Hell House LLC: Lineage – Movie Review | Shudder (2/5)

HELL HOUSE LLC: LINEAGE on Shudder is the latest in the HELL HOUSE LLC franchise and the first one that isn’t found footage. I don’t mind that fact, if the story or vibe was good, but it just isn’t. Read our full Hell House LLC: Lineage movie review here!

HELL HOUSE LLC: LINEAGE is a new Shudder horror movie. If the title seems familiar, it’s because there are a lot of movies that begin with Hell House LLC due to it being a franchise. I would say that it’s a found footage horror movie franchise, because it has been so far.

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Our review of the previous Hell House LLC installation on Shudder >

However, that stops with this one, which is shot like a straight-up horror movie, but in the same universe and even with repeat characters. Just like I don’t mind remakes by default, I can’t blame a filmmaker for wanting to try something new within the franchise they’ve created. It just doesn’t do much good here.

Continue reading our Hell House LLC: Lineage movie review below. Find it on Shudder from October 30, 2025.

Discover the origin of Hell House LLC

The tagline of Hell House LLC: Lineage is “A blood bond rooted in evil, ” which (along with the full title) gives us an idea of how some familial bond will come into play in this story. Before we get to this, we follow Vanessa Shepherd (Elizabeth Vermilyea), who is struggling after a near-death experience years earlier.

Vanessa is haunted by visions and tormented by recurring nightmares, but still finds herself living in the town of Abaddon, which has a strange hold on her.

KEEP UP WITH HELL HOUSE LLC

The second movie in this franchise was titled Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel. The character of Vanessa was in the third movie titled Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire.

In any case, we’re following Vanessa’s struggles, which are about to get a whole lot worse. Soon, people around her begin to die. As she tries to discover how it’s all connected to her, she must confront the terrifying truth.

Especially her own connection to the Abaddon Hotel, the Carmichael Manor, and the decade-long mysterious murders. Sure, this all sounds intriguing enough, and the story isn’t bad as such. The execution, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired, and it gets in the way of the story.

If there’s one thing you can get away with in a found footage movie, it’s lingering shots. After all, the concept of found footage is that something has been recorded, and that’s what we get to see. Slow and strange as it may be.

Once you lose the found footage element, you ought to also tighten up on those lingering shots.

Does Hell House LLC work without found footage?

With Hell House LLC: Lineage shaking it up and making the shift from found footage to classic horror movie, it begs the question: Does the found footage horror movie franchise still work without the found footage element?

Well, first, I have to say that I have absolutely no problem with this change in style. As a rule, I mean. Just like I’m okay with remakes, sequels, and requels. My only demand is that it should only be done if the story can handle it.

So, is Hell House LLC: Lineage as good as the previous movies in the franchise?!

Well, that’s a loaded question, as they have differed quite a bit in quality already. And as someone who liked the first one from 2016 for what it managed on a minimal budget, I don’t think this latest Lineage installation lives up to that.

Watch Hell House LLC: Lineage on Shudder

Stephen Cognetti is the writer and director of Hell House LLC: Lineage, just as he has been the director of the previous four movies in the franchise. Just before this latest, and non-found footage installation, he also directed the Shudder horror movie 825 Forest Road (2025), which you’ll want to check out as well.

For me, this is the weakest of the franchise, but mostly because I felt it had lost some of the nerve it otherwise excelled at. Sure, those creepy clowns are still creepy, but seeing them in this different light didn’t do much good for me.

Also, the ending of Hell House LLC: Lineage felt like a let-down. I won’t go into the how and why of it (to avoid spoilers), but it just didn’t reach the creepiness of previous movies. Much of it also felt strangely choppy, and it suffered from the earlier-mentioned “lingering shots syndrome“.

Hell House LLC: Lineage is on Shudder from October 30, 2025.

Details

Director/Writer: Stephen Cognetti
Cast: Elizabeth Vermilyea, Searra Sawka, Mike Sutton, Joe Bandelli, Cayla Berejikian, Victoria Andrunik, Gideon Berger