Late Night With The Devil
One of the most diabolical, twisted, freaky—and certainly most original—films of 2024 is finally streaming this weekend. It’s also kind of hilarious in a demonic sort of way.
Late Night With The Devil, which has a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is a must-watch film for anyone who enjoys off-kilter horror movies filled with black comedy. The film, written, directed and edited by Cameron and Colin Cairnes, stars David Dastmalchian as Jack Elroy, host of a late night show called Night Owls with Jack Delroy.
Delroy—once an up-and-coming star—is falling further and further behind in the ratings game against his contemporary, Johnny Carson of The Tonight Show. After tragic events force him off the air for a spell, he returns his show, trying any number of gambits to rekindle his popularity and fame.
The film centers around one live airing of Night Owls on Halloween, the year of our lord 1977, when Delroy hosts an occultism-themed variety show. There’s a psychic who can “commune” with the dead; a skeptic and former magician who tries to debunk supernatural phenomena; and a parapsychologist named June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) who brings her young charge, Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) to have a very special conversation with the host.
I don’t want to spoil all the surprises, of course. Suffice to say, it involves a Satanic church, demonic possession and a special guest named Mr. Wriggles. This heady mix of 1970s showbiz and mysterious occultism makes for a deeply spooky concoction that’s equal parts frightening and darkly funny. It’s one of the weirdest movies I’ve seen in a while. Meanwhile, the campy, vintage 1970s aesthetic is just fantastic. You really feel like you’re back in time watching late night TV.
I won’t say much more for fear of spoilers, but here’s the trailer:
Fun fact: Dastmalchian was cast after the film’s creators, the Carines brothers, read an article he had written for Fangoria magazine about regional TV horror hosts.
Late Night With The Devil is now streaming on Shudder and AMC+. I highly recommend it.
Score: 9/10 Pentagrams
See my full weekend streaming guide right here:
You can read my review of Rebel Moon Part 2 here.
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