Review: Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire

The Hell House LLC franchise has delivered some pretty solid thrills since writer/director Stephen Cognetti quietly launched it back in 2015. Sure, we'd seen found footage and faux documentaries before, but Cognetti and company crafted effective chills, especially in the inaugural outing.

Last year's sequel was good, but lost some of its lustre due to obvious acting. I know everyone is acting in these found-footage movies, but the less I'm aware of that fact -- ie, good acting -- the better the overall impact.

The final film in the series hit Shudder yesterday, and it's an entertaining piece of work. Cognetti continues to expand on the mythology of the Abaddon Hotel, creating one of the more interesting horror backstories in recent years. And the performances are generally better this time around.

If Hell House LLC III has a flaw, it's how ambitious the movie is. Cognetti is trying too hard to wrap things up neatly, and creates a pretty explosive climax that doesn't quite work, largely due to budget constraints. He also inserts footage from the previous films into this one at key moments. This pulled me out of the action, instead of enhancing it.

So yeah, I had fun watching Lake of Fire, and even recommend it to fans, but I didn't dig it enough to go back and watch it again. That means it's a Bad. The first entry is still the strongest, and I encourage fans to check it out this Halloween season.

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