Late Night With The Devil

Late Night With The Devil might just be the savior of horror movies. The horror movie genre is over saturated, no matter what subgenre you look at. Generally speaking the best ones are older or carry with them some kind of social commentary. The problem really lies in the fact that most modern horror movies do nothing creative, and either do not attempt to make commentary on anything, or that commentary falls flat. A lot of modern movies fail in the 3rd act to drive any message they had home. However Late Night With The Devil brings back the feeling of unease and even genuine terror, while also giving audiences solid commentary on Hollywood and what people do to succeed within it.

The film is a tight hour and 45 minutes, which as we know by now is my favorite length of time for a movie. It very cleverly is framed like a documentary at the beginning. This documentary follows a late night talk show host in the 70s, being constantly compared to Johnny Carson. The rise and fall of this host is all explained with a singular taping that makes up a bulk of the film. This particular taping is a Halloween episode specifically designed to save their ratings, it is accompanied by the behind the scenes footage of the evening as well.

I want to say that right off the bat the formatting is incredible. They really committed to it and the fact that the aspect ratio reflects 70s television capacities UNTIL shit hits the fan and people start dying was a brilliant choice. I also love that we chose to only be in color when we were “On Air” and black and white in all the behind the scenes footage. I love color switches when they aid the story, whether that be in a story and plot capacity or simply in a design and immersion one.

The scary factor in this film is very much built on a quiet eeriness that builds through act 1. It is not at all subtle but it is constant and escalates at a steady rate. Go ahead and add in the fear of the actual characters and you can feel the anxiety build within yourself.

David Dastmalchian did an incredible job, and I think his emotional range in this film needs to be applauded. When he sees the ghost of his wife the color genuinely drains from his face and you can see the horror, shock and grief in his eyes. It is truly an incredible moment. And then we get to the final sequence and he is not only in shock but he is saddled with grief and regret that was all very visible in the way he stood and moved. Truly an amazing performance.

Honestly the most raw and important thing I can say about this movie is that it is like a supernatural Sunset Boulevard. Our main character is desperate to capture fame and success. And they truly did whatever was necessary in order to get it. And in both situations what was necessary ended in a body count. The feeling of the film as well was also very Sunset Boulevard to me, the tone felt identical. And the subtle but powerful performance from the lead solidifies that.

Late Night With The Devil is one of the best films I’ve seen in a while. If only the academy didn’t regularly overlook incredible stories and performances simply because they came from horror movies. I really wish there was something we could do to change the way Hollywood elites look at this genre. Mia Goth was absolutely robbed for Pearl, especially in a year that included Ana de Armas for her truly horrendous and offensive portrayal of an actual human being. Horror as a genre deserves more credit as do the actors that work within it.