“Late Night with the Devil” (written and directed by brothers Colin and Cameron Cairnes) takes place on Halloween Night in 1977 as host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) and his Ed McMahon-style sidekick Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri) come on air with their talk show “Night Owls with Jack Delroy.” With his talk show’s ratings plummeting and being trounced by Johnny Carson, Jack’s desperate to do something that will pull huge ratings and put him on top of the ratings war for good. But as the night goes on, Jack may realize that he has gone too far in his quest to beat Carson.
I usually avoid found footage films, and I avoid political discussions. Both of them make me nauseous and nothing satisfying ever comes from them. But “Late Night with the Devil” peaked my interest because I love anything set in the groovy 1970s, which I feel was the greatest decade ever. Not only does the film do a wonderful job of recreating the time period. But it also captures the feeling of a talk show in that era. It contains wide ties, even wider lapels, porn mustaches, and those oddly shaped leather chairs that seemed to occupy every talk show back then. The only issue I had with the look of the film was that Jack’s show felt more like Mike Douglas’s show than Johnny Carson’s.
A Show Constructed More Like Mike Douglas’s Than Johnny Carson’s
The film opens with a brief overview of Jack Delroy’s talk show career (narrated by the great Michael Ironside!). The narrative gives us the perfect amount of background information on Jack without being overlong or annoying. David Dastmalchian plays Jack as a complex man. What could have been a one-dimensional character who froths at the mouth as he desperately grasps for ratings instead is a man who’s torn between his drive to beat Johnny Carson while trying to do what’s right. We learn in the opening narration that he lost his wife to cancer. This gives him an air of pathos and sadness. Even when he’s telling his 12th joke about Jimmy Carter in his monologue and the audience is howling with laughter, Jack fights to keep his smile and energy up. He’s a man hurting inside.
David Dastmalchian in “Late Night with the Devil” (Photo by. IFC Films, Shudder).
Like most found footage films, “Late Night with the Devil” is a slow burn. As the film rolls on, Directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes show us what’s being broadcast to the country. They also demonstrate what is happening off-camera during the commercial breaks. The Cairnes duo alternates between color footage for the broadcast and black and white footage for the behind-the-scenes stuff. Actor Ian Bliss nearly runs away with the film as Carmichael the Conjurer, an arrogant James Randi-style magician who brags that he can figure out any magician’s trick and expose “miracle worker” frauds. He proudly carries a $500,000 check in his shirt pocket that he loves pulling out occasionally like a comb. The man waves it around and dares anyone to do a magic trick that will stump him.
A Succesful and Satirical Found Footage Film
After Carmichael has a face-off on-air with the intense psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), the film settles into the real meat and potatoes portion of the film when parapsychologist Dr. June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and her subject Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) enter the stage. What follows is absolutely fascinating and spine-chilling. June and Carmichael square off amidst Lilly’s strange behavior (what’s making the studio lights blink like that?) and discussions of a Satanic cult whose members recently committed mass suicide. There are times when you’re convinced June is telling the truth that demonic possession exists. But at other times, Carmichael has you thinking June and Lilly are frauds. The film really keeps you guessing until the final moments.
Ingrid Torelli is insanely good as Lilly. She plays a teenager who seems bright and happy. But occasionally leers grimly into the camera as if she’s trying to steal your soul. I have to admit, there were a couple of times that I looked away from the screen. Her glare was that disturbing. The film’s not all horror. There were some funny moments throughout it. After one horrific and gross thing occurs on-air, the show abruptly cuts to a bright and happy “We’re experiencing technical difficulties” graphic with a peppy ’70s tune playing. The tune sounded like “The Dating Game” theme and I found that hilarious. Hallelujah! 2024 finally delivered a found footage film I enjoyed! If you’re a fan of horror, you’re sure to love “Late Night with the Devil” too.
“Late Night with the Devil” will be released in select U.S. theaters on March 22nd, 2024, and will be available to stream on Shudder on April 19th, 2024.
