Late Night With the Devil
October 6, 2024
BLU-RAY REVIEW:
IFC/Shudder;
Horror;
Box Office $10 million;
$19.99 DVD, $25.99 Blu-ray, $42.99 BD Steelbook;
Rated ‘R’ for violent content, some gore, and language including a sexual reference.
Stars David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Georgina Haig, Josh Quong Tart, Michael Ironside.
The creepy but fun indie horror romp Late Night With the Devil uses the found-footage concept to present a supposedly “lost” episode of a 1970s late-night talk show.
David Dastmalcian stars as Jack Delroy, the host of “Night Owls,” which at first glance would appear to be a standard late-night talk show of the type that dominated network and local TV in the mid 20th century.
Desperate to compete with Johnny Carson in the ratings, Delroy plans a wild 1977 Halloween episode loaded with psychics, skeptics and the summoning of a demon live on air. However, things go awry when the show takes a supernatural turn and Jack’s grip on reality begins to unravel.
The film is presented as a documentary about the infamous episode, utilizing a short introduction to set up Jack’s complicated backstory with an ultra-elite group tied to occult rituals that could be tied to his success as a TV host. We are then shown the purported episode, with the period for commercial breaks taken up by behind-the-scenes footage supposedly recorded by a documentary crew that was on hand.
Late Night With the Devil shines in both its attention to detail, nailing the look and feel of cheesy lowbrow 1970s talk shows and the sometimes dubious guests they booked in between celebrities, and in its homage to some of the classic horror iconography of the period it represents. Many of the effects were achieved practically, in keeping with the gritty videotape aesthetic the film is trying to emulate.
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The Blu-ray offers a nice assortment of bonus materials, the centerpiece being the 34-minute “Monster Shock Theater,” which purports to be an episode from a a mock horror-themed variety show that in the canon of the film would have aired before the “Night Owls” Halloween special, as Dastmalchian appears in character as Delroy to promote his show. This is a nifty way to extend the reality the film is playing in.
For the making of the film, there’s a commentary with Dastmalcian and producer Leah Kilpatrick, in which they heap plenty of praise on the film but too often fall into the trap of watching and not talking, leaving long stretches of silence.
The four-minute “Behind the Scenes of Late Night With the Devil” offers an interesting glimpse at the production in that it isn’t a structured featurette but more of a montage of footage of scenes being filmed and practical visual effects being set up.
Finally, there’s a 20-minute Q&A with directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes, a pair of Australian filmmakers who discuss what influenced them to make the film.
The limited-edition Blu-ray combo pack Steelbook of the film also includes a pack-on “Audience Welcome Pack” that includes some collectibles. A standard edition of the Blu-ray arrives Oct. 8.