It cuts a lot of corners in the first 10 minutes, and I kinda wish they’d found the way to integrate most of that stuff into the first half of the broadcast, as it takes too long to get going. The possession movie it eventually morphs into is alright, albeit fairly predictable. A lot of the choices reminded me of James Wan horror vehicles, which I always have a hard time taking seriously. The movie seems to be aware of that too, because it’ll occasionally push things to a more schlocky, comical place that’ll strike a chord with Sam Raimi fans. Is it uneven because of that? Absolutely. In fact, I found a lot of this half baked. The social commentary (which feels like it’s borrowing a lot from _Network_) isn’t fleshed out properly, Dastmalchian’s performance should’ve been more sleazy and colourful and I just didn’t feel that much emotion by the end of it. The strength of this film lies much more in its faithful recreation of the 70s talkshow aesthetic, and I particularly like its commitment to the found footage feel, which feels lot more artful than the popular found footage stuff from over a decade ago. If only they put as much effort into making the sound as dusty and lo-fi, because the film generally sounds too clean and modern. Overall, it’s not really my thing but I can see why a lot of people like it.

4.5/10

Oh boy... This movie is the very definition of a train wreck. Starts just like another day down the line, ends in an ugly and utterly incomprehensible catastrophe.

For the 1st act, the movie was awesome. The world building is so good that at some point I almost questioned myself if the "Night Owls" show was based on anything real (not in a generic way, but some specific show that actually existed IRL). David Dastmalchian gives us an amolst palpable Jack, the show's host, despite the cliché tropes you might expect from a Mr. Good Guy who becomes involved with media and its cruelty ("Its all about the sponsors, the audience ratings, the show MUST go on").

The second act ramps up the speed and acceleration curve in a very good pace. The interview with Mr. Wriggles is AWESOME. All kudos to Ingrid Torelli (Lilly), who delivers a very good performance. The weirdness, the hatred embedded in the tone and gaze, the irony that only those in full control of the situation can appreciate. Her acting is GOOD from the moment she sets foot on the stage, but VERY underrated by the directors / script writers (who, if you didn't notice, are the same guys). And the transition to the third act is where this movie runs through a wall, smashes its face to it and still continues, top speed until it completely derails in a fraction of a second (minor spoilers ahead).

[spoiler]Third act is completely over the top. From the moment the ghost hand comes in over Jack's shoulder all the way until the end, everything is way too much. Lilly suddenly becomes an almighty entity, throwing lightnings through her hands, twisting necks from afar, levitating people to the air, melting people to the ground... That is NOT "the Devil", that is Palpatine, for Reagan's sake... And Jack's conclusion arc... URGH bad. Dastmalchian continues to deliver his best with what he has at hands, but the script just ruined everything. I give one extra point to the direction and their decision to turn this complete mess into something that resembles analog horror, but I take it back because they didn't want to let you know they were taking any sort of influence from YT channels. The result is, again, a mess, you can't understand what the heck you are watching (is this being broadcast? just in Jacks head? WTF is going on?). The movie ends in the best WYSIWYG way: "What You See Is What You Get". Deal with it.[/spoiler]

Overall, if you have nothing better to do, dive in. Its well acted and well directed, and overall very well produced, despite the script's mess. If you are looking for something a little more exhilarating, maybe a rerun of The Exorcist would be a better choice...

Late Night with the Devil is a horror movie presented in the format of a 70s talk show - think in the same vein as Deadstream, or those webcam horror movies that popped off in the earlier 2010s.

This movie did receive a lot of flak for using AI art for the "Be right back" screen transitions - it would've cost them nothing to hire an artist especially since this movie had a **real** budget and not a shoestring. I still really enjoyed the film but think that was a terrible, stupid choice. The movie was shot in partnership with Australian cinema company VicScreen and a million others - the opening credits went on for like 10 minutes I swear.

Jack Delaney is a talk-show host who is trying to get good ratings for his show but he keeps falling behind other shows in the same era and ends up selling out and going down the Dr Phil / Eric Andre route where he starts doing steadily more unhinged things before finally, on Halloween, he sets up a spook-tacular episode featuring:
* Christou, a so-called spirit-communicator,
* Carmichael Haig, former illusionist and now-sceptic
* Dr June Ross-Mitchell, a parapsychologist
* And Dr June's subject, Lilly, a girl who was raised in a satanic cult around a demon named Abraxis

The pacing of this movie definitely, I felt, was a bit slow especially towards the middle and I felt like impatient for it to move on to the real meat of the story. I did like the story threads coming together, things popping up left and right with no way of it really being addressed. The spliced footage of backstage-tv production really helped to build the atmosphere and show how tense things were getting for the crew with this being their deciding show. I loved the practical effects and the final build-up in the climax was just intensely terrifying and fun to watch.

The musical snippets when returning to the show, pokey humour and very 70s vibe were fun but there wasn't much else to the show. The scenes where Jack cried were also pretty wooden. Still. Great film. Worth a watch.

Master of Mystery and Champion of Chills David Dastmalchian stars as the devilish Jack Delroy in this instant-classic masterpiece of horror cinema, where you can tell he feels right at home.
There has always been something uniquely captivating and almost nostalgic about the elusive truth behind the goings on in HollyWEIRD in the 60's and 70's. Several filmmakers have attempted to squeeze that gargantuan concept into their work in the decades since that mystery-shrouded era. But where other brilliant films like Bad Times at the El Royale and Under the Silver Lake feel safe gently poking around at the surface level, Late Night with the Devil takes a deep dive into the belly of the whale.
Something the film pulls off almost flawlessly is the tone of suspense throughout. From the opening moments, every scene builds upon the one before it in an ever-rising Shepard tone, growing louder and louder until the very end. It does this so well, it's almost like that feeling of suspense is still following you as you exit the theater.
It feels like this movie was hand-crafted for the midnight screenings experience. The atmosphere created by the idea that this is not fiction, but we are in fact watching the real master tapes from that night, those physical objects are playing in our projector right now, makes for a unique spooky experience. Do yourself a favor and watch Late Night with the Devil with all the lights off, don't pause it or get up to go to the bathroom. Just sit back and be taken in by the anomaly. Maybe Jack Delroy still has something to say to you.
To say much more really wouldn't do the film justice, I just can't recommend it enough. I know I already mentioned the incomparable David Dastmalchian, but the rest of the ensemble cast deserves their flowers too, especially Ingrid Torelli, who gives one of the best and most unsettling horror performances ever as the possessed Lilly. I hope you enjoy Late Night with the Devil as much as I did ...

SO IT IS DONE

Got a really great concept and is executed well. My biggest disappointment is it didn’t fully commit to the found footage late night tv concept and felt the exposition scenes and side stuff that wasn’t scenes of the live tv night itself not only wasn’t necessary but made the movie worse and more messy. Acting across the board is excellent. The director definitely understood what makes this concept great and executed that vision well. I really dug the 70s found footage late night television aesthetic. Unfortunately the third act gets a bit messy and didn’t quite land for me. But I’ll always give a film props for trying to do something more original. Just wish they fully committed and realised that the best the film has to offer is the all the live tv sections and not the extra stuff around it. I liked the tv breaks in black and white scenes because it added colour and context to the happenings of the story and the relationships between the characters and that is honestly the best way to show us that and not the prologue or detour we take in the last 10 minutes. I honestly do wonder if originally it was written without the extra stuff but then they did re shoots and added it in as it seemed to me the break scenes almost re explained what we knew from the prologue. Would have been better to just cut it and let us learn from the characters interactions. Overall though great unique concept horror film. But not quite brilliant.