Coming to theaters August 20, 2025, from Terror Films and Iconic Events and slated to arrive on Shudder on October 30, 2025, Hell House LLC: Lineage marks the final chapter in Stephen Cognetti’s long-running Horror series. Departing from the found-footage format that defined the previous four entries, this installment instead takes a more traditional narrative approach—an unusual shift that strips away much of the eerie charm and raw tension the franchise built its reputation on. The story centers on Vanessa Shepherd, played by Elizabeth Vermilyea (An Extraordinary Affair 2022, 825 Forrest Road 2025), who, after a near-death experience, finds herself haunted by disturbing visions in Abaddon. As people around her begin to die under mysterious circumstances, she unravels her unsettling ties to the infamous Abaddon Hotel, Carmichael Manor, and decades of unsolved murders.
For a film meant to close out a Horror franchise, Hell House LLC: Lineage struggles with the most essential element—it simply is not scary. By abandoning the found-footage format that gave the earlier entries their immediacy and raw unease, the movie loses the tension that once made the franchise effective.
What remains is a more conventional approach that relies on atmosphere but never builds meaningful stakes. There are moments that carry a faintly creepy vibe, but the slow pacing drains any sense of urgency, and without strong payoffs, the suspense quickly fizzles. The result is a film that feels less like a chilling finale and more like a drawn-out exercise in atmosphere, ultimately being more dull than terrifying.
The story itself does little to pick up the slack. The plot is overly convoluted, layering connections between the Abaddon Hotel, Carmichael Manor, and Vanessa’s past without ever forming a cohesive whole. Instead of sharpening the mystery, it becomes tangled and frustrating, weighed down further by over-the-top performances that push scenes into unintentional camp. Even the score works against the atmosphere, leaning on tired stingers and cliché Horror beats that feel recycled from stronger films. Together, these choices erode immersion and drain the film of the dread it so desperately needs.
Hell House LLC: Lineage also tries to cram an abundance of lore into its short run time, and the result is more exhausting than expansive. Every thread—from Abaddon to Carmichael Manor to Vanessa’s inherited curse—is unpacked in long stretches of exposition. Rather than adding richness, this lore dump bogs the movie down and grinds its momentum to a halt. What should have played as chilling revelations land like overlong explanations, leaving the mystery deflated and the finale overstuffed.
Ultimately, Hell House LLC: Lineage is a cautionary tale of what happens when a franchise forgets what made it scary in the first place. The earlier films thrived on restraint, atmosphere, and the tension of the unseen—those subtle, disappearing-and-reappearing clowns were pure nightmare fuel. This finale abandons all of that for cluttered exposition, over-the-top theatrics, and a story that cannot keep its own threads straight.
A series can reinvent itself, but only if it brings something bold to the table—this one does not. For fans, it may serve as a farewell, but as a Horror film, it is a stark reminder that the scariest thing a franchise can do is squander its own legacy. This is why Cryptic Rock gives Hell House LLC: Lineage 1 out of 5 stars.
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