I thought that there were some genuinely spooky elements to this origin story, including the grainy footage of the 1980s and the mysterious death of the older sister by tragic accident leading up to the murder-suicide at Carmichael Manor. Her outfit was great, by the way, Alice Sweet Alice (1976) vibes.
However, I found "Carmichael Manor" wanting. First of all it was too clean. I know it was 30 years after the grisly murders; caretakers and real estate agents were probably renting it out like an AirBNB, but part of what made the Abbadon Hotel originally creepy was that it had this dusty, cluttery feeling. Secondly, I didn't believe that the family was super rich or had servants. I honestly had a much older relative who lived in a similar style house in the 1970s and 80s, and they didn't have servants except on special occasions like Christmas parties. A house like that could be affordable to the middle to upper middle class way out in the sticks like that back in the late 20th century. It easily could have been scooped up in the "decay" era of the 1960s and 70s in a rural area like that - not by a poor person, but also not by someone stupidly rich.
Margot and Rebecca (and more significantly, the actresses who played them) did a great job of convincing me they were scared and that they loved each other...but like, as best friends. No sexual chemistry in this supposedly loving lesbian couple. I don't like excessive sex scenes in horror movies for no reason, but I don't think Margot and Rebecca kiss once. Maybe they were supposed to be a lesbian and an asexual, I know that happens, but I just wasn't getting a "couple" vibe - I got "you're my long term best friend" vibes from them. I would even say sisters if they weren't so obviously unrelated.
I also thought it was totally obvious that Margot's childhood incident was linked to the Abbadon, and the end frankly left me with more questions than answers. I know maybe that's part of the deal with Hell House LLC in general, but some guys were carnies in West Virginia in the 1970s then moved up to New York to start a cult. Okay. The clown costumes don't make sense AT ALL either for a West Virginia carnival in the early 70s. Clowns, yes, blood streaming down their masks: no, absolutely not. Never would see that at Camden Park in the early 80s let alone the 70s. There's also ZERO explanation how Margot as a woman in her 30s, early 40s TOPS would have encountered the scary clowns in the 1970s. Maybe it was supposed to be the late 80s prior to the incident at the Abbadon - but, wait, what? No - the timeline isn't even right.
Yeah, this "origin story" is kind of ... a mixed bag.
However, I found "Carmichael Manor" wanting. First of all it was too clean. I know it was 30 years after the grisly murders; caretakers and real estate agents were probably renting it out like an AirBNB, but part of what made the Abbadon Hotel originally creepy was that it had this dusty, cluttery feeling. Secondly, I didn't believe that the family was super rich or had servants. I honestly had a much older relative who lived in a similar style house in the 1970s and 80s, and they didn't have servants except on special occasions like Christmas parties. A house like that could be affordable to the middle to upper middle class way out in the sticks like that back in the late 20th century. It easily could have been scooped up in the "decay" era of the 1960s and 70s in a rural area like that - not by a poor person, but also not by someone stupidly rich.
Margot and Rebecca (and more significantly, the actresses who played them) did a great job of convincing me they were scared and that they loved each other...but like, as best friends. No sexual chemistry in this supposedly loving lesbian couple. I don't like excessive sex scenes in horror movies for no reason, but I don't think Margot and Rebecca kiss once. Maybe they were supposed to be a lesbian and an asexual, I know that happens, but I just wasn't getting a "couple" vibe - I got "you're my long term best friend" vibes from them. I would even say sisters if they weren't so obviously unrelated.
I also thought it was totally obvious that Margot's childhood incident was linked to the Abbadon, and the end frankly left me with more questions than answers. I know maybe that's part of the deal with Hell House LLC in general, but some guys were carnies in West Virginia in the 1970s then moved up to New York to start a cult. Okay. The clown costumes don't make sense AT ALL either for a West Virginia carnival in the early 70s. Clowns, yes, blood streaming down their masks: no, absolutely not. Never would see that at Camden Park in the early 80s let alone the 70s. There's also ZERO explanation how Margot as a woman in her 30s, early 40s TOPS would have encountered the scary clowns in the 1970s. Maybe it was supposed to be the late 80s prior to the incident at the Abbadon - but, wait, what? No - the timeline isn't even right.
Yeah, this "origin story" is kind of ... a mixed bag.