LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL – Review

Being an avid fan of “old school” horror (almost a “monster kid” since I devoured “Famous Monsters of Filmland” magazine, built the Aurora model kits, and scooped up the Super 8 Castle Films abridged versions of the 30s ad 40s Universal classics), I try to keep an open mind to the newer films, even the “sub-genres”. One of those is the “found footage” chiller that probably established itself with its biggest hit THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. It opened the floodgates for jittery, shakey phony home video slightly “tweaked” via software trickery. The multiplexes are so bombarded that I almost dread a new one. Oh, but an Aussie filmmaking duo has come up with a new “twist’ that keys right into another bit of nostalgia: classic TV not from the “golden age’ of the 50s, but the often “schlocky” stuff of the 70s. Plus it’s not from daytime or prime time (8 to 11 PM EST). I mean what kid 47 years ago wouldn’t try to sneak downstairs to the massive 19-inch console TV, sit close to the screen so you can keep the volume low (and not wake up the parents), and gaze at the “forbidden fruit” of LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL? Oh, the night school day is going to be rough…

The big “conceit” is the existence of a talk show host who tried to topple the “king of late night” Johnny Carson and his “Tonight Show” on NBC. In the opening prologue, we learn of a seedy “upstart” syndicated network, UBC, and their “jewel”, the live show “Night Owls with Jack Delroy”. Its host (David Dastmalchian) is a slightly awkward Chicago DJ who’s now the headliner in the network’s NYC hub. Naturally, there’s a band and a dweeby stooge/sidekick, Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri). It hit the airwaves in 1971, and soon…made no headway at all against Johnny. Jack’s constantly on the verge of cancellation, despite the influence of his membership in a private secretive millionaire’s club “The Grove”, until he interviews his wife, Madeleine (Georgina Haig), who is in a losing battle with breast cancer. After she succumbs, Jack leaves his show… temporarily. When he returns Jack decides to set the show apart from the landscape of late night by tackling controversial, often exploitive topics and courting confrontation (telling several guests to “hit the bricks”). This all sets the stage for the unaired Halloween show of 1977. After a twitchy monologue Jack brings out a “speaker for the deceased” Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) whose segment takes a truly dark turn when he’s rushed away to a hospital. Perhaps his exit was spurred on by a heated exchange with magician and paranormal debunker Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss). But this is nothing compared to the night’s “big get” as Jack brings on scholar/author June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and the subject of her book “Conversations with the Devil”, teenager Lilly D’Abo (Ingrid Torelli), the only surviving member of the Abraxas satanic cult. Actually, a demon they worshipped, Lilly calls him “Mr. Wriggles”, can speak through her. Soon the show goes completely “off the rails” when Jack pressures June to set up a “session” with Lilly and Mr. W, mostly to humiliate Haig. From then, the Neilsen Ratings are the very least of Jack’s troubles…

One of the busiest character actors, bouncing in and out of several franchises and genres (he’s in the MCU, the DCEU, Dune, the recent Dracula spin-off, even OPPENHEIMER), Dastmalchian truly gets a chance to shine in the lead role as the in-over-his-head Delroy, employing his comic “chops” in the TV monologue sets before settling into weasily desperation and the dread of his plunge into televised Hell. Perhaps Jack was most comfortable riffing into a radio mike since Dastmalchain conveys a near-constant “flop-sweat” making it clear that this guy would never dethrone Carson. He’s certainly not helped by Atueri as the cringyly awkward “second banana” who is easily rattled and demeaned. One of his main bullies is the producer of the show, Jack’s manager and “right hand” Leo Fiske (Josh Quong Tart) an arrogant, unethical opportunist. Much of that is true for Bliss as Haig, a pompous gasbag who fancies himself as a modern Houdini, though he’s playing his own “con” while flaunting his righteous superiority. Gordon is quite good as the morally conflicted doctor who truly cares for her patient despite the blatant exploitation of her trauma. And as that patient, Lily, Torelli effortlessly goes from a sweet helpful young woman to a taunting harpy who could be the conduit for fiery chaos.

Oh, the Aussie duo I mentioned earlier are the Cairnes Brothers, Colin and Cameron, the film’s writing and directing “tag team”. They truly score a “hat trick” with their third feature as they tread a fine line between satire and terror. Working with their artisans they carefully recreated the tacky period from the polyester suits (and massive neckties) to the TV set furnishings complete with multi-color graphic backdrop walls, and even the “stay tuned, we’ll be right back” art card “bumpers” (supposedly made with AI). Once we settle in and stifle our nostalgic giggles, the story shifts gears into nightmare territory as we become invested in the often caricatured “guests”. There’s even a nice nod to horror flicks of that era with the use of practical effects involving puppetry, prosthetics, and mood lighting (when they go to “commercial” the backstage footage is in docu-style handheld monochrome). Sure, we’re kind of stuck in the studio, but it never feels claustrophobic or “stage” as the feeling of dread increases By the final denouncements, we’re left to ponder the fate of the principals and how or who put everything “into motion”. It all makes for a most interesting exploration of TV talk show terror in the imaginative and audacious LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL.

3 Out of 4

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL is now playing in select theatres.