Shudder has been slowly but surely rolling out news on their annual Halfway to Halloween celebration, which starts in April. The newest announcement involves Stephen Cognetti, who wrote and directed the very popular Hell House LLC series of films.
Cognetti’s new film, his first outside of the Hell House LLC franchise is called 825 Forest Road, and it will be included in Shudder’s 2025 Halfway to Halloween schedule.
Sam Zimmerman, who is Shudder’s Head of Programming proclaimed that the horror streaming platform is more than happy to welcome Cognetti back home, especially since the Hell House LLC franchise is such a favorite among Shudder subscribers. He described 825 Forest Road as “a twist on a haunted house tale that will stay with you long after the credits roll.”
Hell House LLC debuted on a number of streaming platforms in late 2016, and quickly gained popularity among horror fans, despite the fact that it was a low budget film with no stars involved. It was shot documentary-style, and told the story of a group of friends who operate an annual Halloween haunted house. As the story goes, in 2009, the group presented Hell House outside of New York City for the first time, choosing to set up at the dilapidated Abaddon Hotel in Rockland County.
The Abaddon had long been thought to be haunted, with multiple instances of people disappearing after going inside. And indeed, on opening night, disaster struck and 15 people (including the staff) were killed in the resulting chaos.
Now a documentary crew is investigating the event on site, and interviewing survivors…including Sarah, the only original staff member still alive.
The sequels delved further into the Abaddon lore, and more and more people went “missing” along the way. The most recent film was Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor.
825 Forest Road is coming to Shudder in April
Stephen Cognetti’s newest film will be available to watch on Shudder beginning Friday, April 4. In October, Hell House LLC: Lineage is expected to debut on Shudder, and according to Cognetti, it will be the final installment in the franchise.
In 825 Forest Road, we meet Chuck Wilson, his wife Maria, and younger sister Elizabeth. The family is hoping to start a new life after suffering a tragedy as they move to a small town called Ashland Falls.
Like most small towns in horror movies, Ashland Falls has some secrets to hide, including a ghost. It is said that the ghost of Helen Foster haunts the entire town ever since she took her life in the 1940s. In order to end the haunting and keep his family safe, Chuck has to locate Helen’s home – but the address of 825 Forest Road doesn’t match any address in Ashland Falls.
825 Forest Road was written and directed by Cognetti, produced by Dana Guerin, Joe Bandelli and Cindi Rice, and executive produced by John Frank Roseblum for Epic Level Entertainment.