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Oh. Now this one was so good. I had been waiting to do this one for a bit, and it did not disappoint.
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Late Night with the Devil (2023) is one of those movies that grabs you from the very start and doesn't let you go until the very end. It takes the form of a “lost” late-night talk show broadcast from Halloween night, 1977, and gradually descends into chaos, possession, and live-on-air damnation. It is rather great to be honest.
The always amazing David Dastmalchian gives the performance of his career (so far) as Jack Delroy, a talk show host desperate for ratings. He is part Carson and part Jerry Springer. His Halloween special promises seances, psychics, skeptics, and, of course, Lilly D'Abo, the young survivor of a Satanic cult. Played with equal amounts of innocence and horror by newcomer Ingrid Torelli. As the broadcast unfolds, things start to go very wrong. The brilliance of the film lies in its commitment to the format: the cheesy set, the awkward banter, and the canned applause, all slowly giving way to dread as the occult elements seep through the cracks. The cinematography is an art of its own. The on-set show, the backstage, the unfolding horror, all seen via a different lens.
What makes it work is the restraint. For most of its runtime, the horror is suggestive: a flicker on a monitor, a sound from offstage, a psychic’s nervous glance. Then, when the supernatural finally takes the stage, the gloves come off. By the finale, we’ve left the safety of “TV land" and "Standards and Practices” and plunged into something raw and terrifying.
Thematically, it hits a sweet spot. It’s about the start of the 70s Satanic Panic, the exploitation of trauma for entertainment, and the cost of ambition. But it never feels preachy, it’s too busy building atmosphere and keeping you glued to the screen. Dastmalchian is excellent, walking that fine line between smarmy showman and desperate man circling the drain.
There is no way this movie would have been as good as it was without the talents of David Dastmalchian. Though even then it would have been good. This one is my favorite movie of the challenge so far.
Found footage is a great tool. We saw this in "The Blair Witch" and now in "Late Night." Found footage of, well, anything, is a great hook. Found footage of demonic possession? That's a golden hook.
Occult D&D
This movie is the Occult era gift wrapped. It is the start of the modern occult era, so to speak, and everything I want to try to capture here. I love it.
October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
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First Time Views: 3
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