There might be mild spoilers,
but in my opinion, there's not much to spoil.
The first movie, Hell House LLC (2015) was in my opinion an example of how effective found footage movies can be. The movie had a quality that allowed for suspension of disbelief. You could believe what was happening because the supernatural events were slow to start, and as they intensified it was still beliveable because it had a foundation. Its sequel unfortunately is an example of how bad found footage can be when it just doesnt work.
Eight years have passed since the tragic events of the first movie. Once again Hell House has come to the attention of people via an anonymous tip sent to a journalist called Jessica. She grabs her cameraman, and another woman who appears to have no purpose other than to be annoying. Of course a ghost hunter and his cameraman come along too. The plot essentially is that in some way someone or something reaches out and draws people into the hotel. The way that it is done, the "trick" just seemed so contrived that I didn't believe it. The scenes involving the talk show debate added nothing in my opinion and did not add anything to the footage within the hotel. It looked fake, and felt wrong within the context of the rest of the footage.
I hate to say this as I am a big fan of the first movie but the sequel unfortunately misses the mark by a mile. The acting is absolutely horrible in places. The scares are the same as the first movie. We know there will be creepy clowns, but the way they interact with the characters made them less creepy and more like a man dressed like a clown. The first movie was clever, a lot of the clown movement was off screen, you didnt see it as it happens, but you see the result and your mind fills in the blanks. The sequel has the clown strolling around like he is going for morning coffee and a doughnut. He (it?) even does a stint as a doorman. By giving the viewer more, they unfortunately give them less. The creepy vibe of the first movie is missing. Instead we have the found footage cliche of ohhh noes we is trapped without any phone signal and the Go! Go! Run around whilst camera aimed at the ground or the walls.
I cant help but think of the sequel to The Blair Witch Project when I watched this movie. It appears to be a similiar situation. But if you are a fan of the first movie then it will not matter how bad the movie is, you will still watch it. Like the gormless characters in the sequel we will get sucked in. Unfortunately the experience is painful. If you are not a fan of the first movie I would avoid this movie. Instead you could turn the lights off in your house and walk about filming random things on your mobile phone, it would be more entertaining.
Apparently this is the middle film in a trilogy, if so they have a chance to redeam Hell House, for now, however, as far as I am concerned, it is in purgatory.
3 out of 10 (painfully awful acting)