Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel

A sequel to 2015’s Hell House LLC, Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel follows an assortment of generic characters as they’re forced to fend for their lives after entering the first movie’s notoriously haunted former hotel. It’s clear, ultimately, that Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel fares worse than its far-from-spectacular predecessor and is, for the most part, devoid of compelling elements, as filmmaker Stephen Cognetti, working from his own screenplay, delivers a sluggish endeavor that’s rarely, if ever, able to cultivate a suspenseful, horrific atmosphere – with the arms-length vibe perpetuated by a complete absence of sympathetic protagonists and a pervasively slapdash vibe that grows more and more problematic as time progresses. Cognetti’s penchant for cutting away to different events and news reports certainly disrupts the narrative’s tenuous momentum on a disastrously all-too-frequent basis, and there’s little doubt, as well, that the writer/director’s continuing efforts at deepening the mythology surrounding the Abaddon Hotel mostly fall hopelessly flat. The presence of a few admittedly effective jolts, including an effective bit wherein the franchise’s creepy clown blocks a doorway, is hardly enough to compensate for an otherwise tedious (and interminable) affair, which does, in the end, cement Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel ‘s place as a thoroughly underwhelming entry within an increasingly irrelevant series.

*1/2 out of ****