Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel

'Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel' is my second Stephen Cognetti film, the first being 'Hell House LLC', and already I'm beginning to see some trends in his film-making - some positive, some not so. He seems to really struggle with the beginnings of his films and then tends to find his way as it goes along. Also he writes some terrible dialogue, especially in the non-horror scenes. But what saves all this and makes his films extremely watchable is that he seems to be a master at directing horror.

This house/hotel setting that he has created for these films is truly terrifying. Everything about it just works. The creatures moving about inside it, the maze-like feel it has and the feeling of overwhelming dread when a character is in there are just terrific. Not often do individual scare moments get me but this film has one that really caught me off-guard and had my heart leaping. I didn't see it coming and combine that with the imagery and I'm not afraid to say it got me.

If Cognetti can either fix his dialogue and the clunky non-horror scenes he writes, or get a script-doctor in to do it for him and just let him focus on the horror side of things, then he has a big future ahead of him. He has created something special with The Abandon Hotel and I very much look forward to checking out the third installment now.

I loved the first one! The acting wasn't cringe in any way. Now the second one. It's terrible! The acting is painful. And Molly? Who is she related to? Her acting was worse than the high school production of Cabaret I just saw. Those kids should have Oscar's compared to her! When I was younger I used to think I'd never hack it! And the fact that she has this role, this opportunity to bring someone's story to the camera....and she is SO TERRIBLE AT IT! It upsets me.

Now I never hate oh actor's. But this chick didn't even try. And she made me p-o'd this whole movie. I really thing someone should buy the rights and do it better. This story is so great, it deserves a touch up.

This one was a decent sequel, however it wasn't nearly as terrifying as the first Hell House. I did enjoy this one and do recommend it

This is a perfect example of an unwarranted sequel leaving behind a bitter taste in one's mouth. The first Hell House wasn't exactly original: there are hundreds of found footage, paranormal films on the market. What separated it was the execution, the build, the unsettling creepiness and the intense, abrupt ending. The feel of the sequel is filmmaker's going to the well again hoping for a cash cow, but not having enough content to fill time, so they insert needles explanatory angles that ruin the mystique of the first film. Not a terrible film, mind you. Just don't go into watching Hell House LLC 2 with an expectation of it being comparable to the first.

The first Hell House LLC was really good. Yeah, there were things left unanswered, there were questions ... but that's fine. In horror, not everything needs an answer.

This one definitely feels like it has a lower budget than the last one, even if they were the same. I don't know, this definitely felt like a made-for-TV deal, even for a FF horror film.

Anyway, there were too many things that were just implausible here to work. They were trying too hard, I think, to expand the plot and the "terror" of the Abaddon Hotel by making it bigger than it needed to be.

The scare factor just wasn't there in this film. Yeah, there were some creepy moments, but on the whole, this one flopped for me. Like the Abaddon Hotel--and the first film--some things are just better left alone.