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Haunted Frames & Chilling Tales: Tommy's Dive into Found Footage Horror "Letterbox'd Recap"
34 Plays1 month ago
In this spine-tingling episode of The Popcorn Podcast, Tommy ventures into the eerie world of found footage horror, offering his take on The Blackwell Ghost, The Blackwell Ghost 2, and Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel. Exploring the blurred lines between reality and fiction, Tommy delves into the unsettling narratives and atmospheric tension that define these films. Whether you're a seasoned horror aficionado or new to the genre, this episode promises insights that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
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Transcript
Introduction and Updates
00:00:00
tommy cresta
everyone, welcome back to the Popcorn Podcast. i'm ah I'm Tommy, and this is a quick just little letterbox recap that I wanted to do since we had to delay our episode for the last of us a little bit.
00:00:14
tommy cresta
Ryan is driving driving down to Florida for his grandparents, and I am just healing back from surgery, which I got done three days ago.
00:00:24
tommy cresta
So if you hear a little like moving around, it sounds like rustling. It's probably the brace I'm wearing. So just a heads up that saying weird noises, that's probably what it is.
Overview of Discussed Movies
00:00:34
tommy cresta
But yeah, I just wanted to talk about these three movies I've watched recently.
00:00:39
tommy cresta
And yeah, just kind of give you guys an update on the and on those things I've been watching. And two of those are the Blackwell Ghost movies, the first and second one. And the other one is the second Hell House, Hell House LZ2, The Abaddon Hotel.
Review: The Blackwell Ghost 1
00:00:55
tommy cresta
So starting first with the Blackwell Ghost 1. Sorry, I'm just making sure I have all the info up. ah This film was directed and written by Turner Clay. It's a found footage horror movie, and the synopsis is a filmmaker tries to prove that ghosts are real, but soon regrets his intentions after he finds himself being terrorized in a haunted house by a ghost with a dark past.
00:01:17
tommy cresta
And I think this movie is really, really enjoyable. I think it's a really fun way to do um found footage paranormal horror, because it doesn't really fall into the paranormal activity thing, where it gets really crazy at the end, and The demons causing physical harm anything like that. Like this is very, it feels so real that I actually looked up to make sure that before I did that it is an actual documentary.
00:01:40
tommy cresta
But yeah, it's really well done. I think Turner Clay found a really cool and different spin on the found footage genre. And I just think that this movie is the definition of a low budget horror film that works so well because it knows their budget.
00:01:57
tommy cresta
And I think people agree because it has a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, 6 out of town IMDb, 4.9 out of 5 on Facebook. But it does i have 59 on Google, which I do think is a bit low. um But yeah, it's a 69% audience score. There is no critic score yet on Rotten Tomatoes for that one. But I think it was a really good film. I think Turner Clay has something really special in this
The Blackwell Ghost Series Continuation
00:02:18
tommy cresta
franchise. And there is eight of these movies, so I will be talking about the rest of them when I do watch them.
00:02:22
tommy cresta
But as of right now, I've only seen the first two. And the first two do follow the Blackwell ghost, ah Ruth Blackwell, who in this world in this film has killed a bunch of children and a bunch of horrible things.
00:02:35
tommy cresta
But she doesn't really follow them, I don't think, outside the first two films. Because it all takes place at the Blackwell house. um Then the third film, which I did start, takes place in Florida, a whole different place.
00:02:46
tommy cresta
whole different story. Another serial killer lived there, and he's trying to see if it's haunted. ah So far, the third one seems like they do turn it up a little bit. But the first two are all just within the same house and everything like that.
00:03:01
tommy cresta
But I do, I think it's better just to go into the second one from here because it pretty much is one film. The second one is just he goes back to further his um documentary that he was doing about trying to prove that ghosts are real.
00:03:14
tommy cresta
And people, this one seems to not have as great a score. It has a 5.8 out of 10 IMDb and a 5.8 out of 10 on Prime Video. I technically... think I like the second one a little bit more only because the second one does have a little bit more paranormal activity in this ah not trying to spin I'm trying to make a joke there at all but I think that they just it it has more to do and I think that he definitely did get a little bit bigger budget for this one and I think it really works I think it's scary it's really creepy because it's never anything huge not like full-blown apparitions lifting him off the couch or anything
00:03:48
tommy cresta
It's a ball rolling across the floor. It's a chandelier. It's the lights ah popping from how much energy iss around them that in the room that they're talking about. ah They use Oh my god.
00:04:00
tommy cresta
What's it called?
00:04:02
tommy cresta
Oh, they use a vinyl ah player on this one. And it plays music when the ghost touches it. And it is so creepy when they use it in this film. I think that the second one is so is better than the first one because i think it...
00:04:16
tommy cresta
really really leans into the paranormal investigation ah little bit more and it doesn't feel as much like a document as much of an actual documentary this one leans more into the actual if you watch paranormal investigations like ghost hunters ghost adventure it feels much more in that world and it keeps itself feeling extremely realistic that this could be real and it really tears that line perfectly so I think that's why i like the second one a little bit more but so far the third one is crazy So I'm very excited to talk about the third one because I think the third one so far is my favorite one out of the franchise.
Recommendation: Prime Video Viewing
00:04:52
tommy cresta
But yeah, ah the Blackwell Ghost. Turner Clay. Definitely go check them out. They're on Prime Video. They're all in their like $3 to rent. And it just really, if you love Ghost Investigations, you will love these movies because it feels so, so real. And it really creeps you out because of how real it feels. And you can feel in your gut that something's not right.
00:05:12
tommy cresta
Oh, it was just really well done. Um. I'm really excited to watch the rest of this franchise, and I think everyone else who's into paranormal horror should really check out this franchise.
Introduction to Hell House LLC 2
00:05:22
tommy cresta
Now the last film that want to talk about is Hell House 2, The Abaddon abaddan hotel <unk> Sorry, i'm just pulling it up on my computer.
00:05:34
tommy cresta
Hell House, LSE 2.
00:05:37
tommy cresta
Yeah, Hell House, LSE 2, The Abaddon Hotel. ah This one is currently sitting at a 35 on Rotten Tomatoes, 5.4 out of 10 on IMDb, 77 on Just Watch, and 75 on Google.
00:05:49
tommy cresta
ah It has, as I said, this one also doesn't have any critic score yet. It's just the 35% audience score. I think that's really low because I think this, it does tread pretty much over the exact same setup as the first one, but they're more investigating what happened from the first one.
00:06:07
tommy cresta
And this one has some of the scary scenes in the franchise. I've ah i've seen one, two, and four. I am going to watch Hell House 3, Hell House LLC 3, The Lake of Fire.
00:06:19
tommy cresta
i think I'm going to watch it today by myself, and then I'll give you come back and talk more about it. Because I wanted to talk about the whole franchise in total.
Hell House LLC 2: Tension and Scares
00:06:27
tommy cresta
But man, this this movie is so fucking scary.
00:06:32
tommy cresta
This has one of the scariest scenes in any horror movie. And it's so basic. It's not jump scare. It's just very, it's a buildup scene and it's so well done. And I think that ah Stephen Cognetti just has a really, really good vision when he does these films of how to build tension and to really scare you. Because he plays into the idea of just what would it be like in real life if this was to happen with people.
00:06:58
tommy cresta
And there's some sarcastic lines in this that are just really funny. There's a line when they're about to go up the stairs in the hotel. And the one camera guy's like, no, no, no, we can't go up there. He's like, why not? he's like, because I watched your documentary, speaking about the first film.
00:07:12
tommy cresta
And it genuinely made me, it made Sam, and it made my friend Connor all laugh out loud when we were watching it. And I just think that this franchise has something special in the way that they do film footage.
Franchise Future and Hopes
00:07:23
tommy cresta
And it does make me little upset that they are doing the fourth, the fifth one's not going to be film footage. But it is going to combine all these films together, and I think I'm going to give Stephen Cognito the benefit of the doubt with doing such a really, really well-done horror franchise that he can stick this final landing.
00:07:40
tommy cresta
But if the first one scares you, this one is this one feels more like it's an extension of the first film than its own movie. And it does feel maybe 15 minutes too long. There's a little bit of drags in the third act.
00:07:53
tommy cresta
But overall, I think it was a really enjoyable time. I think it's so scary. And I think if you like this franchise, you'll like the second movie. But I can't fully say how great this franchise is yet because I have not seen the third one. And we do get the new one this summer.
Future Episode Plans
00:08:07
tommy cresta
But those were the three things I just wanted to talk about. i just want to give a quick little breakdown what I've been watching recently. I know it's only eight-minute episode, but just want to give you guys a quick breakdown my horror films I've been watching. And I'm excited to come back next week and talk about The Blackwell Ghost 3, Hell House 3, and maybe I'll just do a trilogy episode. So talk about the third movies and franchises.
00:08:28
tommy cresta
But yeah, um thank you guys so much for tuning in, and I will get to talk to you guys in the next one.