Agreeing to film a documentary, a filmmaker joins an entrepreneur setting up an interactive fear-conquering show at a rumored haunted hotel, but while doing the behind-the-scenes work for the show come to realize that darker secrets are at play within the building and must stop it from happening.
This one wasn't all that bad conclusion to the franchise. When this one works, it's due to the enjoyable atmosphere created here that's quite eerie and creepy. As expected, the location of the hotel is used to fantastic effect with the notion of using the premise of a fear-based haunt opening at the location to bring out some creepy and chilling moments in the various walk-throughs of the darkened corridors. The sharp corners and pitch-black hallways are once again put to good use with several fine jump-scares, especially with the utterly creepy clown props strewn around used as the basis for the scenes, and combined with the slow-moving scenes that build up to something potentially happening before it does. That comes into play with the finale as the chaos of the demons coming free and running wild slaughtering anyone and everyone they come across throughout the building and even outside creates a fun, over-the-top action scene which has a lot to like about it. These here are the films' best aspects that hold it up overall. The film does have some pretty big flaws featured here. The main issue is the complete stupidity featured throughout the film that makes for a pretty jarring and discordant offering. The fact that the previous incidents that took place at the hotel are ignored in favor of bringing an interactive experience designed to take participants into their darkest fears at that location is an utterly lame way of ensuring the hauntings continue there. The stupidity to do that doesn't endear any sympathy to anyone involved here in the proposed show, especially when the film flip-flops between the past experiences both as a warning not to stay there or as motivation to keep the show at the hotel by way of beating the past incidents into the narrative through flashbacks clumsily inserted into the storyline to make the connection. Complete with the usual notion of being completely unwilling to turn the camera off when they're lives are at stake for no real reason, it's all apart of the general stupidity on display in the film. The other problem with this one is that the finale to this one is a completely underwhelming and overall mess that arises here. The attempt to bring together the various plotlines of the previous inhabitants to the hotel grounds in a satisfactory manner keeps this one going through several odd and jarring dialog pieces to try to tie everything together. With the mixture of on-set found-footage shot during the incidents in the past mixed with talking-head interviews of various people attempting to explain what went wrong just like the others at the location, this sets you up to know something's gone wrong even before it happens. The attempted explanations featured here due to that come off so ham-fisted and illogical that despite the use of closing off the storyline the final moments featured here just make no sense whatsoever and have no purpose for being shown, really taking this one down quite heavily.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.
