Films and Fiction

I’m not a big fan of horror, particularly gore-filled shlock-fests, so I was a little apprehensive about Late Night With The Devil and whether it was something I’d be interested in. Fortunately, the movie delivers a smart and entertaining story that’s about more that straight up shock value.

The story centers around Jack Delroy, host of a ’70s late night talk show called Night Owls, who decides to try and boost his falling ratings by hosting a Halloween special featuring a genuine psychic, a renowned sceptic, and a girl apparently possessed by a demon. What could go wrong?

It’s not the kind of horror that has people running and screaming for most of its runtime. In fact it takes a while to set things up and really builds up the tension well. It uses the premise of being found footage of the original TV broadcast, giving us a look at a Dick Cavette style show where the guests clash over their different opinions. This is mixed in with backstage footage of Delroy and the crew trying to hold things together as the show becomes more and more disturbing.

David Dastmalchian isn’t often given a chance to take the lead, but he’s charismatic in the role of Jack Delroy. All the other cast members deliver solid performances, and special mention has to go to Ingrid Torelli who plays Lilly, the supposedly possessed young girl. She plays it in an unsettling way, with a fixed smile and unnatural expressions as she stares into the TV camera.

Effects, both practical and visual, are pretty limited and that’s no bad thing. As a low budget movie, it would be easy to stretch things too far and end up looking cheap. As it is, it knows how to use them best and delivers on both gore and ickyness in a sensible way.

It’s not a movie that will really shock you or subvert your expectation, but it is an interesting premise, and makes full use of its setting to deliver something that feels a lot older than it really is, and allowing for some much needed humour to be inserted naturally. It’s all well executed, with enough twists to keep you entertained, and the ending is a classic. At 93 minutes, it’s pretty brief by modern standards, but does everything it needs to in that time. A special shout out goes to the fact this is a low budget production, as it doesn’t show, and probably benefits from it, as a larger studio would probably have wanted to expand the story. As it is, the movie delivers everything in a unique and oddly satisfying way.

In Short
A smart, enjoyable horror flick with a unique premise, great execution, and a satisfying ending. Extra points have to be awarded for it being made on such a slim budget. 8/10