Late Night with the Devil, playing at BFI London Film Festival, is wickedly entertaining, delightfully observant and deliciously twisted as a late-night ’70s chat show host unwittingly opens the gates of hell for viewers.
Anyone who remembers the legendary BBC mockumentary Ghostwatch from Halloween Night 1992 will have a clue about what to expect from Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ Late Night with the Devil, as a 70s late-night talk show turns from laughter and debate to horror before our very eyes.
Unlike Ghost Watch, which fooled many into thinking it was a live broadcast, led by trusted chat show host Michael Parkinson, Late Night with the Devil makes clear from the outset that this is a found footage movie, as an eight-minute black-and-white prologue establishes the seventies as a “time of unrest and mistrust, fear and violence.” In this time of occult obsession, strikes, and financial woes, chat show hosts reigned supreme on American Networks, and late-night variety-inspired talk shows drew colossal TV audiences looking for entertainment and escape.
“Night Owls”, hosted by Jack Delroy, played by the outstanding David Dastmalchian in a rare leading role, helps American audiences unwind five nights a week through sketches, interviews and amusements. But despite Jack’s success, he has never achieved the ratings of his rival Johnny Carson, and that is eating away at him as the network debates whether to cancel the show after six seasons. Jack needs something big, something Carson could only dream of if his show is to stay on the air, and Halloween Night seems the right time to try something that has never been seen on Network TV.
On Halloween night, 1977, Jack introduces a show centred around the occult and possession, with guests including a psychic who communes with the dead, the Amazing Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), a sceptic ex-magician Carmichael the Conjurer (Ian Bliss), parapsychologist and author Dr June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and her subject, Lilly (Ingrid Torelli), a teen who was the sole survivor of a Satanic church mass suicide and a vessel for a demon called “Mr Wiggles.” But this is one televisual experiment that Jack will regret, even if his viewing figures soar as Night Owls slowly morphs into a late-night chat show with a very special guest: the devil.
The original broadcast on Halloween Night, 1977, shocked a nation and led to many sleepless nights for those caught in its devilish grasp. But soon after, all the footage vanished, including the off-screen taped recordings, while viewers watched sponsored ads. Late Night with the Devil brings us the found footage of the live show, intercut with backstage footage, in a delightful, creepy, tongue-in-cheek, and utterly compelling found-footage movie that breathes new life into the genre.
Late Night with the Devil beautifully weaves humour, scares, and nostalgia into a cautionary tale about the media’s need for viewers and the celebrity’s need to maintain visibility and status at any cost. The production design beautifully recreates the atmosphere of a late-night 1970s talk show, from jingles to ad break cards and costume and set design. But what makes Late Night with the Devil work so well is the stand-out performance of David Dastmalchian, who captures the essence of the ’70s talk show host as he sits in a cornucopia of brown and orange furniture.
Jack’s on-screen persona is gentle, warm and loving, hiding his off-screen vulnerabilities and uncertainties as the show faces cancellation. Here, TV-viewing figures are Jack’s world, and he will do whatever it takes to ensure those figures go up, even if it means making a deal with the Devil. Dastmalchian’s performance is electric yet tinged with melancholy, his on-screen charm hiding a life of insecurity and secrets.
Late Night with the Devil is wickedly entertaining, delightfully observant and deliciously twisted. Here, Colin and Cameron Cairnes inject new energy into the found footage format, which now often feels lazy and tired, while paying homage to a range of movies and TV shows, from The Exorcist (1973) to Ghostwatch (1992) and The Forbidden Files (1989). The result is an electrifying and engaging movie, featuring magnetic performances, as a late-night ’70s chat show host unwittingly opens the gates of hell for viewers.
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