Television has always been promoted as the medium through which anything is possible – depending on your interests, there is some programming to fit your every need and desire, particularly as we have seen the medium flourish into a seemingly endless stream of ideas in which every niche is given a place. However, if we voyage back a few decades, we find that there was a time when television was even more popular, despite more limited choices in programming. The most coveted place for any prospective entertainer was on the highly desired late-night slots, which is where countless careers were launched (and a few even ended, if you are interested in the darker side of the industry), and where some of the most gifted individuals battled for the dominance in the all too important ratings system, which continues to be quite a formidable component of determining success in the medium. The 1970s were arguably the most integral time for the medium, since most households had access to this programming, and were tasked with deciding what to watch on a nightly basis, which is the reason why so many notable figures in the industry would do whatever they could to draw attention to their programming. This is the starting point for Colin and Cameron Cairnes, who set out to make Late Night with the Devil. This fascinating horror film uses this idea as its foundation for one of the sharpest and most pointed satires of not only the history of television but also a deeply compelling entry into the horror genre, which is constantly attempting to find new and revolutionary ways to terrify audiences. Telling the story of a late-night host who, to boost his ratings and prove that he belongs in this line of work, hosts a Halloween special, hoping to pique enough interest, but soon comes to learn that sinister forces are descending on that studio, leading to a violent collision between the natural world and the paranormal. Dark and unsettling, and genuinely quite engaging in a way that might be potentially surprising, Late Night with the Devil is an incredible achievement, and one of the year’s most well-crafted works of pure horror,

Some have grown to perceive the term as being almost derogatory since it evokes a sense of elitism and comparison within a genre that has always benefitted from the more communal experience. Still, elevated horror has grown into its niche over the years. We have found that even those who are not particularly fond of horror are drawn to these supposedly more artistically resonant, complex films that claim to avoid the same hackneyed tropes and cliches, instead replacing them with something more unique, which gives off the illusion that these are supposedly more complex and layered works. Obviously, this isn’t always a good yardstick to measure the artistic integrity of a film, but some of them do manage to take advantage of these more complex concepts, seamlessly assimilating them with stories that feel genuinely intriguing. Late Night with the Devil has several terrific ideas, and the Cairnes Brothers, who have been working in various roles within the industry for the better part of a decade (particularly in the horror genre, films like 1000 Bloody Acres and Scare Campaign being some of the last remnants of the Ozploitation movement, or at least the attempts to revive it in recent years), bring their experience and ingenuity to this film, a brilliantly subversive and darkly comedic pastiche of the 1970s and its preoccupation with viewership patterns and drawing in an audience, which is not too different from contemporary entertainment when we look closely enough. The theoretical framework from which the directors are working is very strong – the structure is simple, the premise is as straightforward as it can be, and a lot of the terror comes in slightly unexpected forms, such as in the underlying tone that oscillates between darkly satirical and unhinged terror, most of it being situated right at the perfect intersection between the two genres, which is captured vividly and in such incredible detail, its difficult to not be entirely taken by this film and its peculiar sensibilities, both as a supernatural horror and a satire of the entertainment industry, which are brought together with unexpectedly tremendous results.

One of the most substantial benefits of independent cinema is that it often affords many terrific character actors the chance to take on bigger roles, which aligns with our tendency to consistently claim that these working actors deserve major showcases for their talents since they are usually relegated to small supporting roles or parts that don’t offer them much space to demonstrate their skills. In the case of David Dashmalchian, he has developed a reputation as one of the hardest-working actors in Hollywood and is regularly cited as being the best part of nearly anything in which he appears, which are often minuscule roles in major franchises that don’t use him to his full capacity. This changes with Late Night with the Devil, a film that could have easily cast a major star in this fascinating role of Jack Delroy, a complex and layered character, but chose instead to hand the reigns to Dastmalchian in one of his rare leading roles. As expected, he is brilliant, occupying the role of this sleazy, opportunistic comedian who will do anything to succeed and turn in one of the year’s most complex performances. The true nature of this film becomes clear the more we learn about the character, and it soon reveals itself to be one of the countless homages to the Faust tale, a hardly shocking revelation, but still comes as a surprise based solely on how exceptionally well Dastmalchian does with slightly trickier material, which he navigates with such ease. Authenticity is a vital component of this film, and while it can take some bold swings in terms of logic, Dastmalchian is consistently finding the subtle details beneath the surface of this character, transforming him into a layered, complex anti-hero whose journey we don’t necessarily find endearing, but still find ourselves trying to decode, if only to witness the underlying complexities that went into the creation of the character. The supporting cast is strong, but Late Night with the Devil is primarily a showcase for its lead, and he certainly takes the assignment very seriously, creating such a layered, complex character through whose perspective we see the events that transpire throughout the film.

Blurring genre boundaries in the same way that it intends to complicate the seemingly clear-cut division between reality and fiction to stir conversation and provoke an emotional reaction, Late Night with the Devil sets out to be a twist on the found-footage horror genre, which has arguably gotten to the point where it is slightly overdone, but yet remains so incredibly compelling when done well and by someone who understands the reasoning behind such an approach, as is the case with this film. Designed as a lost tape from the show’s Halloween broadcast, the film does its best to adhere to the confines of the sometimes ambigious genre known as analogue horror, and it evokes the spirit of the era exceptionally well (the design of the television studio, right down to the smallest details, is remarkable), while still making it seem slightly off-kilter in a way that is intentional and has a narrative purpose. Late Night with the Devil is designed to be a horror film that doesn’t rely on jumpscares or surprises but rather constructs a sense of fear from the underlying tension that builds up as the film progresses. The directors were inspired by horror films that are driven more by mood than anything tangible, and the growing sense of dread and unease that envelopes the film is incredible. There are a few flaws in this approach, such as the sporadic black-and-white sequences that purport to be behind-the-scenes footage, but are essentially just moments into which the directors can dump expositionary remarks and further the plot, but for the most part, the film manages to be exceptionally creepy, creating a tone that is extraordinarily tense and uncomfortable, balancing the eccentric, pitch-black humour with a sense of existential despair that only heightens as the film progresses and becomes more delightfully complex. Both formally and in terms of the content, Late Night with the Devil is extremely impactful and leaves us in something of a dazed state, the collision of images, sounds and emotions making for a profoundly unpleasant but still hypnotic affair that feels far richer in its efforts to unsettle than most modern horror films that aim for authenticity to the point where it becomes integral to their identity, but very rarely manage to get close enough to achieve it in any meaningful or notable manner.

Some may argue that Late Night with the Devil doesn’t necessarily break any new ground in terms of the horror genre – there’s even an argument that it is nothing more than an updated riff on the structure so unforgettably established thirty years ago in the form of GhostWatch, another supposedly real piece of lost footage in which a talk show host and his guests encounter paranormal occurrences while on air. However, whether or not it was inspired by previous works, it is clear that this film is much deeper and more complex than just a quaint genre production. Instead, it’s a rich, well-crafted dark comedy that is as outrageously funny as it is deeply terrifying (and it is bewildering how few people have mentioned the more comedic elements of the film – they don’t necessarily contradict or numb the terror, but instead, manage to heighten it into something far more unsettling), and which uses its overall narrative structure to comment on the entertainment industry, which it views as soulless and lacking in morality. It is exceptionally well-constructed, and in terms of both the story being told, and the underlying thematic content, Late Night with the Devil manages to be extremely original and deeply entertaining, which is not something we always expect from a horror film. It keeps the actual terror to a minimum, focusing less on an endless stream of terrifying moments, and instead saving it for key moments scattered throughout, all in anticipation of the conclusion, which is not only unhinged in terms of pure horror, but genuinely disturbing in the sense that it plays on our subconscious fears, pandering to those feelings of despair and nightmarish terror that usually isn’t evoked in more traditional horror films, but forms the foundation of this one. The Cairnes Brothers have a solid reputation in the industry, and this is not their first directorial endeavour – but the sheer ambition demonstrated here, coupled with the narrative ingenuity and attention to detail will likely only make them even more coveted, especially in a cinematic landscape that rewards original voices that are willing to reconfigure the horror genre, particularly when it comes down to determining exactly what it is that terrifies and unsettles us as a whole, something that this film manages to capture in vivid detail.