February 9, 2025

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

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“Goes From Uncannily Creepy to Downright Unnerving” – Late Night with the Devil (4K Review)

Second Sight

Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) hosts one of the central pillars of late-night TV: the talk show. The format of ‘Night Owls' would be more familiar to US viewers than those in the UK, with the contrivances associated with American interviews that those of us who used to watch Parkinson or still watch Graham Norton would squirm at. Late Night with the Devil anchors itself in the brown and orange tones of 1970s Americana. Complete with the paranoid hyper-religious zeitgeist that defined the era cinematically and politically. 

We open with a ‘behind the ' style introduction to Jack, which shows us his fraught relationship with the viewing public, the tragic story of his wife Madeleine's (Georgina Haig) battle with cancer, and the rumours surrounding the steps he's taken to try and find or hold on to success. Constant battles for ratings with other late-night shows, and the need to one-up [Johnny] Carson at every opportunity leads Jack to the controversial guests on his Halloween special. 

The first, Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) is a psychic medium who claims to be able to speak to the dead. His performance is questionable, and often heckled by cynical hypnotist Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss), but ends dramatically. And then the main event, parapsychologist June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and her patient and ward Lilly (Ingrid Torelli). 

Lilly was born into a cult, and claims to be possessed by one of the cults ‘lesser demons'. 

The possession scene shifts the tone immediately. Torelli's childlike innocence goes from uncannily creepy to downright unnerving, and things escalate from there. 

The choice to set Late Night… in the 70s is a smart one. Plot choices that wouldn't work in a modern setting instead nurture comparisons to Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and at times Carrie. This nostalgic charm encourages forgiveness of the at times campy tone and allows us the be absorbed and warmed by the analogue overlay to the more dramatic and fantastical scenes. 

Dastmalchian remains a darling of horror cinema, and it's great to see him given a more amiable character to work with here rather than being assigned to the part of the silent weirdo in the corner. The real fascination comes from Torelli as Lilly however. Even between her moments of dialogue and central performance each of her reactions contrasts the others in a way that continues to draw your eye towards her, making for engrossing and addictive viewing.

Originally released in cinemas and then onto streaming site , Late Night with the Devil was the quiet cult horror hit of 2023, and it's great to see it finally get a physical release. 

Special Features 

  • Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
  • UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
  • New audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
  • Bringing Their ‘A' Game: an interview with Directors' Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes
  • Mind if I Smoke?: an interview with Actor Ian Bliss
  • We're Gonna Make a Horror Movie: an interview with Actor Ingrid Torelli
  • Extremely Lucky: an interview with Actor Rhys Auteri
  • Cult Hits: Zoë Rose Smith on Late Night with the Devil
  • Behind the Scenes with the Devil
  • The Making of the Night Owls Music
  • South by Southwest 2023 Q&A with David Dastmalchian, Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes

Limited Edition Contents

  • Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Haley Turnbull
  • 120-page book with behind the scenes images, storyboards and new essays by Kat Hughes, James Rose, Rebecca Sayce, Graham Skipper, Julieann Stipidis and Emma Westwood
  • 6 collectors' art cards

Late Night with the Devil is released by on October 28th