The latest film from enterprising Australian siblings Colin and Cameron Cairnes pushes the found footage subgenre to the edge of satire. It’s vintage Me Decade showbiz cheese meets Exorcist-y demonic hysteria, with a pitch perfect combination of gore and laughs.
On Halloween night 1977 a talk show host desperate for ratings takes a dangerous risk. Havoc ensues when his guest turns out to be the sole survivor of a Satanic church mass suicide.
The Story
The Australian siblings behind Late Night with the Devil riff on talk show tropes and the growing moral panic of their era to craft a devilishly entertaining and thoroughly involving possession film. The result is a well-crafted horror popcorn movie that upends genre conventions and boasts an exceptional cast anchored by David Dastmalchian’s eerie and compelling lead performance.
The ibomma film takes place in 1977 as a live television broadcast of Jack Delroy’s late-night talk show descends into a demonic nightmare. Michael Ironside narrates a pseudo-documentary montage establishing the shady and questionable nature of ’70s TV, priming us for the on-air chicanery that will soon be at play. Footage from real-life murders and suicides of the time are spliced in, creating a sense of foreboding that only grows as the broadcast continues.
As the show continues, Jack books a psychic (who might just be a con artist) and a professional skeptic to interview Lilly, a young girl who was a member of a Satanic cult that went up in flames. Jack also brings on Dr. June Ross-Mitchell, a parapsychologist who’s written a book on the matter.
The on/offstage melodrama may not be as claustrophobic as other possession films, but it works with what it has and offers plenty of fiendish fun with its format (a hypnotism sequence is particularly amusing). It’s the performances that elevate this material, especially Dastmalchian, and the Cairnes brothers’ ability to cleverly weave the 1970s talk show backdrop into the story that gives Late Night with the Devil its jolting charm.
The Cast
A satire of television, horror film and even the idea of demon possession, Late Night with the Devil delivers on multiple fronts. Writers Colin and Cameron Cairnes make great use of the ‘actual’ taped format to amplify the tension. They also make good use of popular colors, fashions and societal norms from the era to create a sense of authenticity.
The avuncular Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) hosts a syndicated talk show that has seen better days. Trying to turn things around, Jack decides to air a special on Halloween night 1977. His guests include psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), magician Karmichael Hunt (Ian Bliss) and parapsychologist Dr. June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon), who brings along her subject Lilly, the sole survivor of a Satanic cult mass murder.
With a groovy lounge aesthetic, the film is reminiscent of Ghostwatch with a touch of The Exorcist. Though often leaning to cheesy jokes, the filmmakers manage to ratchet up the tension with the right balance of scares and laughs.
Datmalchian is a revelation as the host, capturing the slick smarm and showman cockiness of the era with a dash of sweaty desperation. His interaction with Lilly, who goes from sweet to possessed in an instant, is particularly creepy and effective. Ingrid Torelli is equally impressive as the possessed child, a creepy little girl who can stare down the camera with unnerving conviction.
The Director
Late Night with the Devil is a goofier riff on Ghostwatch (and less blatantly a descendant of Haunted Ulster Live) from Australian writer-directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes. The film premiered last year at SXSW and features David Dastmalchian as host Jack Delroy of the syndicated talk show Night Owls, whose taping on Halloween night in 1977 is plagued by demonic mayhem.
Presented as a master tape of the broadcast, the film’s found-footage structure gives it a groovy lounge aesthetic that sets it apart from its cheesy horror movie premise. It also features a handful of teasing shots involving the occult-themed guests on the October 31 show, including psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), magician-turned-skeptic Karmichael Hunt (Ian Bliss), and parapsychologist Dr. June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon, able to turn her smug, intelligent wit into gimlet-eyed malevolence).
The chemistry between the cast is convincing, and the director’s attention to detail is remarkable. The set looks exactly like the kind of TV studio you’d see in the ’70s, and when Cairnes uses practical effects they are more impressive than when he resorts to digital nonsense. It’s a smart send-up of late-night television and irrational Satanism that’s made even better by the utterly superb performances, especially Dastmalchian. It should be in every horror fan’s queue. Shudder and Vertigo Releasing released it in UK cinemas March 22.
The Style
Australian writer-director siblings Colin and Cameron Cairnes evoke the spirit and style of 1970s horror classics when they tell the tale of a ratings-challenged late night TV show host who stages a demon-evoking scene that unleashes hell into America’s living rooms. Suicide Squad actor David Dastmalchian stars as Jack Delroy, host of the low-rated Night Owls with Jack Delroy, who tries to revive his career by inviting a girl named Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) who claims to be a surviving member of a deadly Satanic cult.
The film follows the ill-fated taping of the show in real time, flipping between actual footage and behind-the-scenes content during commercial breaks. The director brothers capture the frantic energy and stress of live television in an inventive manner, while also using the filming as a device for narrative dissection.
As with their earlier movies, 100 Bloody Acres and Scare Campaign, the directors rely heavily on practical gore effects rather than over-relying on digital trickery to conjure an eerie miasma of grotesque horror. Shrewd set design and a discerning use of color hark back to an era when talk shows were edgier and less sanitized. But a glazed horror cinematography and an eagerness to saddle this spooky thriller with cultural zeitgeist overtones dilute the low-budget magic. Still, a charmingly sleazy script and one of today’s most intriguing character actors reveal fresh faces of talent in this entertaining thriller.
