Late Night with the Devil stems from writing/directing sibling duo Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes, and they’ve created a really distinct, seemingly instant cult classic with the strikingly impressive and perfectly cast David Dastmalchian leading this comedy-horror-thriller that takes you on one captivatingly imaginative journey.

If you’re of a certain age, and grew up in the UK, in the early 1990s there was a show called Ghostwatch broadcast on Halloween, and without much of an idea of what to expect. What transpired was one of the most inventive, genuinely disturbing, shows for a young viewer like me, even though it was actually a mockumentary that BBC1 aired as ‘live’. Context is important to, this wasn’t in the internet era, no-one knew what to expect, no-one could discuss it en-mass, just a series of families trusting in the Beeb and being shocked into submission – even if they did admit afterwards it wasn’t real but, by then, it didn’t matter, the visuals and story had been placed in the mind forever.

Why such a deep preamble? Because Late Night with the Devil holds the premise of a live show, after a narrative introduction of how we find ourselves ‘here’, and this establishes that we’re about to watch a show once broadcast on Halloween but never shown in its entirety before – due to the shocking nature of what occurred. Set in 1977, we learn that late night NYC talk show host Jack Delroy (Dastmalchian) has been struggling for high ratings in the world of these programs and is desperate to find a way to get the right numbers coming up.

With it being Halloween night, and with his producer Leo (Josh Quong Tart) and co-host Gus (Rhys Auteri), he sets up a Halloween special that’ll push the boat out with risky situations that could make or break everything but… it’ll actually push the boundaries of reality beyond even his expectations. The talk-show line-up includes psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), well-known illusionist-turned sceptic Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss), plus the big feature is parapsychologist author Dr June Ross-Michael (Laura Gordon), and a young girl she’s been working with, as a therapist, called Lilly (Ingrid Torelli), who’s reportedly the lone survivor of a infamous satanic cult, and may be able to access the demon that lives inside her head, called Mr Wiggles – which is more shuddery than you’d first consider.

Sold somewhat as found-footage, even though the overall presentation doesn’t really fully fit that bracket, the central focused piece of the show certainly does and it’s easy to forgive and forget, and simple to work out, as it breaks the film into colour when ‘live’ and flips to black and white when the show has to cut or go to commercial. This is filmed in the same manner, but the ‘off air’ fills in the gaps in a CCTV-like sense – maybe offering a nod to the likes of Paranormal Activity or The Blair Witch Project.

One of the many smart things about Late Night with the Devil is the chief single setting, despite occasional outside story links to give the characters a wider development, and with that focus it gradually draws you in, even if you’re expecting the mystery to unravel, you really don’t know who, how or what will occur – but you’re hooked. From the initial psychic Christou and what happens to him, right through the skeptic Carmichael offering rational, occasionally mansplaining through his experience as an illusionist, it all builds to the big interview between Jack, June, and Lilly and – trust me – it’s one worth waiting for.

Alongside all the other elements, the clever setup places you in a strange place where you can easily like and dislike every individual along the way, even in the crazier moments, which is me giving huge kudos to the ensemble cast. I genuinely don’t think it’s worth spoiling the bigger moments, and they’re coming, but there’s a play here on the psychological, the notion of what people will do for fame, the fun of both practical and digital effects and also the importance of telling an entertaining story. On 4K UHD it looks excellent, the crossover of the 70s film and fuzz look comes across effortlessly, big nod here to cinematographer Matthew Temple, and it takes us on a journey between the flashbacks and the studio happenings is absolutely on point as UHD is presented in HDR along with Dolby Vision which views as part-sharp, part-on/off focus when it hits the specific moments – on purpose.

And, one last thing, Late Night with the Devil works from start to finish – so suspend that disbelief and dive headfirst into the show to intensely enjoy all the gradual terror build and unexpectedly immerse into that stellar intensity right to the very end.

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Special Features

Second Sight Films know how this works now and know what the audience deserve as well, with another wide selection of Special Features.  

Bringing Their ‘A’ Game is an opening feature with the very likable directors, Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes, talking about their previous films and how the script got to Hollywood, and the producers help getting this to the right place, from Melbourne to LA and all the right people – including the likes of Roy Lee and Steven Schneider, Mat Govoni and Adam White. Big admiration is also mentioned to the importance to Lake Mungo’s Joel Anderson – via mutual friends and Aussie cinematographer John Brawley – plus how good David Dastmalchian is, as well as his horror nerd love-in for the genre, and how he came on board from the start – and quite right to. They also discuss the casting, and the ensemble here is vital, which overall offers a fine insight to their entire process. I also enjoyed the story about what happened with Ingrid and her test screenings… made everything slot into place.

Mind if I Smoke? Is an interview with Ian Bliss, and an interesting chat regarding how he got involved, initially as a reader to help other actors coming into their roles, and over time he just had to be Carmichael as circumstances fell into place. He’s championing the genre as well, saying how much fun it was to make, and his enjoyment of the long ‘one take,’ which made it exciting and theatre-like to create. Bliss also dives into his experience of a similar real-life situation – and how he brought elements of that into the role.

We’re Gonna Make a Horror Movie involves young Ingrid Torelli, how she got into acting, which was basically by chance in the moment, plus her love for quirky, weird characters. And man, this is one of those! She discusses room to interpret after she received elements of the script, and that raw energy certainly comes across in the film. It was her first-time horror experience, it was recommended for her to watch some horror films, but she decided not to and bring her own take, without an outside influence. Which is great to hear, as it’s excellent.

Extremely Lucky, with Rhys Auteri, heads into his history from theatre to improve to now. The opening interview with the directors also talks about his part came together, and he expands on this experience, and how very lucky he felt to be involved. It’s fun to hear how an email he wasn’t sure about became the entire process of being cast, and how he liked Gus as a character, so it was nerves but excitement for the adventure to come – and he was another newcomer to claw inside horror for the first-time to.

Cult Hits: Zoe Rose Smith on LNWTD is a video essay on ‘cults’ on film, which takes us through the fascination to the fear and especially how that’s represented onscreen, with a note about the increase of this in the 1980s, in reflection to narratives in the cultural awareness. This deep dives into their psychological balance of reality to fantasy, which takes a reflective breakdown of the fixation of cults in society, even today, and how even if they feel fictional, vulnerable people are still susceptible to their terrifying real-life horror possibilities.

Behind the Scenes with the Devil is categorically fascinating feature on a series of things including steady-cam work, as we purely watch filming in action, including scene changes, and it’s very fun to see the modification in camera use and one-shot sequences from the ‘live’ talk show to the ad breaks – which you’ll appreciate even more after you watch/when you’ve watched the film. It lets you technically sit within the set, and witness how it’s created.

The Making of the Night Owls Music places us in the sound booth while the vibe for the film is created. I actually quite liked this, similarly to the behind-the-scenes featurette, because it lets you sit and watch the music happening, with Glenn Richards Roscoe and James Irwin, and I don’t need over-explanation every time in a featurette, so to see these moments are a bonus within the film experience.

And then there’s a nice momentary SXSW 2023 Q&A with Dastmalchian and the Cairnes brothers, which might be straight from a phone camera but gives you that initial reaction from audiences, and the host, and a further insight from the writing/director duo and David as well. He mentioned how he was surprised they went to him for a talk-show host but what a choice! There’s also audio commentary with Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, who talk about the Australian production element, and cultural crossover in production and how it came to life, and – of course – beyond.

Late Night with the Devil is out now on 4K UHD [order here]

There’s an excellent bonus-packed collector’s 4K/Blu-ray dual edition in a rigid slipcase as well [order here]

That Second Sight boxset comes with artwork by Haley Turnbull, I’ve listed the bonuses you get with that release, and my experience of the other Second Sight sets is all positive, so pick one up for these extras:

• 120-page book with behind-the-scenes images and new essays by Kat Hughes, James Rose, Rebecca Sayce, Graham Skipper, Julieann Stipidis and Emma Westwood

• Six collectors’ art cards