Learn everything that happened in Hell House LLC: Lake of Fire (2019)

With the fifth and allegedly final installment of the Hell House LLC franchise coming up, that will tie all previous four films together, it’s important to know exactly what happened in all those four films. I have watched all of them again, and I didn’t mind at all, because I love the franchise, especially because it’s found footage and with a mockumentary style, and I have made recaps for every film. 

So let’s pick up where we left off and revisit the third installment of the franchise. 

The Main Characters

• Vanessa Shepard: New host of Morning Mysteries
• Louie: Vanessa’s cameraman.
• Russell Wynn: Wealthy tech entrepreneur who bought the Abaddon Hotel to perform his interactive, dark piece Insomnia.
• Jeff Stone: Head of Operations of Insomnia.
• Harvey: Head of Artistic Operations of Insomnia.
• Gregory Sandwick: Plays Faust in Insomnia.
• Max Stubbs: Plays Mephistopheles in Insomnia.
• Jane Maloney: Cast member of Insomnia.
• Isabel: Make-up artist of Insomnia.

Invited back to the Abaddon Hotel

It has been 9 years since the Hell House team disappeared at the incident at the Abaddon Hotel. One year after the unexplained disappearance of the investigation team consisting of Jessica Fox, Mitchell Cavanaugh, Molly Reynolds and David Morris, the Hotel was scheduled to be demolished. But it was bought by Russell Wynn, a wealthy tech entrepreneur. He wanted to use the Hotel as the new site of his interactive and dark piece Insomnia.

Russell invited the new host of Morning Mysteries Vanessa Shepard to film an all-access behind-the-scene episode of Insomnia. Although Vanessa is reluctant she goes in with her cameraman Louie. The footage they shot is from September 13 till October 2 2018.

First they are being led around the Hotel by Jeff Stone, head of operations. They walk through a white hallway that represents heaven where god fights the devil with angels as witnesses. When they enter the basement, only two clowns are accounted for. The clown mannequin with the bleeding eyes is missing. 

They are introduced to Gregory Sandwick who plays Faust, Jane Maloney, a cast member, Max Stubbs who plays Mephistopheles, Harvey, head of artistic operations and we also get to meet Isabel, who is the make-up artist. Finally they get to meet Russell, who has his office set up in the attic. At the big meeting with all the cast and crew, Vanessa hands out camera’s for all of them to film their experiences in the Hotel. 

We also learn about an incident in the fields behind the Hotel, where the Rockland County Fair was being held in 2003 where people disappeared. In that field Vanessa finds a planchette with the initials B.D. It’s Brock Davies’ planchette.

Vanessa also talks to Father Paulis from the All Saints Church in Abaddon. He was hired by Russell for unknown reasons so far. He tells her that he encountered one demon in Abaddon who said over and over the sentence est aperta porta. He also tells her that Abaddon is the guard of the gateway to hell. And that when the gateway is opened no man can close it, only an angel of god can. If it stays open, hell will be unleashed on earth.

Continue reading below this announcement.

Seeing Ghosts

At night after the bonfire, Greg, Max, Jane and Isabel are the only ones left. Although Russell gave specific instructions that nobody should wander alone in the Hotel and nobody was allowed in after hours, Jane goes to the basement on a dare. When she turns the camera on herself all the ghostly team members of Hell House are standing right behind her. Now the clown with the bleeding eyes is sitting next to his friends and turns its head towards Jane. She runs away and it takes some convincing from Russell to make her not quit the play. And he tells everyone else it was a prank. But Harvey is scared and has a feeling that something bad is going to happen. Russell says that nobody is going to get hurt. 

When Isabel sees the ghostly figure of Sara Havel in room 2C, she does quit the play, or rather she goes missing. On her social media, photo’s the dead team members of Hell house are seen in the background, like Mac, and Tony and Alex hanging from a noose. 

They are not the only ones who see ghostly figures. Vanessa sees the ghost of Jessica Fox. But she doesn’t want to be put away as a crazy woman or difficult and doesn’t want to quit, although Louie is worried. Jeff doesn’t believe her but later on he hears Greg talking to a woman with the familiar voice of Sara and he hears her say that they will enjoy Greg. When Jeff enters the room Greg is alone and the woman has disappeared.

When Harvey is sitting in one of the bedrooms to test the lighting, making the lights go on and off, a ghostly woman shows up in the room, but he doesn’t see her, because she’s behind him but caught on camera. 

Bar secrets

The day of the opening night Vanessa, Greg, Max, Jane, Jeff, Harvey, Louie and Russell are celebrating the upcoming event. Strangely Russell tells Vanessa that she shouldn’t come. And that it is going to be hell. When he leaves she goes after him and he whispers something in her ear. 

After he has left, Vanessa takes Louie to see Father Paulis again. He starts by saying that Russell carries a heavy burden. He admits Russell transferred all his money to him and that after midnight he is to liquidate all the assets and disperse them to charities. Vanessa publishes that story immediately, but that doesn’t stop Insomnia from opening. 

Vanessa thinks that maybe Tully found the gateway, crossed it and came back. She wants to talk to Russell but he tells her not to worry. But they did caught him watching tapes of Mitchell Cavanaugh on it. The tapes Russell told Morning Mysteries in Hell House LLC: The Abaddon Hotel (2017), he was gathering and putting together. 

Unseen footage of Hell House

In April 2009 Alex and Mac are sitting in the diner where they just had the talk about Alex losing all the company’s money, when the others arrive. As they leave we see Russell sitting at the table next to them. 

In October 2017 Jessica, Molly and David walk out the bar in Abaddon when Russell walks in. 

Opening Night of Insomnia October 1 2018

It all feels a lot like what happened nine years ago with Hell House. A freak accident causing a lot of panic, chaos and death. But in an interview Vanessa says it was nothing like that. She says Russell knew what he was doing unlike Alex. 

All the audience get white masks and walk through the Hotel and watch the play. Vanessa and Louie did come and suddenly see the clown with the bleeding eyes standing in the wine room. And almost all the wine bottles are empty. 

Jeff and Harvey are observing everything in the control room. They see an man standing in room 2C. Russell is going to room 2C and there he encounters Andrew Tully. When Jeff comes up to take a look, Tully is gone. 

Tully went to the dining room where Mephistopheles and Faust are having a conversation. Tully interrupts them and kills Greg. Everybody starts to panic and starts running. The eerie piano tune is playing in the background. Cloaked figures are coming from the basement and start killing everybody. Jeff tells Vanessa to get out, but she is caught by one of the cloaked figures and taken to the basement and is killed. Russell shows up and so does Tully. They start to fight and a big ring of fire surrounds them.

The Hotel is on fire and the fire trucks are pulling in. Strangely enough all staff members and audience are found in the cornfield behind the Abaddon Hotel, and they are all unharmed. Vanessa says they did die but that Russell brought them back. He also closed the gateway. We learn that a few years ago in 2008 Russell was in a car accident. He was dead for two minutes. Max already told Vanessa the Russell came back a different man. She can only speculate that Russell was an angel that closed the gateway and saved them.

The Abaddon Tapes

On unseen tapes Paul, Mac, Alex, Tony and Sara are waking up in the Hotel. The Hotel looks brighter and they look normal. They are okay now says Russell who shows up. But he also tells them they can’t leave this place. At least they are no longer under the control of Tully and aren’t spending eternity in Hell. 

Conclusion

Key points to remember:

• In 2003 the Rockland County Fair was held in the field behind the Abaddon Hotel.
• Like Andrew Tully was planning to open the gateway, so was Russell planning to close it.
• Russell probably needed a lot of people present at the play to lure out Tully and his cloaked figures to appear and to defeat them once and for all.
• While Tully and Russell fought, the cloaked figures killed everybody.
• But everybody who was at the play survived, or rather was brought back to life by Russell.
• The Hotel burned down and the gate is closed again.
• The Hell House crew was freed from the chains of Tully but they are still dead and have to stay at the Hotel. 

Unanswered questions

• What’s with all the wine? And why are most bottles empty at opening night?
• Why did Tully need to lure people to the Hotel? Did he need their souls as sacrifices to open the gateway? 
• And what was his ultimate goal? To unleash hell on earth? 
• Did all the other people who died or vanished before in the Hotel also get freed from Tully? 
• What did Russell whisper in Vanessa’s ear?
• We still don’t know what the clown with the bleeding eyes is. 
• And the origin of the eerie pain tune also remains a mystery.

Read more about Hell House LLC:

• Hell House LLC (2015) recap
• Hell House LLC: The Abaddon Hotel (2018) recap
• Hell House Origins: The Carmichael Manor (2023) recap
• Hell House LLC (2015) review
• Hell House LLC: The Abaddon Hotel (2018) review
• Hell House LLC: Lake of Fire (2019) review