Late Night with the Devil

Just when you think that ‘found footage’ horror flicks have been done to death, along comes this boxing clever film from 2023 which sets out to prove that bold and original ideas can indeed infuse new life into a genre which, in recent years, has re-hashed the same old same old. Here, the story, set in 1977, revolves around a chat show host eager to increase the number of TV viewers by all means possible, even if it means inviting a young girl on to his talk show who apparently is possessed by a demonic spirit. Well, he should have known better than to mess with the devil!

In a prologue scene, we are informed of social and political events in 1970s America via archive footage before more light-hearted clips inform us about various popular TV-shows from that era, in particular a successful late-night talk show called ‘Night Owls’ whose charismatic host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), although successful with his show, never seems to reach the same popularity as ‘The Tonight Show’, hosted by his big competitor, Johnny Carson. We also find out a little about NY-City based Jack’s private life, for example that he is happily married to Madeleine (Georgina Haig), his muse and anchor. And he undertakes regular trips to ‘The Grove’ – an elite camp in California which only wealthy and powerful folk are allowed to join. Just how do they gain so much wealth and influence, well...could supernatural forces be at play? However, fate has a terrible blow in store because suddenly and unexpectedly, Madeleine succumbs to cancer. Footage is shown of her being on her husband’s Night Owls show two weeks before her death. A narrator (Michael Ironside) then informs us that following his wife’s death, the production of Night Owls was halted for some time to allow Jack some privacy, however, during the absence the ratings for Night Owls dropped to a low level, whereas Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show gained in popularity.

But Jack, now back on the scene, decides that this situation is about to change, for he has a master plan (or so he thinks): in order to boost the ratings of his show, he announces an occult-themed Halloween extravaganza with some special guests, including psychic medium Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss) and former magician who has turned into a sceptical and cynical man. Last but not least, Jack welcomes acclaimed author and parapsychologist June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon), who in turn brings her own ‘special guest’ along: 13-year old Lilly D’Abo (Ingrid Torelli), the sole survivor of a religious mass suicide and rumoured to be possessed by a demon. The narrator then explains that following the live broadcast of Jack Delroy’s Halloween Special, film footage was found which shows what went so spectacularly wrong during the broadcast… before we find ourselves transported back to that fateful night of October 31st 1977, with Jack welcoming his guests in the studio…

At first, everything seems to go according to plan, with audience members in the studio (many of them dressed in Halloween costumes) in a chipper mood. First up is Christou, who baffles host Jack Delroy and some selected studio guests alike with his psychic skills, although Carmichael Haig is quick to condemn it as hocus pocus and insists he knows how everything is done. He isn’t so sure anymore when Christou begins to vomit black bile and begins to behave erratically before collapsing.

When Jack, who isn’t so sure himself anymore as to what he has just witnessed was one of Christou’s tricks or whether darker forces were at work, welcomes his special guest, author and parapsychologist June Ross-Mitchell, the vibe changes as somehow it becomes evident that June and Jack have met before. With June is teenage girl Lilly and via another ‘found footage’ clip, but also a later news clip, which is shown on the studio screen, we learn how Lilly has been a member (presumably against her will) of a satanic cult whose leader, the sinister Szandor D’Abo (Steve Mouzakis), worshipped Abraxas and demanded human sacrifices (usually teenage girls) before ordering the members of his sect to douse themselves in petrol and commit mass suicide. Now Lilly, the only survivor, is under the protective care of June and it is Jack who dares Lilly to conjure up the apparent demon inside her, which the young girl refers to as ‘Mr. Wriggles’. June tries in vain to stop Jack from pursuing Lilly in goin ahead with it, while Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri), a crew member in the show, expresses concerns about the direction the show is now taking – only to be reprimanded by the producer to “get on with his job” and focus on the show’s ratings.

When Lilly suddenly conjures up ‘Mr. Wriggles’ and is visibly possessed by the demon, neither Jack nor audience members are sure that what they are seeing is part of a Halloween prank, while Carmichael remains as sceptical as ever. He claims that as a former magician, he knows how such tricks are done and coaxes Gus into playing guinea pig by hypnotising him and making him believe that slithery worms are everywhere inside his body. Even most of the audience members fall for Carmichael’s skills as a hypnotist. When the recording of what has just happened is rewinded live in the studio for everyone to see, it seems indeed a case of hypnotism. But when the recording of Lilly’s possession by ‘Mr. Wriggles’ is played back, it becomes clear that mass hypnosis had nothing to do with it…. It’s from that moment on that all hell breaks loose (quite literally) and things turn shockingly frightful indeed…

To juxtapose the fictional ‘Night Owls’ show against the real ‘Tonight Show with Johnny Carson’ is a genius concept and it all looks extremely convincing. Even the colour code screams 1970s! The film - a US-Australian-United Arab Emirates Co-production - further benefits from the fact that none of the actors are household names, adding even more credibility to everything. David Dastmalchinan (who previously appeared in ‘Blade Runner 2049’ starring Ryan Gosling and in the 2021 ‘Dune’ starring Timothée Chalamet, is terrific and terrifying in equal measure.

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL is available as a Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray Box Set with a raft of Extras including Interviews, Behind the Scenes, Making of… etc.