For three installments, the Hell House LLC franchise has given us found footage vibes mixed with some twisted family history entangled in the occult. One would think that the story is over, given the Abaddon Hotel burned down in the 2019 Lake of Fire. But alas, the frights and lore don’t stop at the bottom of the ashes. With The Carmichael Manor, writer/director Stephen Cognetti has found a way to breathe new life into the franchise – both from the past and future (even as Carmichael Manor is presented as neither a prequel or sequel). It’s a little from columns a and b. While some textbook techniques from single-camera horror films are still present, the freshness is in the angles Cognetti presents to the audience.
The Carmichael Manor is not exactly brimming with life as it’s been long abandoned and reluctantly rented out for less than a week at a time. If anything, the family estate would love for it to sit untouched in the middle of nowhere. That’s because, in 1989, there was a great tragedy where the mother and daughter were stabbed to death. It just so happens that the father and son were never found or heard from again. Enter supreme internet sleuth Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta), who is more than anxious to stay at the manor to uncover what went down. She’s joined by her girlfriend Rebecca (Destiny Brown), and later Margot’s brother Chase (James Liddell) rounds out the trio.
Rebecca initially has her reservations, but wants to be supportive. She lets Margot know this will be her last venture (a horror kiss of death). Chase is dealing with some mental health issues, and Margot invites him as a way to stay busy. At Margot’s insistence, everybody is equipped with a camera, and the games begin. To deviate from the script, Cognetti inserts two different modes of storytelling that don’t feel like it takes away from the overall story.
The bridge is that this venture is chronicled by a mockumentary partly told by Margot’s former colleague Bradley (Darin F. Earl II). This is the go-between between the present-day story and grainy footage of the Carmichael family in 1989. It’s effective because as things are happening to the ensemble of Margot, Rebecca, and Chase, the callbacks are there to explain the phenomenon slightly. Something was never quite right with those creepy clowns, and Carmichael Manor gives more context to their existence and lore. Those perspectives and haunts, mainly when paired with the footage from 1989, provide a template for you to want to know more.
This is a found footage film, so many situational setups are still present. Sudden laughs and bumps in the night, a character walking alone down a dark hallway, and discovering unholy things have been paramount throughout the Hell House stories. While some scenes are commonplace, Cognetti and cinematographer Josh Layton offset that with a quick place to keep you guessing. There are usages of framing during all times of the day that will still illicit some creepiness from you.
Some character logic will have you scratching your head, but this Hell House film should not be off-putting to anyone who hasn’t seen the three previous installments. The easter eggs may make you want to watch all the Hell House films to see the connections and why. It doesn’t look like the franchise intends to slow down, and if things are still entertaining, why should it?
