Presented as a documentary film, "Late Night with the Devil" focuses on Jack Delroy, an ambitious talkshow host who, after the death of his wife and a career downswing, attempts to revive his late-night show "Night Owls" with a Halloween 1977 special profiling the supernatural, particularly a young girl who is purportedly possessed. The unedited broadcast footage follows. Naturally, things do not go well.
While "Late Night with the Devil" is largely made up of ingredients that genre fans are all too familiar with, the presentation here is really what makes the film tick--and that it does. The screenplay is an intelligent mashup of "The Exorcist" and "Ghostwatch" with a bit of the cutthroat TV careerist themes found in something like Sidney Lumet's "Network". It succeeds greatly at capturing the '70s kitschy late-night talkshow stylistics, furnishings, and general presentation. In moments, the set and cinematography resembles something akin to "The Dick Cavett Show". On a purely aesthetic level, the filmmakers really managed to capture the hazy, nostalgic fever dream feel of so many of the variety shows of that era.
Plot-wise, it is further fleshed out by B-roll footage of the host, guests, and crew as they interact during commercial breaks. While at first I worried these breaks would detract from the live broadcast footage that makes up the bulk of the film, I can see why they were necessary in terms of actually making the plot function. The screenplay manages to build sufficient intrigue over the course of the show, as the origins of the possessed girl and the background of the host reach high occult peaks.
In the vein of "Ghostwatch", things go truly bonkers in the last act, but the cast hold it all together nicely. David Dastmalchian is pitch perfect as the ambitious and appropriately hokey Delroy, and the supporting cast all hit their notes as they attempt to keep the show going despite mounting supernatural occurrences and chaos. The film explodes into a hallucinogenic finale that could nearly derail the understated buildup, but it comes out strong in the end in the sense that it leaves you pondering.
While the gimmick of "Late Night with the Devil" is going to be the main draw for most, the film has more than enough spectacle, atmosphere, and a layered plot to help it rise above mere flimsy artifice. I envision it will have a long life playing on home televisions at many Halloween parties in the years to come. 8/10.
While "Late Night with the Devil" is largely made up of ingredients that genre fans are all too familiar with, the presentation here is really what makes the film tick--and that it does. The screenplay is an intelligent mashup of "The Exorcist" and "Ghostwatch" with a bit of the cutthroat TV careerist themes found in something like Sidney Lumet's "Network". It succeeds greatly at capturing the '70s kitschy late-night talkshow stylistics, furnishings, and general presentation. In moments, the set and cinematography resembles something akin to "The Dick Cavett Show". On a purely aesthetic level, the filmmakers really managed to capture the hazy, nostalgic fever dream feel of so many of the variety shows of that era.
Plot-wise, it is further fleshed out by B-roll footage of the host, guests, and crew as they interact during commercial breaks. While at first I worried these breaks would detract from the live broadcast footage that makes up the bulk of the film, I can see why they were necessary in terms of actually making the plot function. The screenplay manages to build sufficient intrigue over the course of the show, as the origins of the possessed girl and the background of the host reach high occult peaks.
In the vein of "Ghostwatch", things go truly bonkers in the last act, but the cast hold it all together nicely. David Dastmalchian is pitch perfect as the ambitious and appropriately hokey Delroy, and the supporting cast all hit their notes as they attempt to keep the show going despite mounting supernatural occurrences and chaos. The film explodes into a hallucinogenic finale that could nearly derail the understated buildup, but it comes out strong in the end in the sense that it leaves you pondering.
While the gimmick of "Late Night with the Devil" is going to be the main draw for most, the film has more than enough spectacle, atmosphere, and a layered plot to help it rise above mere flimsy artifice. I envision it will have a long life playing on home televisions at many Halloween parties in the years to come. 8/10.