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Monday, October 5, 2020

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire Review


Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Ten years after the events of the first film, the Abaddon Hotel has been reopened once again, but will it be for the last time?

Review: I commend the effort to create a trilogy, but, this is, without a doubt, the worst entry of the three. The general premise is nonsensical with a final reveal that is cornball and felt like something from the Hallmark channel. It's also bizarre that a lot of the groundwork for this entry is laid during part 2, yet, somehow the story still fails to connect. It's not all bad though--let's put that out there. There are still some decent scares to be enjoyed and a few interesting ideas scattered about.

This time around, the hotel is reopened by a rich guy who wants to have some kind of performance art shown. This rich guy, Russell, is mentioned in part 2, but his involvement doesn't feel connected in the way that part 2 explained. There was this implication that the evil forces in the house were manipulating events for decades trying to open up some gateway to hell. While that does still happen, rather than Russell helping this happen or setting it into motion, he is miraculously an angel that closes the gate and destroys the hotel once and for all. Yeah, I know, roll your eyes with that. The execution of these ideas, and how it's depicted in the movie, is not good to say the least. I mean, what was the point of involving these specific people or this moronic performance art? Couldn't Russell have feasibly just swooped in with his angel powers and closed the gate? To make matters worse, the original cast is shown to have their spirits freed from the house--sorta--but what about all the other characters mentioned throughout the series and in part 2? I guess they're fucked.

Don't get me wrong, the concept of linking all three movies and trying to tie them together was fine. You do have that sense of anticipation to keep you guessing what will happen next as well. The characters were somewhat colorful even if on the annoying side at times. Truly, there is an okay movie under the flaws, but this is going to come off as a mediocre movie overall that is worsened because it's (as Randy would say) the concluding chapter of a trilogy. So, if you enjoyed parts 1 and 2 you may want to check this out for closure, however, I think most fans will be disappointed with this ending.

Notable Moment: When the one actress is dared to go into the basement and runs across our good old clown buddy.

Final Rating: 5/10

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