LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL movie poster | ©2024 IFC Films/Shudder

Rating: R
Stars: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Georgina Haig, Josh Quong Tart, Michael Ironside (voice)
Writers: Colin Cairnes & Cameron Cairnes
Directors: Colin Cairnes & Cameron Cairnes
Distributor: IFC Films/Shudder
Release Date: March 22, 2024 (theatrical); April 19, 2024 (Shudder)

Sometimes, it works just fine if a movie indicates at the start how it’s going to finish. Such is the case with LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, an almost perfect example of how to construct horror movie tension in a contained environment.

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL takes the form of a documentary presentation about an episode of a late-night talk show in 1977 that goes catastrophically wrong.

Our narrator (Michael Ironside) gives us an overview of worldwide violence in the 1970s, especially in the U.S. We are then informed that the TONIGHT SHOW-esque NIGHT OWLS, hosted by Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), premiered April 4, 1971.

Jack is married to the beautiful and devoted Madeleine (Georgina Haig). He also belongs to the men-only club the Grove, which is theoretically just good times for the boys in the woods, but there are dark rumors swirling about the group.

NIGHT OWLS does well, but not well enough to catch up to Johnny Carson. The ambitious Jack is frustrated. Then Madeleine develops cancer and dies in September 1976.

Jack spirals and the show begins tanking. Then he gets an idea for the Halloween night episode for 1977 that may win the ratings game.

The narrator tells us that what we are seeing is the “recently discovered master tape” of the live broadcast, plus unreleased clips from “a late-night TV event that shocked a nation.”

After this, the narration goes away, and we’re following NIGHT OWLS pretty much in real time. The filmmakers, writers/directors Colin Cairnes & Cameron Cairnes, use color for the broadcast and black-and-white for the behind-the-scenes material.

We then meet the evening’s guests: psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), professional magician-turned-professional debunker Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss), researcher and author Dr. June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon), who has just written a new nonfiction book, and Lilly (Ingrid Torelli), the thirteen-year-old girl who is the book’s subject.

There is a point made at the start about how the news brings horror into our homes, but that isn’t what Jack is intentionally doing. He imagines this is just going to be the kind of controversial television that gets people talking – and, of course, watching.

The sparring between the possibly psychic or possibly faking it Christou and the supercilious but deft-handed Haig matches the tone of real TV talk show confrontations.

Then we get to Dr. June and Lilly. In Jack’s intro to the pair, we’re given an explanation of what’s happening and why, although Jack doesn’t know that yet. Lilly is suffering from what Dr. June calls “psychic infestation.” We might call it something else.

Part of the impact of what follows is thanks to Torelli’s wonderful performance. The Haig character thinks what we’re seeing is a little girl hypnotized into thinking she’s possessed; Torelli persuades us that we are, at least mostly, seeing a demon pretending to be a child. Much of it is subtle, but it builds real dread.

Dastmalchian excels at every aspect of Jack: the consummate talk show host, the ambitious showbiz climber, the awed observer, and the desperate, sweating man in the moment.

The supporting cast are all in sync with the material, ably conveying public personas covering private fears.

Directors/writers Cairnes & Cairnes display a remarkable sense of pacing, as well as a feel for the era. They also include a few little details to clue in sharp-eyed viewers.

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL looks and feels like it could be an artifact from 1977. The production design and all other aspects of the film likewise reflect this, especially the painfully peppy NIGHT OWLS theme music. It’s also a splendid realization of its premise.

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