Time: 93 Minutes
Age Rating: R13 – Bloody violence, horror & offensive language
Cast:
David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy
Laura Gordon as June Ross-Mitchell
Ian Bliss as Carmichael Haig
Fayssal Bazzi as Christou
Ingrid Torelli as Lilly D’Abo
Rhys Auteri as Gus McConnell
Georgina Haig as Madeleine Piper
Josh Quong Tart as Leo Fiske
Director: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes

I have been hearing about Late Night of the Devil, an upcoming horror movie starring David Dastmalchian, which was getting some rather positive early reviews. It also received a lot of controversy when it turned out that generative AI was used in the production of the film. I did hold off on watching the movie because of that. Having seen it now, I can say that I liked it on the whole, despite some issues.

The film begins with a 70s style news report opening which tries to shove in as much exposition and information in just over 5 minutes, and it was a bit much. It might’ve been better if they had sprinkled the information throughout the actual main movie instead. After that though, it has a decent flow. It does have something of a slow start, the main aspect about the possession appears much later than you think it would. The film feels relatively uneventful until that point, but I was on board before it got to that. The writing is clever and humorous, and I was entertained throughout. For a horror movie and one that involves possession, it’s fairly tame outside of its biggest moments (mainly when the practical effects come into play). Something noteworthy is that it attempts to be something of a found footage movie, with part of it taking place through the camera footage filming the talk show at the centre of the film, but also through footage capturing the behind the scenes. The former I was on board with, the latter not so much. The “behind the scenes” never felt that authentic, and honestly took me out of the movie. So the effect of it being some lost footage of some horrific event is lost any time it breaks from the actual talk show footage. Maybe the filmmakers weren’t intending on creating a found footage film, but if that’s the case, it is still odd for them to dabble with that aspect without going all the way. I have mixed feelings about the ending, it definitely goes large with the horror, but I don’t think that the bombastic finale isn’t as effective compared to the engaging moments that happened in the past hour.

David Dastmalchian is known as a character actor, often providing great and memorable performances in supporting roles. With Late Night with the Devil we get to see him in a leading role of the talk show host, and he is excellent here. The rest of the cast are also good, with Ingrid Torelli being a standout.

The direction from Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes is solid. It definitely leans into the 70s vibe and aesthetic, with the costumes, sets and camera choices. That said, a lot of it does still feel a bit too clean for the 70s. It largely takes place through cameras filming the talk show, as mentioned above, that was a bit of a mixed bag. It feels real enough when it is showing the actual talk show footage, not so much for the behind the scenes footage. The movie isn’t that scary but it does well at creating a creepy atmosphere. There’s also some good practical effects, especially for the gore. Lastly, I need to address the whole AI controversy. Admittedly, the use of it is minimal, it’s for the creation of three cards for the fictional talk show. Those cards are in the backgrounds of the talk show set, and are flashed on screen for transitions and when cutting to commercial breaks. It doesn’t have a massive negative effect on the quality of the movie or the overall experience, but is nonetheless very frustrating, especially considering that it’s an independent and smaller movie as opposed to a big budget studio film. No doubt an actual hired human being would’ve made something considerably better for the film (and would’ve been paid for it). Beyond this movie, any use of generative AI in movies or shows, no matter how minimal, can lead the way for far more egregious uses in the future. So no, it doesn’t entirely ruin the movie, but it is by far the most disappointing aspect, and it can’t be ignored.

Despite the unfortunate use of AI, Late Night with the Devil is a creative, inventive and largely engaging horror film, well directed and with great performances, especially from David Dastmalchian.