Published 7/16/2024
Rating : 8/10 Recommended
"Coming up next, Night Owls with Jack Delroy!"
Set in 1977, Late Night with the Devil envisions a fourth commercial broadcast network (there were only three back then if I recall) and then imagines a competitor emerging to take down the reigning king of late night talk shows in the '70s, Johnny Carson. The rival is Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), a local Chicago talk show host who was bumped up to the national level. he's funny, charming and greedy. He has a run of success however he meets tragedy upon his wife's passing. After a hiatus which Jack shuns the media he returns stronger than ever. But something is different.
The movie takes place over Halloween night (queue the movie title) and the pacing feels like it's happening in real time. This lends the events and rising tension credence. Jack senses he's onto something big that can catapult him back into the midst of late night competition so he pushes the envelope with a guest that very well could be a host for a demon. It's Halloween after all!
Other special guests for the episode include self-proclaimed psychic and medium Christou, skeptic and former magician Carmichael Haig, along with parapsychologist author June Ross-Mitchell, and June's latest subject, a 14-year-old Lilly D'Abo who is purportedly possessed by a demonic spirit. Together they make for a conflicting bunch that has authentic late night vibes both old and contemporary.
The writing and directing duo Colin and Cameron Cairnes are up to the challenge of creating a realistic 1970's show gone haywire on a decent sized budget reportedly around a million dollars. The casting of David Dastmalchian feels right in the first two acts, but as the horrors unfold we are left wanting that extra range. That's not to say the film falls off the rails. This is a thoroughly enjoyable watch on Shudder, and the ending is splendid. But the ending runs out of steam, as if the dollars ran out and they were forced to wrap versus finding a good stopping point under their own accord.
While a good watch on its own merit, the film may be better known for its use of artificial intelligence artwork. The art is easy to spot, and frankly wasn't necessary. The pieces did very little for the film and created shitstorm for the filmmakers. To add, their responses to the use of AI (before the SAG strike mind you) did very little to resolve the issue. This is unfortunate because Late Night with the Devil is funny, horrific, and thought-provoking.
Watch Late Night with the Devil right now on Shudder!
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