“Late Night with the Devil,” a found-footage horror film from writer and director duo Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes, follows Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) during the 1977 Halloween special of his late-night talk show entitled “Night Owls” when demonic things begin to go down, causing chaos in the studio.
This level of ingenuity in a found-footage horror film has not been seen for a long time. “Late Night with the Devil” feels fresh, as it expertly utilizes the concept of an old tape recording of a television talk show alongside old behind-the-scenes recordings from the same night to tell a haunting story of greed, fame and demonic possession. The scenes that take place on the live broadcast are in color, representing the high-tech TV cameras of the 1970s, while the black and white scenes represent what’s happening in the studio when the show cuts to commercial. Not only does this work narratively, but it works as an excellent setting establisher.
Throughout the evening of the talk show, more and more guests are introduced, all based around the theme of the worlds beyond our own. There’s a medium named Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), a para-psychologist (Laura Gordon), a possessed child (Ingrid Torelli) and a skeptic magician turned demon-truthist (Ian Bliss). Jack Delroy hosts the show alongside his assistant Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri). The directors also made an effort to show the live studio audiences as much as possible. Each of these characters feel believable to real-world talk show guests and provide a sense of realism to accompany the found-footage element when their over-performance on “live TV” contrasts with their interactions when the cameras aren’t rolling.
The script has just the right amount of cheesy dialogue to sell the 70s talk show vibe, from Jack’s awkward and brand-friendly jokes, to the live band that plays between commercials. While all of these and a pretty tight script combine to make a good watch, when the “broadcast ends,” becoming a nightmare vision from Jack’s perspective, the script gets really metaphorical and loose to a point where it’s almost nonsensical. It seems as though the directors wanted to convey that Jack found success because he made a deal with the devil, but the visuals and dreamy sequences don’t allow audiences to reach that conclusion as easily as they should. That being said, it’s saved by the gore, practical and digital effects used that will have audiences squeamishly wincing and wiping their sweaty palms.
It’d be impossible to discuss this movie without addressing the artificial intelligence controversy. The filmmakers used AI images for “We’ll be right back” title cards in between commercials. While not a huge deal to some, this does set a precedent that filmmakers can utilize AI to craft art rather than outright hiring people to make the images for the film. While the AI-generated images ultimately take up 20 seconds of the film, it stands out as rather disappointing.
“Late Night with the Devil” marks a turning point for the found footage horror genre as it comes in with fresh ideas and stands out from the ever-growing pool of slop the subgenre seems to endure. Despite a rough ending, the tone, story and general atmosphere of the visuals and performances combine to make a truly chilling experience for audiences in, potentially, one of the best horror experiences of 2024.
3 ½ stressed cigarette puffs out of 5
