It seems that nothing sparks word of mouth quite like a found footage horror film. It’s been the marketing bread and butter for the sub-genre going all the way back to The Blair Witch Project. Late Night with the Devil, the new film from the Cairnes brothers starring beloved character actor David Dastmalchian has continued that tradition in a really impressive way. The thing about word of mouth marketing is that you have to strike while the iron is hot…interests waiver incredibly quickly so what everyone is talking about today may be forgotten next week. Despite this film originally premiering to acclaim a full year ago at SXSW it managed to keep people talking the entire time, while I was super stoked to see it I was also worried my expectations may have been raised to high.
It’s the 1970s and Jack Delroy is a late night talk show host (more Dick Cavet then Johnny Carson) who, after a personal tragedy is on the verge of losing his once successful show. With sweeps week approaching it’s culmination on Halloween Delroy and his team put together a show they hope will send their ratings through the roof and become iconic in the annals of late night. Leaning into the Halloween of it all Delroy invites a medium and a skeptic as well as a Parapsychologist and her patient, a young girl who was rescued from a cult and is purported to be dealing with a demonic infestation from the experience. Although their are hints of the horror to come the show starts off pretty much as you would expect but as they progress they begin to learn a fatal lesson about pushing boundaries.
Let’s start with the high level stuff. This is a found footage film and is absolutely framed that way, with the amazing Michael Ironside providing the narration for the standard “Things went wrong, this tape is all that was left” opening but for the most part it doesn’t FEEL found footage. The setting of a television studio is probably to thank and it really does make a huge difference. You’re never brought out of the film by those tropes we catch in every film like this, there’s never a time that you stop and think “Ok….but why are they filming this?”. The increased believability absolutely lends to an increase in terror allowing you to really sink into the events unfolding on screen.
David Dastmalchian, likely one of the most beloved people in Hollywood, is a national treasure. Seriously, google other celebs talking about him, you will not find anything but glowing platitudes for the man. I doubt they knew going in how perfect he was for this role but they absolutely knew by the end. Dastmalchian’s natural ability to seem inviting, intense, charismatic all with a hint of possible malignance makes his Jack Delroy someone with a story that’s completely believable. There’s really only one time, in the film’s closing moments, that you question his motivations. Newcomer Ingrid Torelli, who plays the young Lilly D’Abo brings real Linda Blair energy and is utterly terrifying in her worst moments. It’s hard to call out individual cast members as everyone involved came to play and really delivered. Ian Bliss’s Carmichael Haig, for instance, the “skeptic” brought on the show…I honestly can’t remember the last time I so wanted to see someone get their comeuppance on screen…I’ll put that as one of my few complaints, they didn’t go far enough there.
I like to be fair when reviewing a movie, so I always try to have a balanced sheet of what I liked and what I didn’t. That was exceptionally hard with Late Night with the Devil. Those things I began listing, for the most part, weren’t failures on the films part but more a testament to its ability to get you interested. There’s a sub-plot about a secret retreat for the wealthy where it’s implied nefarious things are happening (inspired by the real life Bohemian Grove, if you’re not familiar check it out….crazy stuff), this retreat, and more specifically Jack’s involvement play heavily into the climax of the film. I feel like I wanted more of that story but if I’m being honest with myself I think keeping it vague made the story more interesting. Even the possession scenes, which started off following the industry playbook set by The Exorcist made a sharp left and introduced us to demonic activity that we’ve never seen before. That turn may not land for everyone, but I enjoyed the new terrain.
It’s always nice to have a film live up to its hype, for fans of found footage style horror Late Night with the Devil does exactly that. Coming in at a brisk 93 minutes you’re not going to find a better way to scratch that horror itch in the next six months (and yes, I’m aware that Immaculate also comes out this weekend. I stand by what I said).
Late Night with the Devil hits theaters today and will be available to stream on SHUDDER April 19th, 2024
