LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (2023)

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Late Night With The Devil

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (2023)
Directed and written by Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes
Limited Edition Box set and Standard Edition 4K UHD and Blu-Ray from Second Sight Films

Jack Delroy’s late night TV talk show, Night Owls, is suffering from falling ratings. In a bid to be the number one talk show and get people watching again, he has a Halloween special planned that he’s sure will knock the socks off his competitors. With a host of special guests including a medium, a magician turned sceptic and a parapsychologist and her subject, a teenage satanic cult survivor said to be possessed by a demon, this particular live episode is set to be unlike no other. What could possibly go wrong?

Presented as a real TV talk show from 1977, LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL explores the lengths one man will go to reach his career desires: to beat Johnny Carson and prove his struggling late night talk show has what it takes.

David Dastmalchian stars as career-driven Jack Delroy, the former radio presenter turned TV host. His talk show Night Owls was a hit when first launched and struck a chord with audiences. Though never as big as Carson, he saw popularity with the live programme until things began to spiral, whether it be ratings or events in his personal life. After taking a hiatus, Delroy returns to the screen but can’t seem to retain the magic. As the ratings plummet, Delroy needs to pull something out of his sleeve to get viewers watching again. Believing he has the perfect hook, he arranges a number of guests for his Halloween special, with the star of the show a young girl by the name of Lilly (Ingrid Torelli), whose traumatic past with a satanic cult has left a stain on her psyche with her parapsychologist June (Laura Gordon) believing that she’s possessed by a demon. With June able to reach the demonic entity inhabiting Lilly’s body via certain techniques, Delroy is hoping that Lilly will provide the showpiece his programme so desperately needs.

Joining Delroy on the couch is a medium by the name of Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), whose skills in speaking with deceased are certainly questionable, and former magician turned sceptic Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss), whose strong opinions on so-called paranormal experiences has him arguing with guests and putting up a huge reward for anyone who can solidly prove that supernatural abilities. As of yet, there’s been no takers as he constantly debunks their efforts.

Delroy looks every bit your typical American talk show host. He has the cheesy and stilted lines we’ve seen throughout the years which the American talk shows still emulate to this day. The film features other integral elements too, like the comedy sidekick, in this case Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri), the live studio band, the awkward jokes and the enthusiastic crowd. Everything you’ve come to expect from this type of television show, Night Owls has it. It’s a pretty sharp contrast to the way we do things over in the UK, such as with Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross, where the host, though driving the show, doesn’t seem to hog the limelight as much as the American equivalents. Being an Australian production, they’ve managed to create a faux late night American TV show very authentically, in my opinion.

Opening up with the backstory of Delroy’s rise, the viewer understands that Delroy is no angel. He has ties to an organisation called The Grove that meet in the woods and worship an owl-like deity – no doubt a nod to Bohemian Grove. Subsequent revelations about Delroy’s life begin to paint a picture of who he is and what he may have done. His determination and lust for success is certainly a driver for him, but what lengths will he go to secure that future for himself?

Watching the events play out as though watching a live TV show, it’s interesting how you can create an opinion on people. Christou’s attempts at connecting with spirits is something we’ve seen time and time again as the medium conjures up common names and grasps at straws in a bid to find someone, anyone, with a connection, facing embarrassment otherwise. Carmichael, on the other hand, is very forthright with his approach. A master magician and illusionist, but an honest one. He says it’s all fake and just trickery and is set out to disprove it all. Ian Bliss, who plays Carmichael, steals every scene he’s in as the opinionated sceptic so it’s very interesting when the film shifts to the third guest as the titular events get underway.

With the film presented as a real-time, as-is piece, its power is in the performance and delivery which influence the reception of both the audience and the viewer watching the movie. You feel that anything could happen and what will occur when it does – how will people respond? When the events do play out, it’s  all quite quick and sudden, after what is a slow burn of an episode, and whilst there’s some interesting bits to it, none of the it seems to quite pack the punch that I was expecting, especially after the praise the film has been getting.

The somewhat brief events, lack of conviction and build-up of tension, in addition to the tenuous links between Delroy and cult activity, left the film sorely lacking. It never really moves up a level that I felt it needed to truly shock the viewer, outside of the fictional talk show’s audience that is. It’s like watching a fight that fizzles out to a judges decision after a last minute slugfest. It’s not the KO I was hoping for.

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL works well as a satire and achieves its goal of simulating the typical talk show experience, with some fantastic performances and a presentation that could have been lifted straight from the 70’s, but as a horror it left me wanting something more substantial. Whilst the finale is very much adequate for what proceeds it, and does have a couple of cool moments, I felt like the film had more to give and suffered from the lack of an effective sinister undercurrent that films like Rosemary’s Baby and The Ninth Gate had.

A film that dips its toe into horror territory but doesn’t overly commit in the way I think many seasoned horror fans may desire from a film that insinuates discourse with the devil.

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

 

Late Night With The Devil

After streaming on Shudder, Second Sight Films have given Late Night With The Devil one of its notable physical releases to the joy of film collectors everywhere. The Limited Edition Box set release of Late Night With The Devil features a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Haley Turnbull, 120-page book with behind-the-scenes images and new essays by Kat Hughes, James Rose, Rebecca Sayce, Graham Skipper, Julieann Stipidis and Emma Westwood, as well as six collectors’ art cards. As always, there are standard 4K UHD and Blu-Ray releases available, with the UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision.

The Limited Edition and Standard Edition discs share the below special features.

Late Night With The Devil Special Features

New audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson

Alexandra and Josh have a terrific chemistry in this commentary for Late Night With the Devil. They share insights into Australian film that viewers may not be aware of and dive into the similarities and inspiration for the characters and talk show style, such as Don Lane. These two know their stuff and have lots to share both from an historical and analytical point of view.

Bringing Their ‘A’ Game: an interview with directors Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes (39 mins 17 secs)

Writers and directors Colin and Cameron kick off their interview by talking about their first feature film 100 Bloody Acres which they followed with Scare Campaign, but not before having the idea of doing a film set in a TV studio. The duo discuss how Late Night With The Devil got off the ground and the people that made it happen. They also talk about other aspects of the film, such as the casting and the setup of the movie sticking to the format and shooting constraints of that of a talk show to be authentic.

Mind if I Smoke?: An interview with actor Ian Bliss ( 11 mins 45 secs)

Ian discusses his involvement in the movie prior to landing the part of sceptic Carmichael, having been introduce to help with auditions as well as initially being cast in a different role. He talks about his experience working in the film and likens it to theatre due to the length of the scenes and amount of dialogue they’d shoot in one take.

We’re Gonna Make a Horror Movie: an interview with actor Ingrid Torelli (11 mins 51 secs)

Teenage actress Ingrid reflects on her introduction to film and TV work before getting involved with Late Night With The Devil. She describes her love for quirky characters rather than your typical angsty teens. She talks about not being a into horror movies and avoiding them to avoid influencing her character, as she wanted to approach her character of Lily with more innocence.

Extremely Lucky: An interview with actor Rhys Auteri (14 mins 46 secs)

Rhys talks about his experience in independent theatre and improv, and how a fortunate set of events led to him being cast in the film as Gus, Delroy’s talk show sidekick. Having never done a film before, Rhys talks about his experience working on the film and how his character represents the normal, rational person, like those sitting in the audience, observing everything what’s going on. He talks about his improv doing the montage scenes where there’s clips of past episodes, and how the film’s style raised his game and improved his skills as an actor. Working with people he respected also impacted him in a positive way.

Cult Hits: Zoë Rose Smith on Late Night with The Devil (24 mins 52 secs)

A video essay in which Zoë Rose Smith discusses cults in reality and in society, and the influence on Late Night With The Devil and other films, such as Rosemary’s Baby and The Wicker Man.

Behind the Scenes (21 minds 36 secs)

Behind the Scenes footage of Late Night With The Devil, showing scenes of dialogue on the TV show and commercial break set interactions, as well as the SFX and stunt scenes that we see towards the end of the movie

The Making of The Night Owl music (8 mins 6 secs)

Footage from the recording studio of musicians laying down the tracks for use on Night Owls music

South by Southwest 2023 Q&A with David Dastmalchian, Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes (8 mins 12 secs)

David, Colin and Cameron are interviewed on-stage at South by Southwest 2023 festival about the film and how David got involved with the movie

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About Bat 4512 Articles
I love practical effects, stop-motion animation and gore, but most of all I love a good story! I adore B-movies and exploitation films in many of their guises and also have a soft spot for creature features. I review a wide range of media including movies, TV series, books and videogames. I'm a massive fan of author Hunter S. Thompson and I enjoy various genre of videogames with Kingdom Hearts and Harvest Moon two of my all time favs. Currently playing: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Yakuza Zero and Mafia III.

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