LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL

Watch The Trailer

Storyline (warning: spoilers)

Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ Late Night with the Devil is a retro joyride through a 1970s late night talk show, during an ill-fated Halloween Night broadcast. In a desperate bid to win back ratings during Sweeps Week, TV’s primetime season, talk show host Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), invites on clairvoyants, sceptics, demonologists, and a reportedly possessed little girl for an unforgettable night of television. It’s a real treat for anyone at home watching but wait until you see the tricks the spirits have in store.
Dastmalchian is great as always, but it’s the cast of characters around him that make this goofy plotline sing. Fayssal Bazzi’s Chistou astounds audiences in the first act with a classic Spirit Medium routine that Ian Bliss’ Carmichael Hunt spends the 2nd act disproving as an exaggerated James Randi type. The star of the show, however, is Dr June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and her pre-teen patient Lilly D’Abo (Ingrid Torelli), sole survivor of a satanic death cult and vessel for communication with demonic spirits. Each guest brings something fun and funny to the night’s taping, but Lilly’s appearance is where things start to get kah-razy.
Mixing the classic 3-camera setup from the live broadcast and handheld behind-the-scenes b-roll during commercial breaks, Late Night with the Devil drops you directly onto the set of the Night Owl talk show. The movie (and the set department - the real heroes here) absolutely nail all the staples of a late-night talk show from yesteryear, right down to the goofy sidekick co-host, the tight, sorta-jazzy house band, and the shag carpet.
You may find that you’ve forecasted some of the major beats of the story in your head after hearing the set-up, but watching the whole production come together is half the fun. Late Night with the Devil is a devilishly good slice of ‘70s occult insanity, boiled down into 90 razor-sharp minutes of renegade retro-realism. It's super fun, surprisingly gory and a welcome addition your ever-growing Halloween watchlist; a must-see “television” for horror fans!