Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel - REVIEW!
Back in 2015, we were subjected to a found footage film about a crew opening a haunt in a small town in New York, the fictional Abaddon. The crew filmed the entire thing and experienced true evil at this really messed up hotel. You can check out my review of part one HERE. Well, we’re going back with the second entry in this story, and I for one was very excited to jump in. Here we go....
Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel was written and directed by Stephen Cognetti and stars Vasile Flutur and Jillian Geurts and it's been eight years since the opening night tragedy of Hell House LLC and still many unanswered questions remain. Thanks to an anonymous tip, investigative journalist Jessica Fox is convinced that key evidence is hidden inside the abandoned Abaddon Hotel-evidence that will shed light on the hotel's mysteries. She assembles a team equally hungry for answers with one goal: break into the hotel and discover the truth.
Now, if you’re a fan of the found footage genre, you’ll probably really like this movie. It’s got everything you’re expecting: a paper-thin plot, cheesy dialogue, little to no character development, a screenplay that at times seems amateurish, and a ton of shaky cam that will make anyone a little nauseous. Let’s not forget, the acting is pretty bad compared to the first film. In the first movie, you had a cast that actually tried to sound convincing, they were actually pretty decent. This time around, however, they sounded like students in high school working on a play. I didn’t find them convincing at all. These are all weaknesses that this film had, albeit I am nitpicking, if I’m being honest.
The good part of this movie, and its predecessor, is the scares and the location. The house itself is a terrifying beast, built like a giant maze inside that will confuse and creep out anyone (and anyone watching the footage). The scares aren’t just stupid jumps meant to bring about a loud noise and nothing else. The filmmakers truly understand how to terrify by showing you things and lingering just enough to be effective and build tension. It’s a breath of fresh air to see someone making movies that doesn’t rely on the cheap jump scare. I do think that jumps are good, but if overdone or are used as cop outs, they really don’t do the film justice. In this case, the lack of jump scares really put me on the edge of my seat. The practical effects were great, just like in the first one, which is something that I really love seeing. The more CGI used, the more fake a film seems, and these are obviously the strengths this movie had.
In the end, if you like found footage horror or really enjoyed the first movie, you’ll definitely like this one. It’s got great scares and a great location which totally make up for the bad acting and bad script.
Hell House LLC III Lake of Fire drops September 19th on Shudder!
In the final installment, guests both past and present will be forced to battle for their souls in Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire, as all is revealed about the infamous Abaddon Hotel and the evil that dwells there. Set one year after the events of Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel, the hotel is on the verge of being torn down when it is purchased by billionaire Russell Wynn (Gabriel T. Chytry) as the new home for his popular interactive show, “Insomnia.” He invites journalist Venessa Sheppard (Elizabeth Vermilyea) and her crew to record everything happening inside the hotel leading up to the performance, but they soon encounter a more nefarious plot, one that threatens to unleash a veritable hell on earth.
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