Late Night With The Devil review by Bobby Blakey
I love it when horror films try to get creative and do something different. It doesn’t always work, but at least shows some effort to step out of the norm. The found footage genre has worn thin over the years but every so often someone figures out a new way to use it to create something special. Scare Campaign directors Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes are looking to do just that with their latest film Late Night With the Devil starring David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Ingrid Torelli, Fayssal Bazzi, and Rhys Auteri. Could this film offer up that creepy something special or will it get pulled off the air?
Late Night With The Devil follows Johnny Carson rival Jack Delroy who hosts the syndicated late night talk show ‘Night Owls’ that has long been a trusted companion to insomniacs around the country on October 31, 1977. A year after the tragic death of Jack’s wife, ratings have plummeted. Desperate to turn his fortunes around, Jack plans a Halloween special like no other, unaware that he is about to unleash evil into the living rooms of America.
I had never watched the trailer for the film, but the idea behind it intrigued me. I have always loved Dastmalchian in his films so was glad to see him getting to headline this one and he does a great job. The film is strange in a good way and not so much as a found footage and more “broadcast” footage in the set up. It does a great job using this element to create something that feels familiar, but wholly original.
The story is simple at its core and does a smart set-up with a documentary like backstory to lead into this episode we are about to witness. It feeds you everything you need even when you don’t realize it right out the gate for the rest of things to come together. It never tries to be scary or anything other than what it is but has some creepy vibes with all of it working for me. They also bring all those usual late-night types of guests into the mix and you can see the varying
relationships, good and bad play out as it meshes with the strange happenings on the show.
I really loved this film, but it won’t work for everyone. The 70s aesthetic along with the setting being late night television just made it feel bigger. Infusing some realism with the inclusion of mentioning late night legend Johnny Carson helped to pull you into the idea that this show could have existed. Dastmalchian is fantastic as the host and plays up all the tropes while still being real when needed. The rest of the cast are great as well with Ian Bliss stealing the show often. The banter between the two is just like watching great late night, but he also adds that voice of the not convinced audience to the stage to keep it moving along.
The effects are hit and miss, but in a good way as it works for the time, they are setting it in and never bad. I went in with no expectations and came out loving this movie. It is strange, silly, original and all around great. I hope this film finds the audience it deserves because I think it is going to hit cult level status pretty quickly but deserves so much more.
Decide for yourself and check out Late Night With The Devil in theaters now from IFC Films and Shudder.