Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire Blu-ray Movie Review

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is the third film in the Hell House LLC horror franchise. Produced by Joe Bandelli (Hell House LLC, Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel), Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is the second sequel in the popular film franchise and it is set one year following events from Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel. Executive produced by Joe Dain (Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor, Our Show Must Go On) and Jim Klock (Always Woodstock, House of Purgatory), Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire stars Gabriel Chytry, Elizabeth Vermilyea, Sam Kazzi, Theodore Bouloukos, Brian David Tracy, Bridgid Abrams, Leo DeFriend, Jordan Kaplan, Danny Bellini, Ryan Jennifer Jones, Gore Abrams, Jared Hacker, Joe Bandelli, Scott Richey, Olivia Roldan, Adam Schneider, Joy Shatz, and Jillian Geurts.

Despite the haunted history of the infamous Abaddon Hotel, the hotel is soon going to be open for visitors once more. Billionaire Russell Wynn (Gabriel Chytry) has decided to take over the historic haunted hotel and turn it into a new sight for the interactive event series, Insomnia. Vanessa Shepherd (Elizabeth Vermilyea) is a successful journalist who has been given a special invitation to come to the Abaddon Hotel and document the progress made on Insomnia alongside her personal team.

Russell wants the Insomnia event documented – the grand opening, the epic Insomnia performance, and everything in-between. Can Russell turn the once infamous “haunted hotel” into a new themed experience or could there be more hidden terror within the walls? Spooky sounds, images, and experiences begin to unfold – experiences that have nothing to do with the developing Insomnia interactive event series. Terror awaits in the shadows and the haunted history of Abaddon is far from over.

Gabriel Chytry delivers a solid performance as billionaire investor Russell Wynn. Elizabeth Vermilyea delivers a similarly noteworthy performance as the savvy journalist Elizabeth Vermilyea. The supporting cast of characters includes Jeff Stone (Sam Kazzi), Robert Lyons (Theodore Bouloukos), Andrew Tully (Brian David Tracy), Jane Maloney (Bridgid Abrams), Gregory Sandvick (Leo DeFriend), Max (Jordan Kaplan), Alex Taylor (Danny Bellini), Sara Havel (Ryan Jennifer Jones), Paul (Gore Abrams), Tony (Jared Hacker), Louie/Hell House Clown (Joe Bandelli), Harvey (Scott Richey), Isabel (Olivia Roldan), Mac (Adam Schneider), Molly (Joy Shatz), and Jessica (Jillian Geurts). The supporting cast contribute to the film with good supporting performances. The cast of actors have a lot of fun with the production.

The score composed by SINIUS (The Haunting Lodge, Tracking the Lore) is one of the strengths of the production. The original score provides the eerie atmosphere the haunted house filmmaking needs. Excellent at establishing mood for the horror filmmaking and giving some eerie energy to the film. Throughout Abaddon Hotel, the spooky haunted house setting is all the more effective as a result.

The cinematography by Carlos Garcia de Dios (Another Cabin in the Woods Movie, Karate Tortoise) is superb and creates a good sense of atmosphere for the genre filmmaking. The found-footage horror and documentary style horror genre elements are perfect for low-fi horror and the cinematography does a good job highlighting this style throughout the production. The sense of dread created by the visuals is superb.

Edited by Brad Geiszler (River Guard, Elizabeth Blue) and Jon Shearburn (Cabin Fear, In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin), Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is well-edited and the pacing is handled well throughout. There is a sense of vision to the editing style. The editing style allows for eerie atmosphere while the production has fast-paced energy, too.

The production designs by Angela Moyer are great at establishing the mood of the filmmaking. The eerie production values are top-notch and there is an unsettling sense of dread throughout Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire. The return to the Abaddon Hotel brings more scares in every corner of the hotel. As the production of Insomnia goes underway, the scary hotel manifests more terror and audiences will respond to it more through the effective design work.

Written and directed by Stephen Cognetti (Hell House LLC, Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel), Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is an impressive entry in the Hell House film series. Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is a lot of fun. The third installment doesn’t fall flat to dreaded sequel-itis or the scale of diminishing returns in the way some might expect.

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire manages to find new ways to explore the Abaddon Hotel and the eerie haunted house energy. Cognetti has managed to create an enormously entertaining horror franchise and each installment finds a new way to continue exploring Hell House without losing a sense of momentum. Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is well worth seeing for franchise fans.

As someone who always dreaded haunted houses and couldn’t last more than a few minutes inside of one growing up, it amazes me how eerie and effective the Hell House horror franchise is while still creating memorable characters, impressive storytelling, and comedic moments as needed in the film. The horror franchise is arguably underrated and continues to find new and appreciative fans. Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is a lot of fun.

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Umbrella Entertainment, Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen. The transfer impresses with good detail and visual clarity. The cinematography is well reproduced – the eerie documentary style photography creating a sense of unease and dread.

The low-fi quality of the cinematography is well preserved on the release. Colors are well reproduced, too. The encoding by Umbrella Entertainment capably handles the feature-film presentation.

One of the great benefits of physical media is the encoding quality. One can expect a more consistent experience with physical media. Streaming has more variables – including frequently lower bit-rates, more compression, and outside factors (internet connection, number of connected users, service-related issues). Blu-ray offers a distinct advantage with something consistently dependable (and you never have to wonder what happens if the internet temporarily goes down).

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The lossless audio quality on the release is excellent. An impressive soundstage is well-reproduced on the release. The 5.1 surround sound option is impressive with superb detail from the surround speakers and the level of immersion created by the sound mixing adds to the experience. The atmosphere of Abaddon Hotel is more eerie and compelling with the sound design. The score is well reproduced on the release, too. Dialogue remains clear and easy to understand.

Blu-ray provides superior audio encoding compared to streaming video services. The Blu-ray format offers lossless, high-resolution audio. The format provides true theater quality audio with no audio compression. Streaming video services are limited to lossy (non-lossless) audio quality and there is compression that prevents one from getting a true theatrical quality audio presentation on video streaming. For home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles (especially those with nice home audio equipment and gear), the physical media format has a distinct advantage.

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary with Director Stephen Cognetti

Fragmented Stories: A Video Essay With Andrew Frost (HD, 9:17)

Behind the Scenes of Hell House III (HD, 7:32)

Trailer (HD, 2:10)

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire is an entertaining installment in the horror franchise. The filmmaking is eerie and the haunted house setting provides more unexpected terror and goosebumps. Fans of the franchise won't want to miss this third entry in the film series. There are a lot of entertaining horror elements at play and director Cognetti continues to find new ways to expand the franchise roots.

Umbrella Entertainment provides an excellent high-definition presentation, lossless audio encoding, and a selection of exclusive supplements. The bonus features include an audio commentary with the filmmaker, a video essay about the film, and a behind-the-scenes look at the production. Recommended.