Hell House LLC Director Reveals Real-Life Inspiration for Viral Film
The found footage franchise is, in fact, based on a real house in Upper New York.
The idea of demonic possessions and ghosts are already plenty scary for most, but when a horror property is rooted in real-life events, that terror is often taken to another level. While the Hell House LLC franchise isn't based on real-life events, there's one particular house that inspired the events of the first film and, in turn, the rest of the property. Hell House helmer Stephen Cognetti tells us his inspiration for the film mirrors the journey Alex (Danny Bellini) takes in the film itself.
"I lived in Manhattan for a long time and I lived up in Washington Heights, which is the northern part of Manhattan. And right across the GW Bridge is Rockland County," Cognetti recalls. "And I drove out there, found his abandoned house and the story clicked a little bit more about Alex and how he left the city and went out to Rockland County to start Hell House."
As for why the idea of an abandoned building brought back to life clicked, Cognetti says it'd be the perfect place for something to go so terribly wrong and nobody would be any the wiser.
"A haunted house gone wrong is just a concept I thought was so fun because who would ever know if something was wrong? I've already been to two haunts this season and the actors were all amazing," he adds. "And I always think about how that concept still lives. It's like anything could go wrong and you would've no idea. You would just think it's all part of the show no matter how real someone's wound looks, or whatever. How many people screaming bloody murder and you think, 'Ah, that's just an actor,' but something could possibly go wrong there. I thought it was a fun concept."
The original Hell House LLC trilogy is now streaming on Shudder. Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor hits the service on October 30th.
What's your favorite found footage horror movie? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
