Late Night with the Devil (2024)

Dir: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes

Cast: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Georgina Haig, Josh Quong Tart

Boosted by solid performances, nostalgic production design and a novel setup, the latest Shudder original horror flick proves there is still plenty of life in the possession subgenre

‘Late Night with the Devil’ is the latest original production by horror-oriented streaming service Shudder. The ‘masters of the macabre’ have built up a large, devout cult following since entering the streaming market in 2015, and despite not reaching the heights of their more mainstream competitors, they have managed to produce some excellent modern cult classics over the past nine years.

The streaming platform have brought us the enjoyably fun and spooky ‘V/H/S’ and ‘Hell House’ franchises in the past, as well as the rivetingly gory ‘When Evil Lurks’ which I reviewed only a few months ago. Their latest project, could arguably be considered their largest yet, with its limited theatrical run back in March racking up an impressive $7.3 million at the US Box Office, making it the highest grossing Shudder original to date.

‘Late Night with the Devil’ begins with a prologue framed as a documentary investigating an unexplained event that occurred during the live broadcast of a late night talk show in 1977. ‘Night Owls’ is hosted by Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), whose personal life, including his involvement with a secretive elite club known as ‘The Grove’ his highly speculated. After losing his wife to cancer and being repeatedly trounced in the ratings by Johnny Carson, Jack puts Night Owls’ production on hold.

Jack ultimately returns at the behest of his producer Leo Fiske (Josh Quong Tart), and in a bid to boost ratings during sweeps week decides to host a special occult-themed episode on Halloween night. The majority of the film’s narrative follows the TV special as it plays out, as we see Jack interview a number of special guests, including: self proclaimed psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), sceptical magician Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss), parapsychologist June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and June’s latest subject, ‘possessed’ teenager Lily (Ingrid Torelli). Throughout the infamous live broadcast, a series of increasingly dangerous paranormal events occur, each of which hinting towards possible secrets in Jack’s past.

I have been a huge advocate for Shudder over the years and am a big fan of their over-the-top, horror-themed content, and it is movies like ‘Late Night with the Devil‘ that prove how impactful the streaming service is on independent cinema. Filmed on a shoe-string budget by Australian brothers, Colin and Cameron Cairnes, this small supernatural horror utilises every last penny at its disposal to convincingly recreate the aesthetic and tone of late night American television. The set design, colour gradient and vintage granular filter fully immerse you into the set of ‘Night Owls’, making ‘Late Night of the Devil’ one of the more captivating found footage movies of recent years.

However, serving as the movie’s strongest asset for the first two acts, the novelty of the 70’s late night talk show setup begins to fall apart once the the spooky set pieces start to become weirder and wilder. While it may be a creative decision by the filmmakers or cinematographer Matthew Temple, the final act falls victim to generic ‘Hollywood’ quick edits and cinematic camera movements which would not have been pulled off by the large studio cameras almost 50 years ago, especially amongst the panic and disruption within the studio itself. I would have much preferred if the found footage approach carried on until the very end, it may have meant sacrificing clearer visuals for the climax but it would have succeeded in keeping up the immersivity all the way through to the end credits.

The possession genre is one that has died a thousand deaths only to be fittingly brought back over the years thanks to some excellent original takes on the subgenre. Only last year another pair of Australian brothers, Danny and Michael Philippou, gave us the brutally original ‘Talk to Me’, one of the standout horror movies of 2023. Despite its slightly clunky, VFX-laden final act, ‘Late Night with the Devil‘ too serves as a fresh take on the possession subgenre despite nods to some small screen productions in the past. It may be lost on international audiences, but those who reside in the UK like myself will notice strong similarities with the ‘live’ 1992 studio broadcast ‘Ghostwatch’, where iconic British TV presenter Michael Parkinson was seemingly possessed by a demonic entity on live television.

Despite some mild derivations, ‘Late Night with the Devil’ still offers some great original scares and fun, and hopefully can serve as a launchpad for its star David Dastmalchian. The talented but often peripheral actor has been primarily reduced to supporting roles in his career, with credits including ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008), ‘Blade Runner 2049’ (2017), ‘Dune’ (2021), ‘Oppenheimer’ (2023) and most notably ‘The Suicide Squad’ (2021). Dastmalchian will be hoping the critical and commercial success of his latest endeavour will see him secure the leading roles his talent deserves in the future, especially given his relatively late start into acting.

With a fun and novel setup, backed up with nostalgic production design and an excellent, conflicted performance from Dastmalchian, ‘Late Night of the Devil’ is an undeniable success for Shudder and further cements them as the go to source for you everyday horror needs.

Late Night with the Devil is now available to stream on Shudder

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