In 2021, a group of Internet detectives travel to the remote Carmichael mansion deep in the woods of Rockland County, New York, where the infamous Carmichael family murders of 1989 remain unsolved to this day. What they discover are secrets hidden for decades, and a terror that lurked in the shadows long before Hell House LLC.
With Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor, Stephen Cognetti delivers a terrifying horror film the likes of which the USA almost never produces. It arrives on Shudder just in time for Halloween.
Playing fake documentaries
More than 20 years after the famous Blair Witch Project, many films continue to use the “found footage” technique. It’s often an all-too-easy way to produce lousy low-budget films. But when this strategy is used effectively, it can produce terrifying films.
But here, Stephen Cognetti doesn’t just use the concept of “found footage”. He pushes the envelope to the point of creating faux-documentary sequences. It’s not exactly the first time we’ve seen this, but I’ve never seen anyone do it so effectively.
It’s so well done, that at first I wondered if I’d stumbled upon a documentary without knowing it. I know, I’m naive. The “documentary” sequences are well integrated with the recovered footage. Thanks to good editing, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor keeps viewers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. Even if you don’t believe it (that it’s found footage – after all, things aren’t the same as they were in 1999), it’s easy to get carried away.
It has to be said that, despite its classic direction, the film remains effective.
Fucking clowns
In a horror film, good direction means succeeding in scaring or startling us even when we see it coming from a distance. And that’s exactly what Cognetti manages to do. With his bloody clowns (let’s face it, clowns scare the shit out of us), he manages to create a feeling of terror that sticks to the chest. Because I have to say, I haven’t often felt this weight on my chest during a horror film. At least, not for this long during a film.
These puppets are scary. They’re no match for It’s dear friend. In the end, the “investigation” format is quite effective in keeping the viewer firmly anchored in the story. This is probably where the concept of found footage added to that of documentary can lead the brain to get lost in this film, because the brain can be easy to fool sometimes. And the director succeeds marvelously.
I don’t want to give too much away, because after all, this is an investigative film. So, if I say too much, I’m liable to spoil the fun for Shudder subscribers.
But for anyone who loves horror cinema, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor is a must-see. If Blair Witch Project reinvented the genre, this one appropriates the style and mounts an effective, terrifying and jubilant film.
