Review: Late Night with the Devil (2023)

★★★★☆

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Warning: *spoilers ahead*

Last week, I went to see ‘Late Night with the Devil’ (LNWTD) at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square (an amazing venue, by the way). I’ve never really been a horror fan - although I do enjoy a good Gothic novel - but this film may have just changed my mind…

LNWTD follows ‘Night Owls’ host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) in his mission to surpass the ratings of rival late-night show host Johnny Carson. Accompanied by his sidekick Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri), he plans a one-of-a-kind occult-themed Halloween show, scheduled to air on 31 October 1977. The show boasts an impressive line-up of phychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), skeptic Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss), parapsychologist Dr June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and the subject of her book ‘Conversations with the Devil’: Lilly (Ingrid Torelli). The found- and behind-the-scenes footage record the night that Jack’s show spirals out of control and unleashes hell live on air.

Every year, there are new films, tv shows, and novels made about demonic possession, but LNWTD is the only one that’s drawn me in enough to book a ticket. And I’m glad that I did. It is a triumph, which proves that there is still space for innovation within this trope. The casting is excellent, too: I cannot identify a weak link, and both David Dastmalchian and Ingrid Torelli shine in their respective roles as Jack and Lilly.

My favourite aspect of the film, though, is its use of perspective shifts. It cuts between recordings of the Night Owls show and behind-the-scenes footage, shown in black-and-white. This helps us to better understand the characters as they are naturally, away from studio lights. This is particularly important since the narrative takes place over the course of just one night, so there is little space for character development. These glimpses we get in the commercial breaks are therefore designed to provide the audience with a similar, slow reveal of personality. And as the show goes on, we are better able to understand the motives and behaviours of these characters both on- and off-screen.

Furthermore, while I have seen some criticism directed at the visual effects of the film (i.e. that some low-quality effects impact believability), I would like to offer a defence. It is true that shots like the lightning shooting out of Lilly’s body or the black goo that sprays out of Christou’s mouth look slightly fake, I think LNWTD gets away with it due to its grounding in a found-footage style. We are supposedly watching film from the 70s, when cameras would not have been as able to capture these supernatural happenings in high-definition. On top of this, the attention paid to detail in other areas makes up any misgivings the audience may have about the “realness” of events: the slight changes made to Lilly’s face when she is possessed by Mr Wriggles, Christou’s eyes rolling back one by one, the vocal distortion and realistic blood create a convincing sense of the uncanny. LNWTD is clever: it combines its status as a low(er)-budget, indie film with retro-style effects in a way that suits both.*

My only criticism, and the reason I awarded this film 4 stars instead of 5, is its ending. The final scenes diverge from the otherwise solidly-maintained found-footage style, and dive headfirst into a nightmarish compilation of Jack reliving moments from the show’s past. This feels out of place. The narrator who explains the film’s concept at its start tells us that we are about to watch a compliation of found footage from a 70s television show. So, where do these scenes come from? How were they filmed? I think I have the answer, and it’s a technique that LNTWD utilises in an earlier scene: where Carmichael puts both the in-studio audience and us in a trance. We see the visions he describes to us, and it is not until we watch the recording back that we realise his trick. If we are to believe, therefore, that Jack is reliving these scenes in his head, under the guidance of Mr Wriggles, then we can argue that the audience is being tricked too. We watch as Jack stumbles between scenes, begging us to turn our programmes off, but we keep watching, unable to break out until- we switch back to reality, where we find Jack has wedged a knife into Lilly’s chest, killing our manipulator. But this too begs the question of why Mr Wriggles would include us in this hallucination. There are still some lingering questions. Perhaps it is not the intention of the film to answer them, but given the (over-)explanation that Mr Wriggles is in fact Jack’s dead wife, this seems unlikely. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

Despite this, LNWTD was an original, refreshing film that gave new life to the demonic possession trope, and I would definitely watch it again. The Prince Charles Cinema was a fitting setting for the dark, eerie retro vibe, but I think there is also something to be gained from viewing it at home alone, in the early hours of the morning, as if for the first time on Night Owls.

*Another criticism which has been (perhaps incorrectly) attributed to the film’s low-budget is its use of AI. According to Cameron and Colin Cairnes (the directors), AI art was used to generate 3 still images, which were then further edited and refined by professionals. While I do not agree with the use of AI art in creative endeavours, I also don’t believe that such a minimal use case should be held against a film that is operating on an indie budget, especially one as good as LNWTD.

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“I don’t like scary films, can I watch this?”

Yes! As someone who has never(?) watched a true horror film, this was not scary. It was creepy, unsettling, and in places an anxiety-filled ride. There were a couple a minor jump scares, but overall the horror was pretty predictable. For me, this is not a bad thing at all. The visual gore, body horror and paranormal activity were well executed, and made for a compelling, nightmarish watch that didn’t cost me any sleep.

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