Writer-directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes have created something special. A horror film that plays out on live television and welcomes audiences to a Late Night with the Devil. David Dashmalchian (Oppenheimer) plays late night chat show host Jack Delroy. Locked in a ratings war with Johnny Carson and grieving the loss of his wife Madeleine (Georgina Haig) from cancer, Jack plans a Halloween special that will put him back on the map.
Late Night with the Devil hits home hard due to its authenticity. There is a painstaking attention to detail that has gone into grounding this live studio broadcast. From set dressing to an almost magnetic performance from Dashmalchian, a creeping dread slowly infiltrates every fibre and sinew of the characters on-screen. From cynic Carmicheal Haig (Ian Bliss), through to co-host and band leader Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri), unease spreads like a virus between those watching in the studio and crew members backstage running out of rational answers.
In an opening montage that incorporates stock footage from the era that perfectly captures current events, a disarming studio compare provides backstory. Hints at Delroy’s involvement with occult activities, his rapid rise to fame and fortune, followed by an inevitable decline are concisely mapped out. From there all bets are off as the cameras start rolling.
Throughout this small ensemble cast no one drops the ball. Ingrid Torelli (Lilly) is captivating, unnaturally calm and yet stares straight through the lens at her audience. Subtle misdirection done by cross cutting between studio cameras keeps everyone on edge, while slowly Colin and Cameron Cairnes increase the tension. Jump scares might be rare but that fly-on-the-wall documentary style and a fully committed cast really sell this set-up.
There are hints of Rosemary’s Baby, throwback to The Exorcist and some have even made comparisons to BBC cult show Ghostwatch. These are all justified, but Late Night with the Devil offsets that by leaning into Hammer Horror pastiche in its latter stages. Given its slim running time, single location and fondness for 70s horror cinema this somehow felt inevitable. However, it never devolves into caricature and narrowly avoids cliche thanks to those involved.
Laura Gordon’s author June Ross-Mitchell is a standout alongside psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi). Bazzi draws audiences in by coming across as almost comic in the opening minutes, before events escalate, and things take a visceral turn for the worst. What follows is a Late Night with the Devil that unleashes hell on an unsuspecting public. From now on American chat shows will never feel the same again.
Late Night with the Devil is in cinemas from 22 March
