Bo Bogle, Cayla Berejikian, Elizabeth Vermilyea, Emily Fan, Felicia Curry, Gideon Berger, Hell House LLC, Hell House LLC: Lineage, horror, Joe Bandelli, Kenneth Andrew, Mike Sutton, movies, reviews, Stephen Cognetti
August 23, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Stephen Cognetti
Culture Representation: Taking place in 2025, mostly in the fictional town of Abaddon, New York (with flashbacks to 1989 and 1993), the horror film “Hell House LLC: Lineage” (the fifth movie in the “Hell House LLC” series) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few Asian people and African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: The owner of bar is haunted by murders that have a common connection, a journalist is investigating the murders and wants to do an exorcism of a haunted hotel, and a killer clown is on the loose.
Culture Audience: “Hell House LLC: Lineage” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Hell House LLC” movies, but this dreadfully dull sequel is a letdown on all levels.
“Hell House LLC: Lineage” should be called “Hell House LLC: Garbage.” This lethargic sequel wallows in the muck of bad acting, a disjointed plot that copies ideas from the “Final Destination” franchise, and scenes that are a snoozefest instead of a scarefest. “Hell House LLC: Lineage” abandons the “found footage”/faux documentary format of the previous “Hell House LLC” movies to make the movie a real-time investigative murder mystery, but this change in format does not improve the quality of the “Hell House LLC” franchise.
“Hell House LLC: Lineage” was written and directed by Stephen Cognetti, the writer/director of all the previous “Hell House LLC” movies, which began with 2015’s “Hell House LLC.” “Hell House LLC: Lineage” is the fifth movie in the series. Is it necessary or helpful to watch the previous “Hell House LLC” movies before seeing “Hell House LLC: Lineage”? No. “Hell House LLC: Lineage” is so boring and muddled, there’s almost nothing in the story that would spark interest in watching or re-watching the previous “Hell House LLC” movies to better understand what happens in “Hell House LLC: Lineage.”
“Hell House LLC: Lineage” takes place mostly in the fictional town of Abbaddon, New York, whose Abbaddon Hotel is haunted. (“Hell House LLC: Lineage” was actually filmed in Pennsylvania.) Abbaddon and its surrounding communities have been plagued by a series of murders committed by a non-verbal killer clown, which is called the Hell House Clown in the franchise’s end credits. Joe Bandelli, the producer of the Hell House LLC” movies, has played the role of the Hell House Clown in this franchise.
“Hell House LLC: Lineage” begins with a flashback scene taking place in June 1989, at the Carmichael Manor in Rockland County, New York, which is adjacent to Abbaddon. Members of the wealthy Carmichael family (who first appeared in 2023’s “Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor”) are mourning the death of a young woman named Margaret Carmichael (played by Victoria Andrunik), who was killed in a car accident. It’s the day of Margaret’s funeral.
Margaret’s surviving siblings Patrick Carmichael (played by Gideon Berger) and Catherine Carmichael (played by Cayla Berejikian) are in a room together. They both look devastated. Catherine tells Patrick, “Mom wants you to say the prayer at the cemetery … If you need to to do it, I will.”
Patrick says he’s not going to say goodbye. He adds, “They’re all going to be punished.” Catherine replies, “Pat, you have to let it go.” He then gives an evil smirk and says, “Never.” This scene gives context to the events of “Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor.” However, it’s not necessary to see “Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor” because “Hell House LLC: Lineage” explains the circumstances of Margaret’s death and why Patrick wanted revenge.
“Hell House LLC: Lineage” then jumps to 1993, at the Rockland County Fair. A man named Troy Hopewell (played by Kenneth Andrew) is seen alone at night on the fairgrounds. What is her doing there by himself? Don’t expect an explanation because this scene is just a setup for the movie’s first murder. Troy sees the Hell House Clown and gets trapped in a room with the clown. You know what happens next.
“Hell House LLC: Lineage” then segues to 2025. Vanessa Shepherd (played by Elizabeth Vermilyea) is the 37-year-old owner/manager of a bar named Auerbach’s Cellar, which is located in Abbaddon. She’s seen in a one-on-one therapy session because she’s been having nightmares and not getting enough sleep. Vanessa says she’s having trouble distinguishing between dreams and reality.
Vanessa’s therapist Dr. Farrell (played by Felicia Curry) is convinced that Vanessa has post-traumatic stress disorder because the town of Abbaddon has gone through “collective trauma” because of all the murders that have happened over the years in the Abbaddon area. Vanessa doesn’t seem to be listening and thinks there must be another reason why she’s having these nightmares, which include visions of Margaret Carmichael telling Vanessa that Vanessa is going to die. Vanessa later finds out that a young man named Max (played by Nicholas Stoesser), who works for Vanessa as a bartender, is also having the same problems of having nightmares and insomnia.
Vanessa, who is separated from her husband, is living with a roommate named Crystal (played by Emily Fan), who is in her mid-to-late 20s. Crystal doesn’t have much purpose in the story, except to be the character in the movie who is sympathetic to the unraveling protagonist but also skeptical when protagonist becomes more paranoid. “Hell House LLC: Lineage” has the over-used horror movie cliché of a woman who thinks evil spirits are targeting her, but she is not believed.
The killings don’t stop, of course. One of the people who gets butchered by the Hell House Clown is Bobby Hopewell (played by Bo Bogle), who has one of the stupidest-looking deaths in the movie. If Bobby’s last name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the son of Troy Hopewell, the first person whose murder is shown in the movie. Troy’s body was never found, so Troy is still considered a missing person.
Bobby, who is a bachelor who lives alone, is in his house at the top of a staircase when he sees the clown at the bottom of the staircase. Bobby slowly walks down the stairs, as he and the clown have a staredown at each other. Bobby then turns his back to the clown, which makes it easy for the clown to stab Bobby to death.
Bobby was a patient of Dr. Farrell too. And not long before Bobby was murdered, he had called Vanessa to tell her about all the nightmares and hallucinations he’d been having. Vanessa barely knew Bobby, so this phone conversation was the extent of their contact with each other.
Alicia Cavalini (played by Searra Sawka) is a journalist who arrives in Abbaddon to investigate the Abaddon Hotel deaths and the details of what happened to the Carmichael Family. Alicia doesn’t think it’s a conicidence that people from the certain families have been murdered or gone missing in Abbaddon. She has a theory that there is a curse on thee families, with the Abbaddon Hotel somehow involved.
Alicia meets up with Vanessa to see if Vanessa can help her with more information. Vanessa tells Alicia that she doesn’t have any surviving family members. Vanessa says she had a twin brother, who died when they were children. (As soon as Vanessa tells this information, you know where this movie is going to go.)
Alicia decides that the abandoned Abbaddon Hotel needs an exorcism. And so, she enlists the help of a Catholic priest named Father David (played by Mike Sutton), who is one of the dullest and least-interesting exorcism priests you could ever see. “Hell House LLC: Lineage” has a lot of scenes of nightmares, but the cast members’ performances are so sluggish and bland, it seems like almost everyone in the movie is sleepwalkng.
Don’t believe the reports that “Hell House LLC: Lineage” is the last film in the “Hell House LLC” franchise. The movie ends on a cliffhanger, which makes it obvious that this franchise has plans to continue. The “Hell House LLC” movies aren’t that great to begin with, but “Hell House LLC: Lineage” is an unwelcome stain on this franchise’s legacy.
Terror Films Releasing/Iconic Events/Shudder released “Hell House LLC: Lineage” in U.S. cinemas on August 20, 2025.