Well we finally made it to the fourth Hell House and like I predicted after part one, it didn’t get much better.
This is technically a origins prequel story that takes place in modern day and is filled in to attempt to further tie together everything in this series. The story here for the Hell House films is really the worst part. A bloated and convoluted mess that introduces more than it accounts for.
Here we are at “The Carmichael Manor”, a manor where in 80s a family had a tragic story and these paranormal investigators are here to figure it out. As per the other films, its forgettable characters going into a dumb scenario all for news coverage pretty much.
We are given more characters, some major plot gaps, and attempts to tie the Abaddon and previous films characters into this story. It never really becomes interesting and just feels like once again we are being given more to remember than what is worth.
It is by far the best shot film of the series though. While the Manor itself feels lifeless and bland as if no one ever lived there really, we are given more modern day found footage troupes here. Dark hallways galore and body parts hanging in the shot are plentiful here. It does have a few scenes though that honestly work quite well.
With news that the 5th one releases this year and is abandoning the found footage model entirely I don’t know what this franchise has in store anymore. I know there will be more story lines that don’t make sense and the clowns will somehow remain here. As for this one, its the best by far but that isn’t saying much.
Score :
1.5 / 5
