Title – Late Night with the Devil (2023) 

Directors – Colin & Cameron Cairnes (Scare Campaign) 

Cast – David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ingrid Torelli, Fayssal Bazzi

Plot – Documents the infamous 1977 Halloween episode of late night talk show host Jack Delroy’s (Dastmalchian) Night Owls show that attempted to delve into a range of taboo subjects matters that dabbled in the occult to ensure a boost in the shows dwindling ratings. 

“May be disturbing to some viewers”

Review by Eddie on 01/05/2024

Premiering to rave reviews at the most recent SXSW film festival, Australian shot horror film Late Night with the Devil is a landmark moment for directing duo Colin and Cameron Cairnes, directors who showed so much potential with their early works 100 Bloody Acres and Scare Campaign, with their latest outing becoming one of 2024’s most surprising success stories at both the international box office and more recently on horror streaming service Shudder where it has broken a raft of platform records. 

Shot on a shoestring budget in Melbourne Victoria, Devil finds the Cairnes brothers transporting us all the way back to Halloween of 1977 in America where David Dastmalchian’s determined late night talk show host Jack Delroy will stop at nothing to climb the ratings ladder with him and his team inviting an array of spooky themed guests onto the set of Night Owls in hopes of tackling taboo subject matters and gaining attention in the face of dwindling audience numbers. 

Not knowing exactly where Devil will go and how it will take us there is half the fun of the film but suffice to say things on the set of this particular show don’t go entirely to plan with the Cairnes’s doing a fantastic job of capturing the time period and the late night talk show aesthetic to bring this relatively simplistic yet ingenious idea to life. 

Gifting familiar face Dastmalchian with his best and most labour intensive role yet is a major win for the Cairnes’s film with the well-liked but not entirely well-known character actor finally able to break-free from his supporting turns in the likes of Dune, Prisoners and The Suicide Squad to be given a chance to shine in this leading man role that is even more significant when you consider the actors own personal demons that had at times threatened to derail a career that had never really been allowed to thrive. 

Full of self-assured arrogance, an undeniable charm and a dogged determination to continue on with his personal plight no matter the roadblocks, the performance of Dastmalchian and the character of Delroy is what makes Devil really tick even in the midst of a growing dissatisfaction for how the film unravels all the way too its poor attempt at a big bang finale. 

Working so well early on establishing a significantly uneasy vibes and sense of intrigue to who is who and what is what, for much of Devil’s early segments of its relatively brisk run-time there’s much to grasp a hold of and enjoy but sadly towards Devil’s big reveals and wrap ups, Devil starts to lose its way and its unique concept to an otherwise familiar feeling story is unable to take if over the finish line as it limps to its end credits that pale in comparison to its beginnings and it must be said, comically long production company procession early on.    

No one can falter the brave attempt at a new way of producing a horror by numbers outing and it’s undoubtable that the Cairnes’s are set for a big role in future Hollywood productions from here on out but it’s just a shame Devil’s strong start and great delivery don’t amount to the same strengths in its narrative and misguided finale. 

Final Say – 

A brave attempt at a low-budget horror that has some great production values, unique concept and a brave leading man, Late Night with the Devil is let-down by a mediocre finale and lack of scares that hold it back from becoming an instant cult-classic. 

3 theremin’s out of 5