April 25, 2024 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | By Sophie Lisco
On April 13, I forked over $13.26 to see “Late Night with the Devil” at Colorado Springs’ premier picture house. Highly anticipated, well-reviewed and somewhat controversial, the film seemed to promise a thoroughly frightening cinematic experience. Unfortunately, it seems that I paid weekend premium prices to see a weekday matinee movie.
Advertised as a comedy/horror, “Late Night with the Devil” boasts a short and sweet logline: “In 1977 a live television broadcast goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.” Despite its shortcomings, the film certainly delivers what it promises.
Audiences are invited to review a Halloween episode of “Night Owls” with Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), a fictional competitor of Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show,” complete with never-before-seen backstage footage. Keeping true to its design, the film welcomes to the interview table a medium, a skeptic and a young cult survivor accompanied by her parapsychologist and her demon, Mr. Wriggles.
Starting light then easing slowly into the satanic, “Late Night with the Devil” employs all of the gags of 70s late-night television, and does so remarkably well. Creating the illusion of a live studio audience, full band and a punching-bag sidekick, it feels as though “Night Owls” could have been a real show…if it weren’t, however, for Jack Delroy’s unfortunate association with the occult.
Wrapping up just under 90 minutes, “Late Night with the Devil” keeps things concise. As each guest joins the show, they contribute to a growing feeling of unease that, accompanied by intermittent “behind the scenes” footage, contributes to a steady rising action.
The first two-thirds of the film fit together like puzzle pieces, perfectly setting up a terrifying, hard-hitting climax. Unfortunately, this legendary ending that I had come to expect was nonexistent. It seems to have been replaced by poorly executed special effects, jarring time jumps and a ‘twist’ so evident that I’m hesitant to even call it such.
In this last part of the movie, the film breaks form, taking on a seemingly omniscient perspective as Delroy’s past comes to light. This would have been effective, had the film established a cohesive ‘form’ to break. “Late Night with the Devil” introduces itself as a mockumentary yet is quickly posited as a “found footage” rerun instead. Within minutes, the contrived behind-the-scenes shots completely shatter this illusion.
Achieving horror/comedy status is more than just blending two genre-associated forms. By failing to commit to either, “Late Night with the Devil” situates itself in an unfortunate limbo, punishing itself when it comes time for the third act. The theatrical release of “Late Night with the Devil” was not only controversial for opinionated viewers like me, but it also posed a moral dilemma for those hoping to support the arts.
Shortly before its official release in U.S. theaters, news broke that the film had used generative Artificial Intelligence in some scenes. This sparked massive criticism as AI mounts growing concerns in creative fields. In response, directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes clarified that AI was used specifically to produce three stills shown in the 70’s style “we’ll be right back” graphics that pop up when “Night Owls” cuts to commercial.
I can’t decide if this is more disappointing than if the technology had been used on other, larger parts of the film. It almost seems like it would have been easier to pay a real artist to create these images. If you’re going to take the leap of using AI instead of hiring and supporting human talent, you need to make a much better movie.
“Late Night with the Devil” is remarkably mediocre, defying my expectations in a most unsatisfying way. Truly nothing to write home about.