On April 4th 1971, the first episode of UBC’s late night talk show, Night Owls goes to air. The show is hosted by popular Chicago radio announcer-turned-TV host, Jack Delroy, and is instantly a big hit.
The series remains on the air for five nights a week, and Jack soon signs a deal to stay on screens for the forseeable future. However, despite building up a following, and being a success in his own right, Jack is forever chasing glory and attempting to take the TV talk show crown away from fellow host, Johnny Carson.
Over the next few years, Jack goes through a bad spell. His wife is diagnosed with cancer, before subsequently passing away, he shuns the media for a while, and his ratings begin to slip.
Desperate to turn things back around, Jack comes up with a plan to boost ratings. This plan is to air a spooky episode of his talk show live on Halloween night in 1977.
The episode would go down in history as one of the most shocking things to appear on television. Years later, the footage resurfaces in the documentary, Late Night with the Devil.
What you’ve just read above is the premise to new horror movie, Late Night with the Devil. The film is a faux-documentary picture about a supernatural event which takes place on a fictional talk show.
Written, directed, and edited by Colin and Cameron Cairnes, Late Night with the Devil stars David Dastmalchian, Fayssal Bazzi, Ian Bliss, Laura Gordon, Ingrid Torelli, and Rhys Auteri. The movie arrives in UK and US cinemas from Friday 22nd March, before making its way onto Shudder.
Playing out as a sort-of cross between Ghostwatch, The Conjuring, and The Exorcist, Late Night with the Devil is a wickedly dark picture, perfect for those who like faux features, found footage films, or macabre movies. It centres its story around Jack and his ’70s-set talk show, which inadvertently unleashes evil to viewers across the United States.
In the film, Jack hosts a Halloween edition of Night Owls which includes four guests: A psychic, a sceptic, an author, and an allegedly possessed girl. As the show gets underway, he interacts with the studio audience, many of whom are decked out in costumes, before he invites each of his guests onto the stage.
Over the course of the broadcast, a series of strange events begin to take place, with the sceptic convinced it can all be explained away quite simply. However, as he and Jack soon discover, something sinister is taking place in the studio and no mere words of dismissal can change that.
I won’t give away any further details about the plot, but what I will say is Late Night with the Devil is a great little horror. It’s not perfect, but it is very effective, and it is a film I know I will go back to.
In fact, I imagine this is the sort of horror which works best on multiple viewings, so I’ll be sure to give it a re-watch quite soon. I’ve already pencilled it in for another viewing this Halloween, which will be the ideal season for this picture.
The reason I say Late Night with the Devil isn’t perfect is simply because it is a bit of a slow burning film, which suffers a touch from some clunky exposition in places. Those looking for continual frights may also not get exactly what they want from the film, and I do think a couple of edits here and there would tighten things up a tad.
However, that said, I like this movie very much. The general atmosphere keeps things interesting and creepy; the ever-reliable David Dastmalchian is excellent in the role of TV host Jack Delroy; and the final half-an-hour is suitably nuts.
Once Late Night with the Devil decides to let go during the final act, it really delivers. It’s a shame a little bit more of this couldn’t be brought forward in the film, but it’s there regardless and it is good stuff.
What I like most about Late Night with the Devil is the way it perfectly recreates a ’70s-era talk show. Everything about the staging of the film, from the banter between Jack and the audience right down to the on-screen graphics, hits just right.
Writers/directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes have created a superb setting for their story. They’ve then placed this setting against the backdrop of the Satanic Panic, and used this to craft their tale.
The use of studio guests is also very important for selling the horror. For example, the sceptic is initially there to dismiss the supernatural, but once he starts to get out of his depth the audience is forced to accept the idea that something bad is actually happening.
A similar idea was used in the aforementioned Ghostwatch, which I believe Late Night with the Devil is closest to in terms of tone and overall presentation. Both use the format of a TV show to bring a seemingly innocent discussion about the supernatural into the homes of viewers on Halloween night, and both end up in complete chaos.
If you’re a big fan of Ghostwatch then you will enjoy Late Night with the Devil. There are similarities, but the two films differ considerably and Late Night with the Devil is certainly one to take a look at.
If you’ve been struggling to find a good horror movie as of late, then take the opportunity to give Late Night with the Devil a whirl. The film has all the right ingredients to unnerve and disturb, and Dastmalchian guides things along marvellously.
Late Night with the Devil perfectly captures the ’70s aesthetic, as well as the overall vibe of 1970s horror. At times it plays like a homage to films of the past, yet at the same time it is very much its own thing, and is wonderfully disturbing when it needs to be.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
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