is spooked by the clowns left down there from the original Hell House LLC group. There are some other things that are caught on video throughout and not everyone seems to notice.

As the opening of the show approaches, Vanessa is looking into everything here. The more that she discovers, the more she thinks it is a bad idea for this show to go on. She tries to convince Russell and Jeff, but to no avail. She even seeks out a local priest of Father Paulis (Dan Dobransky). All the while, we keep seeing things that aren't always seen by characters. If you've seen the previous film, you know what the plan of Andrew Tully (Brian David Tracy) is and then it becomes, does Russell know or is his plans just another victim of the Abaddon Hotel?

That's where I want to leave my recap of the movie. Where I want to start is that I find this interesting that we have the same writer and director for all three of these movies. I did see trivia that this was originally conceived as being a trilogy. I think what works here is that the first movie was really good, which helps to get this the previous one made. What I also like is that it sounds like for the most part, the idea of where to start and end this were planned from the beginning and not just tacking the movies on like some franchises do as the money comes in.

Going along this idea, Russell isn't really shown from what I remember in the previous movie, but his name was brought up in the beginning. He is the head of the Wynn Group that has been getting the footage. I'm assuming they are the ones that have put out both movies as well being behind the text we are getting at the beginning. This is interesting as that makes Russell an expert on this place. We get to see a bit more of that as this goes on which I like. Much like the previous movie, they're continuing to build on the mythology. I don't think this one does as well in this department. This movie is wrapping up the story; I'm just not the biggest fan where it goes if I'm going to be honest.

I do like that this movie is set mostly back in the Abaddon Hotel. That was part of my problem with the previous movie as that was the strongest part here. We get a bit of the scares like we do in the other two movies, but I'll be honest, this one wasn't nearly as effective with it. What I think hurts this movie is that it tries so hard to make sure you know certain things that you are seeing either correlate back to the other two movies or they want to edit in footage to show something that happened in that specific one. I think this does bog the movie down a bit as it isn't original. It makes it feel partially like a clip show by doing that. I don't want you to think this one doesn't have a story though, that isn't what I'm getting at. It just tries too hard to make sure you're up to speed. This could also be that I watched the previous movie and this one within a day of each other as well.

Since I've briefly went over how it was edited, I'll move over to the effects. Once again, this movie does well with its practical effects. I like the subtle things that we get with props that are supposed to not be alive moving around, especially statues and the clowns. They do a bit with making ghosts look creepy with contacts. The blood that we get looks good and most of this works. What doesn't is the digital messing up of the camera to show previous footage or that an entity is near. They do this much more than the previous and I'm not a fan there. There is also some really bad CGI in the end of the movie that took me out of what they were trying to do. To end this section on a positive, I think the found footage adds an element here even though it doesn't work as well for this movie as the previous two.

The last thing that I want to go over would be the acting. I think that everyone we get here is believable for a movie like this. Something I normally say for found footage is that if they can act natural, then it works. Chytry seems like this rich guy who is used to getting his way, but he's not a jerk about it. I like Vermilyea taking over as the host as she's stronger in her performance than the previous actress. Kazzi is good as well. I think the rest of the actors in the play are good and bringing back a bunch of characters from the first and second movie works for me to wrap up this trilogy as well.

In conclusion, this movie is unfortunately the weakest of the three. I think that it has a better set up and for what they were going for from the previous one, but this one is a bit too concerned with making sure you understand everything that they're wrapping up. I still like some of the story elements they have going here. The climax works and the acting is solid in bringing these characters to life. The practical effects are also good while the CGI just really hurt the movie for me. I also think that the soundtrack and design there work well with building tension when needed. Overall though, I'd say this movie is above average for me though. It does enough to keep me engaged, but falls short of what they're going for story-wise.

Oh dear, I don't know where to start! Loved the first movie, second movie was pretty bad and a huge let down then I saw this advertised and I thought ok It's Sunday, it's raining and I am so bored, I'll give it a try. I really should not have bothered. Terrible acting, re-used props , no originality and all on a budget of $10 ...

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.