It's fascinating how much creativity can be harvested from a subgenre many now find uninspiring and lifeless. The found footage film, which can be traced back as far as the early 60's, was a very novel branch of filmmaking that amounted to much more than being a mere gimmick. Producing such genre staples as Cannibal Holocaust, Man Bites Dog and The Blair Witch Project, the found footage film carved a permanent home in the cinema landscape (particularly in Hollywood) after the release of the long-shelved, DIY frightfest, Paranormal Activity. Paranormal Activity is seen by many as the subgenre's popularity reaching its peak, as the subsequent deluge of sequels and hackneyed ripoffs soon flooded the market to the disdain of many. And, while I will personally go to bat for the first three Paranormal films, I can't argue that my eyes rolled so far back into my head once the fourth, fifth, and finally sixth installment came out. This is a perfect example, much like the Saw films before (and during) it, of an original horror idea being literally dragged out behind the shed and beaten senselessly.
Despite all this, I (and many others) are endlessly drawn to these kinds of films. While there have been more than a handful of recent gems, such as Trollhunter, Creep, The Sacrament, and Willow's Creek, there have been countless films that have amassed to no more than a big ol' stinky pile of cow manure. We're talking about those films you tried to forget, like Alien Abduction, The Devil Inside, Apollo 18, The Last Exorcism, and Quarantine. It's very easy for these kinds of films to fall into its genre tropes, such as knowing just about everyone is going to die, that the case will forever remained unsolved or closed (thus leaving room for the inevitable sequel), and the countless, pointless, downright stupid jumpscares. It's when the horror is crafted to be subtle, much like the gems and staples listed above, that a found footage film achieves more than just being a subpar roller coaster ride. And that's exactly the kind of horror Stephen Cognetti creates in his first feature film, Hell House LLC.
The film follows a small documentary crew trying to piece together the tragedy that unfolded over opening night at Hell House, a haunted house attraction put together by a small team who scare people for a living. Only one member of this founding team lived to tell the tale and it's through her accounts and bag of security video tapes that we get to see the full extent of the story. And this is Hell House LLC's strongest suit: slow, unraveling horror over the course of a few weeks. Again, the horror here is very subtle and thus proves to be incredibly effective. It's a found footage horror film shot almost entirely inside an old, haunted building that's being rented by a group of people who decorate it as an old, haunted building. The disintegration of friendship and subsequent paranoia of living in a place withholding a sordid history starts to creep in. It's a setup so easy, so simple, so effective that it's almost mind-boggling that no one thought of this before. It's like Grave Encounters by way of Tobe Hooper's The Funhouse.
We see horror by way of inanimate props being positioned in ways that are impossible. The slight turn of a clown's head. The banging of piano keys from a stuffed dummy. The figure of someone (or something) lingering in a doorway. There are so many secret entrances, claustrophobic corridors, strobe lights and black curtains housing the next room's attractions that it's easy to get lost in here, even after having explored the whole building with the characters for over ninety minutes. And, to top it all off, there's an absolutely terrifying clown. Clowns are something that never truly unnerved me. I like my Killer Klowns from Outer Space and It well enough but they never creeped me out the way they do for many people. Until now. As of 9/22/18, I am now afraid of giant, inanimate clowns. Seeing it at the foot of the staircase that led up to the crew's sleeping quarters is easily one of the most unnerving scenes I have seen all year.
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| Seriously, fuck this clown. |
We live in a time where cheap horror movies are being cranked out and dumped on streaming services at an alarmingly fast rate that it's easy to be overwhelmed while browsing. And while the idea of a near endless supply of cheapies seems fun there's also a downside to all of this: that, along the way, new voices and creativity will unfortunately get lost in the mix. Hell House LLC is a title I have passed over countless times, always assuming that it was the kind of garbage that got dumped into the recesses of Amazon Prime for a reason. Luckily, I was wrong, and wound up finding such a gem that I can't wait to spread the word to everyone I know. The film is flawed, sure, and perhaps the climax leaves a little to be desired, but the haunted tour Stephen Cognetti guides us through is unforgettable. This is easily going to become one of my new favorite Halloween movies.
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