Introduction:
This horror-comedy film is ‘Late Night with the Devil,’ sending its audience straight into 1977 when live television turns deadlyINTEGER: This low-budget indie features a sketchy live television show that goes horrifyingly wrong by bringing evil straight into every home’s living room. Directed by the Cairnes brothers, Australian filmmakers, the film is a neo-satirical grotesque nostalgic comedy with truly stunning practical special effects that stand out in this modern postmodernist film.
Release Date:
The movie ‘’Late Night with the Devil’’ was issued in theatres on the 24th of March in the year 2024. This film is subtitled in English and has been translated into several languages including Spanish, French, and German, making it accessible to a wider international audience.
Crew:
| Role | Name(s) |
|---|---|
| Director | Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes |
| Producer | Mat Govoni, Adam White, John Molloy, Roy Lee, Steven Schneider, Derek Dauchy |
| Music Director | Glenn Richards, Roscoe James Irwin |
| Story Writer | Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes |
| Screenplay | Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes |
| Editor | Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes |
Cast:
| Actor/Actress | Character Name |
|---|---|
| David Dastmalchian | Jack Delroy |
| Ingrid Torelli | Lilly D’Abo |
| Laura Gordon | June Ross-Mitchell |
| Ian Bliss | Carmichael Hunt |
| Georgina Haig | Madeleine Delroy |
| Fayssal Bazzi | Christou |
| Rhys Auteri | Gus McConnell |
| Michael Ironside | The |
| Josh Quong Tart | Leo Fiske |
| Gaby Seow | Sammy |
| Elise Jansen | Cavewoman |
| Steve Mouzakis | Szandor D’Abo |
| Christopher Kirby | Phil |
| Paula Arundell | Diane |
| Nicole Chapman | Cleo James |
Story:
The synth-driven plot revolves around Jack Delroy, a small-town late-night talk show host who intends to make his declining Hallow Eve show a little more exciting and decides to invite con artists who they claim to be ‘psychic mediums,’ a rationalist, and a woman more often referred to as a cultist because she claims to be possessed. It turns to the extreme and the studio gets a bit roused for some time, Delroy feels the effect of the trade-off of better ratings.
Review:
’Late Night with the Devil’ is a TV horror comedy and it can be shot in the mid-70s where everybody dies when something goes wrong on air. This film has been directed by Cairnes brothers and David Dastmalchian plays an impressive Delroy, an aspiring and rather unsuccessful talk-show host who leads a life in search of ratings to maintain it.
One of the primary elements it does well for the audience is to give the feeling of watching a show from the Black-And-White period of American television. Even if the plot is not original the idea revitalises the comedy and horror and takes the audience on a ride through the sleazy world of show business. Picking bits and pieces of the above definition, it could be safely said that ‘taking the Devilátu as host – albeit in an ironically tongue-in-cheek manner – the programme efficiently delivers moral within the harsh teachings of the exterior world, the price paid for achieving the desire of success or the temptation which sells scandalous news.
Positives:
- Unique Premise: Where “Late Night with the Devil” stands out is its environment: a clear, and believable 1970s television show where the horror is set, and where the horror is connected to discuss various social issues.
- Strong Performances: As for me I like the actor in Jack Delroy person is David Dastmalchian, I think that he showed the hysteria and hopelessness of the character very appropriately. The other characters as well were very good, especially Fayssal Bazzi and Ingrid Torelli.
- Impressive Practical Effects: Only in the area of special effects does the movie excellently perform specifically with the aspect of demonic possession which the movie so keenly portrays imitating earlier and contemporary horror films well.
Negatives:
- Uneven Pacing: In terms of pacing, there is a nice pulsing tension that holds the movie together, although there are moments when scenes seem to come across as rushed and others appear to drag on, or take longer than they should.
- Predictable Plot: On a side of the cottage and still drawing from the basic story of the film, the narrative is fairly conventional and thus predictable sometimes, the finality of the film feels somewhat abrupt and otherworldly.
- Underdeveloped Characters: Though the heroes are complex and memorable, some secondary characters can seem very two-dimensional leaving the viewers hungry for more character development.
Technical Aspects:
- Direction: Constantin Papaeff’s editing structurally unifies the horror and comedy aspects of the film thanks to Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ direction which makes viewing more cinematic.
- Production Design: The production design too deserves a special mention for splitting the real and the fake by mimicking a 1970s television studio to the correct technology they use and the clothing they adorn.
- Cinematography: Matthew Temple has done excellent work concerning the cinematography in the movie and the scenes have so much darkness and strong horror feelings.
Performance:
As for me, what possibly should be called a significant advantage of this film, is the character of Jack Delroy played by David Dastmalchian who embodied the feeling of eagerness and obsession of hunger for success in a man. The other characters also work well as the smooth-talking psychic Christou played by the talented Fayssal Bazzi and the wicked and wink-inducing Lilly played by Ingrid Torelli.
Moviepoptime Review:
Late Night with the Devil cannot be compared to anything I have witnessed in recent times. It has an amazing narrative, which is in the form of a discussion of tapes of the late-night show hosted by a man mourning his wife’s death and having low ratings. It was eclectic, though the front man was terrific, and a sight that can heal a sore eye. He succeeds in making you focus when what you witness transforms from a simple chat show into something catastrophic, and horrific when the guests appear.
A few twists in this horror comedy turn the cliches on their head and while it’s not always laugh-out-loud hilarious there’s a lot of fun being had throughout Late Night with the Devil. I had a ball watching this with a packed audience at the 2023 MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. If you enjoy movies that can be considered fun horror and that gradually become your favourite, this is for you.
Conclusion:
If you want to watch Late Night with the Devil online everybody is going to tell you that it is a funny horror comedy with certain aspects taken from the traditional B horror movies but with a pinch of parody that deals with greed in terms of power and the desire for more and sensationalism in media.
The film can hardly be called a classic however there are problems with pacing as well as the film’s predictability: still the characters are believable, the practical effects are truly acclaimed and satire has been successfully depicted which all together makes the picture highly enjoyable for the fan of the given subgenre. However, an amalgamation of the typical looks of the 80-s and some modern elements transform “Late Night with the Devil” into a rather entertaining and stimulating part of the genre.
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