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| David Dastmalchian in "Late Night with the Devil" Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com |
Throughout the decades, movies have come out with some thought-provoking stories about television that show the effects such a medium can have on people, be they the viewers or those who are viewed. One of the best movies to do this is Sidney Lumet’s masterpiece, “Network.” However, we’ve also had brilliant TV-centric stories in movies like Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show,” Peter Weir’s “The Truman Show,” and David Cronenberg’s “Videodrome.” Through these movies, we’ve had fascinating instances of one medium analyzing another, and to great effect in all of these cases.
Writers-directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes bring us their own look at television with the found-footage film, “Late Night with the Devil.” Boasting a terrific lead performance, spooky visuals, and an unshakable atmosphere of dread, it all shows that there’s still life for the found-footage sub-genre within the bigger world of horror.
On Halloween night in 1977, Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian), a once-popular talk-show host who’s experiencing a decline in ratings, decides to invite a possessed girl onto his show to gain more viewers. What happens during the recording is a phenomenon that no one can explain.
Dastmalchian has impressed audiences in memorable supporting performances, but he now has a leading role where he can really show off his talents. He pulls you in with talk-show-host excitement, but also has you wonder what’s lurking beneath his lights-and-cameras façade. He inhabits the role of someone who’s humble at first to be in the spotlight, but will then do whatever he can for higher ratings. As the film goes on, that character transition has Dastmalchian show someone who exhibits a hunger for survival in the late-night landscape, even though the survival for those around him is at risk. It’s the type of performance where, despite being understated throughout, we really see the kind of person that this character is, and it speaks to the accomplished acting abilities that Dastmalchian has displayed over the years.
The supporting cast does a superb job in contributing to the unsettling atmosphere of the film. There’s Laura Gordon as a parapsychologist and author; Fayssal Bazzi as a psychic; Rhys Auteri as Jack’s talk-show sidekick; and Josh Quong Tart as the show’s producer. However, the two standouts are Ian Bliss as a magician turned skeptic and Ingrid Torelli as a young woman who’s possessed by the devil. Bliss is a lot of fun to watch as a pompous individual who’ll do whatever he can to prove himself right in his supernatural doubts. Seeing him butt heads with those around him has humor to it, but also plenty of tension as you remain on edge to see where this will all go. Meanwhile, Torelli is very unsettling when portraying her character, speaking with an innocent tone of voice that hints at it just being an act put on by the evil lurking beneath, all while looking into the camera with a chilling, vacant stare. With this, Torelli perfectly conveys a possessed individual without overplaying it.
The screenplay by the Cairnes duo goes back and forth from the on-air footage and the behind-the-scenes hustle and bustle during the commercial breaks, giving us a full view of what the audience sees and the damage control that takes place in the background as things get more and more out of hand. However, before we get to that, the narrative provides a documentary-like prologue that gives us an idea of who Jack Delroy is as a TV star and who he is in his private life. All of this is an enticing setup that offers a look into the type of person he might be and keeps you guessing as to how certain aspects of his troubled past will play a role in the present. The film offers plenty for each character to do, with the story providing many tense interactions between them that grow into something more as the film goes on. Throughout all of this, we’re presented with a disquieting look into the heart of the main character and what people are willing to exploit in order to get what they want.
As directors, the Cairnes show a terrific eye for detail in recreating the ‘70s talk-show setting, in both the art direction and costume design. It all gives you a sense of watching TV during this era and seeing the chaos unfold. Aside from visual effects that joyfully call to mind the low-budget wizardry of sci-fi and horror films from that decade, this movie also utilizes memorable practical effects in certain instances, helping to highlight the hand-made movie magic of the decade in which this film takes place. Even though it may be easy to dismiss the found-footage aesthetic as being overdone after the last 15 years gave us many such films, this filmmaking duo keeps things fresh by not only offering a strong sense of time and place, but also by getting very believable performances out of their cast, performances that make you feel like you’re watching an authentic broadcasting at times.
It’s been eight years since the Cairnes brothers’ last movie, “Scare Campaign,” was released, and we hopefully won’t have to wait that long for their next film. But, without a doubt, I’m sure audiences will stay tuned after the break.
Grade: A
