Hell House LLC (2015)

I love this movie so much

That was an excellent one.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie had some good ideas to build off of. It seems like they only had about thirty minutes of footage, unfortunately. Footage is reused at different points of the movie and the interviews don't really add anything to the film. If it had a better ending it would have been worth the wait. Literally pointing out background scares to the audience is probably the least scary thing I've ever seen on film. Good effort though.

Found this browsing on Amazon and being a fan of found footage movies, I decided to take a chance on it. Original, suspenseful and TERRIFYING! Give it a watch and you won't regret it.

I'm not a fan of horror films and I'm always sceptical of the FF type. I had some time to kill (no pun intended) before going to bed and wanted something trashy that I could switch off early if it got too stupid. That's what I was expecting to get from a film titled "Hell House" with no-name actors and actresses. That's not what I got.Instead, I got a well thought out film with people who can actually act, a plot-line that didn't feel contrived, and enough unsettling scenes to keep me viewing.The most predictable part came right at the end with 2C - it was obvious what would happen and I'm sure the twist could have been made better. However, that's a minor blemish.The only mystery in this film that never gets explained is what was it that forced them to stay at the house. The found-footage cuts off just as it's about to be revealed during one of the conversations. Maybe I missed the explanation later on - or perhaps it was just left in as a joke on the audience by the film makers (they actually filmed the entire conversation and then in edit decided to cut it out deliberately).

The found footage subgenre of horror has a plethora of entries that give it a bad name. They're low-budget and target easily scared viewers, and therefore usually suffer from an abundance of cliches in the horror department in order to give the audience that jump scare many viewers (like myself) roll their eyes at. A jump scare is only effective once an atmosphere has been generated. Thankfully, Hell House sets a tone early on with its documentary angle, making everything feel like its based a real event. It also avoids the trappings of many found footage movies by keeping pointless scenes to a minimum between the cast; it gets straight to the point of its plot, and paces itself through to a strong ending. Its a simple premise, but strong credit has to be given to the writer/director who admirably traverses a well-worn genre with noticeable skill. The film is seeped in dread by the time you get to know these characters and fathom the true terror that awaits them. Its stern in its scares, providing very few actual jump scares (though one particularly worthy one) and relies on common phobias and practical effects to induce nervous tension. Clown props and darkness are simple tricks but effective, and Hell House pleasingly delivers unnerving moments on its well-acted cast of unknown actors, before transcending into chaotic scenes promised by its title. Anyone critical of found footage horror will be pleasantly surprised with this rare success. 8/10.