Film Review: ‘LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
Last year’s standout Aussie film, Talk To Me seems to have broken ground for Aussie horror films internationally. Appearing to benefit from this is supernatural horror/comedy Late Night With the Devil which has apparently been a sensation in the US after generating a serious buzz at the South-By-South West Film Festival.
The film takes what had become a slightly tired sub-genre, the ‘found footage’ movie and reinvigorates it with a novel premise and commitment to a pop cultural aesthetic.
The film’s gimmick is that it’s supposed to be the infamous lost final episode of a 1970’s tonight show named Night Owls, a show that will be familiar to anyone who watched Johnny Carson and especially Don Lane at the time. The footage had been buried after events went tragically awry. The episode in question took place on Halloween night 1977. With threats of cancellation, the obsequious host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) decides outrageous sensationalism is the way to go. Two of his guests on the night are a parapsychologist Dr June (Laura Gordon) and 14-year-old Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) who had survived a satanic cult. The doctor believes Lilly is possessed by a demon and will attempt to conjure the entity on live TV. Also, in attendance are psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) and the pompous, pointy-bearded, cravat-wearing magician and sceptic Carmichael the Conjurer (Ian Bliss) who intends to debunk the entire exercise. Events, however, don’t turn out as anyone intended.
Elapsing in real time, the film creates the sense of watching the show (something enhanced by the square screen ratio) although this is broken by footage backstage as Jack and his production staff plot and squabble. Whether the film would have been better without these scenes is debateable.
There are straight-up horror moments but what stands out is its serio-comic pastiche of the ‘Tonight Show’ format; at times, the film recalls The Larry Sanders Show. Just as important is its homage to 1970’s TV as it superbly captures the era’s look with its tacky orange and brown production design which also recalls shows like Blankety Blanks. The success with which directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes replicate the era and the style of a late night variety show demonstrates what can be done with a low budget and the right inspiration.
Led by Dastmalchian, the entire cast do a terrific of job conjuring the typical characters of a late night talk show including the goofy sideman, in this case the anxious Gus (Rhys Auteri).
There are hints at a Macbeth-like subtext and Jack’s apparent involvement in a weird rich guy cult but ultimately this is more an exercise in style and retro, pop cultural nerdism than substance but the filmmakers have indulged those nerdy fixations in very impressive fashion.
Nick’s rating: ****
Genre: Horror/ comedy.
Classification: MA15+.
Director(s): Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes.
Release date: 11th Apr 2024.
Running time: 86 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.