Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor Review: A Frightening Beginning

Shudder has consistently delivered top-quality horror movies in 2023. With the release of When Evil Lurks, Huesera: The Bone Woman and now Hell House LLC Origins, the horror streaming platform has released some of the best horror movies of the year. Hell House LLC Origins, the latest release for Shudder, delivers on the original’s clever mockumentary-style filmmaking, interesting story, and terrifying scares. 

As the name suggests, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor delves into the events that started it all. The film does canonically take place after the events of the third film, however. Don’t worry, you do not have to see the original Hell House LLC Trilogy to watch Hell House LLC Origins. However, seeing those movies will enhance the experience here. This Hell House LLC Origins review will be spoiler-free. 

Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor is available to stream now on Shudder. 

Story – Detective On The Case

The Carmichael Manor, infamous for the murders of the Carmichael family as well as other disappearances, has attracted Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta), an internet sleuth to the house. She brings her girlfriend Rebecca (Destiny Leilani Brown) and brother Chase (James Liddel) to the manor to accompany her and help film events that occur. And as you can start to expect, mysterious things begin to take place.

Similar to past entries, Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor has a mockumentary style to it. Several people are creating a documentary relating to the events that occurred at the Manor. We jump between their interviews and the actual events that occurred. Having this mockumentary approach to the storytelling as well as the found-footage style of camerawork helped amplified the scares. It gives Hell House LLC Origins this fake authenticity to the events that occurred. It’s more easy to believe they are occurring even though it’s obviously a movie. 

The original Carmichael family

That being said, there isn’t anything very surprising with the story. There are times when you’re just plainly told what happened; You just don’t know how they happened. I quite enjoyed the story and how it concluded. Having an idea of what happened didn’t hamper my experience all too much. And that is mostly due to the characters introduced here. 

Characters and Performances: The New And Old Kids

I quite liked the trio we get in this film. Margot is this bright and optimistic internet sleuth who enjoys visiting locations and solving mysteries. While some internet sleuths prefer doing their detective work over a screen, Margot likes to investigate in person. She wants to be in it and I think Bridget did a fantastic job portraying her enthusiasm. Her performance felt genuine. 

Rebecca and Chase on the other hand didn’t share Margot’s enthusiasm for scares. Rebecca has accompanied Margot to various supposed haunted houses. And she goes along with Margot again thinking she will still be able to work at home. But when Rebecca begins to figure out something is off, she immediately wants out. Chase is also dragged along, not caring to be at the manor and is only there as his mother sent him to go with Margot.

Photo of Margot and Rebecca during one of their many investigations

I loved these two characters. Chase felt more relaxed about the entire situation, not wanting to stay, but not going to get upset if they didn’t leave. Rebecca on the other hand hated it. They are all quite different from each other in that regard. As a result, their reaction to the horrors that occur is a delight to see. Rebecca’s terrified reaction was a particular highlight. She was hyperventilating, unable to speak clearly, and running away at the slightest uneasiness. Chase in particular also had a nail biting scene where the actor stood out. 

Pacing and Editing: Three Points of Views

Coming in at a little over an hour and a half, Hell House LLC Origins moves at a brisk pace. The film jumps between three different periods of time, all of which give the viewer a bit more information as to what is going on. We primarily follow Margot, Rebecca, and Chase though. The mockumentary isn’t the core of the film and primarily functions to build suspense, as well as give more information. I enjoyed the jump between the three points of view and thought it brought enough of a purpose to be shown. It wasn’t done often either to the point where we were taken out of momentum or jarring. These scenes are expertly placed. 

These interviews were quite interesting

Similar to the first film, there aren’t many jump scares. There are still some here and there of course, but Hell House LLC Origins heavily relies on building suspense. This is sometimes done through long, still shots. Oddities will appear here and there and when the main cast gets a look at them, they are typically too scared to move. Chase for example finds something in the house when he was supposed to be alone. The camera simply sits on what he finds. As the audience, you’re unsure what is going to happen. Is there a jump scare coming up? Is there not? The only thing you know is that something is very wrong. 

These guys are terrifying

There is also another effective sequence later in the film involving a computer presentation. The way the scene was stitched together to arrive at that conclusion was what stood out. Like many of the scares in the film, the scare doesn’t happen immediately. Hell House LLC Origins takes its time setting up sequences to get more effective scares.

Cinematography and Sound: Small Manor

Probably the aspect of Hell House LLC Origins that bothered me the most was the use of the Carmichael Manor. It’s a ginormous house, but it doesn’t feel like it. We’re rarely treated with scenes that take place outside the kitchen and bedrooms. Hell House LLC Origins primarily confines us to a few locations in the house. It’s…disappointing and perplexing as there have been plenty of films with smaller houses that have done a lot more. The original Hell House LLC and Don’t Breathe come to mind where that house was used from top to bottom. I wish Hell House LLC Origins took more advantage of its setting.

I wish these outdoors were utilized more

Another aspect that I feel could have been improved upon was the sound. Admittedly, it’s a tough tool to implement due to how the film is shot. Hell House LLC Origins wanted to keep that found footage style to it, so the only sounds we typically hear are the characters talking, their heavy breathing, or random noises they come across. Music is only played during the segments when the documentary crew is narrating events. Sound design could have come into play more though. I would have liked to have seen more odd noises occur during the found footage segments. 

Have you seen the film? Do you agree with our Hell House LLC Origins review? Let us know!