#horror – #horrormovies – #horrorreviews – #HellHouseLLCLineage – #HellHouseLLC – @Terror_Films –
Director: Stephen Cognetti
Writer: Stephen Cognetti
Stars: Elizabeth Vermilyea, Searra Sawka, Mike Sutton
It would be very remiss of me not to state directly up front that I am already biased when it comes to the Hell House series. I’ve become deeply engaged with Stephen Cognetti’s Rockland County universe, especially impressive since, until 2025, the four films in this series consistently used the found-footage format. After watching the fifth installment, Lineage, I can safely state that I never want to go to Rockland County, NY ever – even in real life. There is some bizarre shit going on in those woods.
For those familiar with the series, we are re-introduced to Vanessa Shepherd (Elizabeth Vermilyea), whom we last saw at the end of Lake Of Fire as having miraculously survived the destruction of the Abaddon Hotel. Since the events of that movie, Vanessa has relocated to the area and opened a (really nice looking) bar, which employs Max as her faithful bartender. Max doesn’t look old enough to be in a bar let alone tend one, but we will suspend that disbelief for the sake of the film.
Vanessa has been having dreams and visions which are linked to the events of the preceding movies at both the Abaddon Hotel and Carmichael Manor. She is experiencing flashbacks to mysterious deaths that happened long before she ever stepped foot in Rockland County. As the phenomena continues to increase in strength and intensity, she is approached by Alicia Cavalini, who has been following the stories in the area. As Alicia begins pulling back some of the layers of this grand mystery, we find out that the evil is not just centered around the Abaddon Hotel and the Carmichael Manor, but that there exists a third undisclosed powerful location.
The series moves from found footage to the third person after four films, which is an interesting change that I don’t dislike. There’s a subtle nod to this in the transition from Catherine watching the car drive away to us just watching Catherine. From this moment on, the use of angles effectively enhances the scares and still draws the viewer in much in the same fashion that the first four films did. This makes it possible to see graphic depictions not shown in the other movies. Previously, a good deal of the gore was implied while we were more peppered with jump scares. Having the camera out of the hands of the actors really allows us to enjoy some of those “oh wow” moments.
As has become the tradition in the Hell House universe, there is a fair amount of information to digest in Lineage. Thankfully, we aren’t left in the lurch and are provided with a healthy dose of flashbacks to keep everything on the level of making sense. At times, Vanessa has visions or experiences dreamlike states that are not easily distinguishable from her reality for the viewer. Whether or not this is done on purpose I can’t say, but it can become slightly confusing.
In the end, we have a good bridge from the first trilogy (centering around the Abaddon Hotel) into the second trilogy (Carmichael Manor) in the character of Vanessa. I’m confident there will be a sixth film, and I look forward to it. This narrative has evolved well beyond the confines of a haunted house attraction gone awry; it now reveals a broader account of retribution spanning decades and persisting across generations to the present day.
Hell House LLC: Lineage will be released exclusively in theaters on August 20th!
Rating: 8/10