Late Night with the Devil is one of those horror films that depends heavily on its charm and its cast to keep you engaged from start to finish. That isn’t to say that it’s bad. However, the more that it went on, the more I enjoyed it, but I also wondered when the horror was really going to hit in this 93-minute movie.

Pros

Acting from the cast is solid; Dastmalchian carries the film
Only 93 minutes
Fun style and charm that feels extremely accurate for a ‘70s late-night talk show
Clever references to real people and events; the film demonstrates a dedication to historical accuracy
Subtleties that make it worth a rewatch
Gory and entertaining finale

Cons

Not scary
Some effects look pretty cheap
Takes a long time before horror happens, and long breaks in between the ‘horrific’ events
Misleading opening narration

Plot & Thoughts

The host of the late-night talk show ‘Night Owls,’ Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), is planning something big for his Halloween special on October 31, 1977. He’s had to endure the struggles of fame with rumors swirling about him with his ties to the mysterious men’s group, the Grove, the very publicized death of his wife, and the ongoing narrative that he’s always just a little behind Johnny Carson in the late-night ratings. This Halloween special is bound to change everything for him and his career as he has guests that include a psychic, a skeptic, and a girl who can apparently communicate with the devil. As the show goes on and more strange things happen, the success of the show soon starts to be overshadowed by the evil that will potentially be unleashed as a result.

Late Night with the Devil takes a while to get going but still manages to be interesting and engaging. A lot of that has to do with how the film presents itself. The movie opens with a narration provided by Michael Ironside that summarizes the character of Jack Delroy and the events that have led up to him being on, presumably, his last aired episode. At first, I grumbled at the amount of exposition, but in hindsight, I appreciate that they did it because it probably helped keep the movie to the 93-minute runtime by summarizing everything, and the film would have worn out its welcome had it gone on much longer.

Unfortunately, the narration also presents everything that you’re about to see as footage that aired along with behind-the-scenes footage, but that narrative goes out the window with how much of it is cut from different angles and perfect sound quality during hushed meetings with Jack backstage. It’s an issue I often have with movies that present themselves as found footage but then have all the editing, sound, and picture quality of something that was deliberately produced. If you want a perfect example of a movie that does not know what “found footage” means, watch George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead. Late Night With the Devil somewhat gets away with it because a majority of what happens is presented through the perspective of the television show’s cameras, but the behind-the-scenes moments and the finale do not. It’s a bit of a nitpick, and it didn’t ultimately damage my experience with the movie, but it’s just something you have to give the benefit of the doubt.

Regardless of whether or not you care if the film is following the found-footage format, there is still plenty to enjoy about Late Night with the Devil. When you consider its style, it has a lot going for it. It has a set design for the show that is akin to shows of the era, like The Gong Show, for instance. The clothing and some of the hairstyles work well to evoke the fashion of the time. There’s a joke about Jimmy Carter’s brother, which manages to probably be the only “joke” that Jack told I thought was funny—so I can see why he couldn’t keep up with Carson in the ratings. There are some clever jokes and hidden haunts that go under the radar as well. The overall look of the movie pulls you in, and then the actors keep you engaged with what’s going on, especially David Dasmalchian.

I haven’t seen Dasmalchian in many movies, but he has a type of presence and look that manages to grab your attention. Throughout this movie, he gives a performance that feels very layered. You get the impression that there is a lot going on inside his head, and he’s slightly conflicted about the things he’s done in his life and what he’s doing on the show. The overt side of him in which he’s interacting with people backstage shows that he’s trying to save his show from cancellation with the big stunts of the night and that he might have been a better man before this moment, but the death of his wife may have pushed him into a darker place. When he’s in front of the cameras, he’s more genial and reserved, but the occasional bit of dialogue or shocking moment stings him in some way. It’s all relatively subtle on Dasmalchian’s part up until the last few minutes of the film, where various suspicions about Jack are further revealed.

“But what about the horror?” I hear you all asking. If there’s one thing that Late Night with the Devil has in common with most found-footage movies, it is that it saves a majority of its shocking and horrific moments for the last ten minutes and only has the occasional creepy moment scattered around the rest of the movie. For the first hour, the spookiest things that happen are some lights going out, some big noises, a person’s eyes digitally rolling back in their head, and a guy vomiting a bunch of black gunk. Eventually, we get a conversation with a possessed person which is where the movie starts to pick up the pace on its horrific moments. However, none of the spooky stuff up to this point is really scary or manages to set an ominous tone for the rest of the experience that would make things scary. In the final act, when everything hits the fan, shocking and gory things happen, and it’s pretty entertaining, even though not all of the special effects look great.

TL;DR

Late Night with the Devil may not be the scariest movie you can find on streaming services, but it still has plenty going for it. The cast does a good job of selling the situation and has some subtlety to a few of the performances. The sets, costumes, and music evoke the style of the 1970s late-night talk show effectively. The uniqueness of the situation mixed with the style does well to capture your attention and keep you engaged up until the shocking and gory moments occur. And, best of all, it’s less than two hours long. It’s far from perfect, but it's still a horror movie that is worth a watch.

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