Hell House LLC: Lineage (2025) - Movie Review

What if I told you one of my favorite franchises in recent history reached new heights, but simultaneously hit rock bottom?

Yeah, this isn’t going to be fun.

Let’s discuss.

I hate having to write this review. I love the Hell House LLC franchise. I am not a huge fan of found footage horror in general, but Hell House redefined and reinvigorated the genre on the independent scene. The first Hell House LLC is brilliant, especially considering the meager budget. The following two films were admirable attempts to expand the lore and build out the world, but they also created a major issue that resulted in this follow-up sequel to the original trilogy being a confusing and seemingly unfinished entry to the series.

Hell House LLC: Lineage is a 2025 Supernatural thriller brought to us by creator/writer/director Stephen Cognetti. Cognetti is the brilliant mind behind the 5-film series and also serves as the executive producer. I am a big fan of this guy, but this film has too many problems to ignore.

*FULL DISCLOSURE: I have interacted with cast and crew from the original trilogy in a friendly context. They were one of the first positive cast/crew experiences I had after posting a review on the site, and I believe one or two of the actors still follow me on Instagram. However, I will be brutally honest in this review despite my love of the original films.

Let’s start with a positive.

This is the best-looking film of the series. The film is shot beautifully with crisp blacks and impeccable lighting throughout. What little special effects appear in the film are all well done and are almost entirely practical. The clowns somehow look the same as the original films, but look even better due to being lit and shot with an actual, modern movie camera. That’s not a knock on the previous films, because they were. meant to look aged, ala the found footage film standard.

This is an actual movie, just with some found footage scenes.

It was a breath of fresh air to see the film franchise step into actual production values, and it doesn’t disappoint. The film is well shot, well directed, and the cinematography is impeccable.

The acting isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s a definite step up from the prior films, as is the script.

But that leads us to the major issue with this film.

While the script is improved, it’s still a mess. Character’s motivations are opaque at best, dialogue alternates between attempted exposition dumps, but the film jumps around in time and location, so anything that might be considered continuity is thrown out the window. The film references the events of the first and second films, almost as if this film is retconning the finality of the third film’s plot. Much like the Halloween franchise did, for better or worse (much worse when considering Kills and Ends). However, halfway through the movie, they start having flashbacks to the third film, which was the low point in the series, and involves a billionaire possessed by the archangel Michael—yeah, it got a bit wacky, but it was jarring for them to not explain what happened at all. The main character waves it off, acting like the billionaire, who she saw transform into pure light and kill a demon, and then explode the Abbadon, was just crazy and blew up the hotel. If her saying that as a lie to hide the unbelievable truth was even hinted at, it wouldn’t have been as infuriating.

This film doesn’t have an ending.

That’s right, folks, it’s Everyone in Silico all over again. The movie expands the Hell House universe, reveals even more moving pieces tied to the Abbaddon Hotel’s history, and then, as the lead character arrives to find answers, cuts to credits.

The movie wouldn’t have been saved even with an ending, due to the convoluted storytelling, attempted retcons, and gaping plot holes. Some segments feel absolutely alien to the film. There’s a segment with a character in the bar, who I still have no idea why they got so much screen time. For my viewing partner, she’d never seen the original trilogy, so the entire film was obtuse and impossible to understand. This is not a movie you can step into without a knowledge of all three of the original films.

Even as an avid fan of the original films, I was lost.

This is the first movie in the series I can’t endorse or recommend anyone watch. It can’t decide if it wants to be a sequel, a prequel, or tell a new story. This indecisiveness results in a film that feels like a social experiment at best and an utter failure at worst.

Ignore this entry in the Hell House LLC series. Watch the original films instead.

If you do want to punish yourself, this is streaming on Shudder / AMC+ at the time of this writing.

I can’t believe they released this in theaters.