While slower in pace to other horror movies out at the moment, the consistent tone and rising tension kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time I was watching in the theater
This was a very well done movie. Evokes the 70's ethos perfectly. This was an interesting take on the exorcism genre with a few twists here and there. I liked the interplay between the skeptic and the other guests on the talk show. Time definitely flew by watching this and I highly recommend this film for those who enjoy horror.
Though not quite a slam-dunk — its sum impact is more pleasingly ingenious than indelible — Late Night With the Devil definitely reps a personal best for the Cairnses.
The cast makes Late Night With the Devil more than watchable, but they also raise our hopes for something better. While the talk-show approach makes perfect structural and narrative sense, it also drains the film of suspense, as we pretty much know where everything is going.
Wow What a Dynamic film that keeps you on the edge of your seat with tension building and once you get started there is only moving forward. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a really good story with plenty of 70s style entertainment into exploiting people inside and outside of entertainment that goes too far with the introduction to an evil force that holds on as soon as it takes root with subtle nudges until things go crazy. The acting is believable from Character Actor, David Dastmalchian, in a role that puts a tired, 2nd rate Johnny Carson, front and center keeping a show together no matter what.
Production design = 10/10. The set, the clothing, hairstyles, the film print used, colour grading, the practical effects, etc all if it really transports the viewer to the 70s. The film was made to look to the viewer as an episode of Night Owl (the name of the in-universe show), and it absolutely achieved this. The change in aspect ratio again adds to this effect.
The acting = 8/10. Wonderful job by everyone. They knew when to ham it up, when to get scared, when to become more subtle. They did the best they could with their characters but the problem was the characters lacked arcs except for the protagonist, and to a much lesser extent, the skeptic (he doesn't believe in the supernatural, what do you think his position will be by the end of the film).
Story = 3/10. Really lame story that has does very little with the lore. A shame because it was quite intriguing in its first half. It's a non-story. First act is good, second act is great, but then the third act derails the film, and causes the film to fizzle out.
Special effects = 5/10. Practical effects were nice but the CGI effects were quite noticeable, and looked very cheap.
Soundtrack =5/10. Just fine, nothing special at all.
Horror/fear factor = 1/10. This is highly subjective but I found nothing scary here whatsoever. Be it with the in-your-face horror, or attempts at trying to get under the viewer's skin. The attempts to frighten failed to land for me. It's nothing even a casual fan of horror has not come across before. Horror-themed TV specials of cartoons have been more frightening.
Ultimately the film offers very few thrills, it does little with a fantastic set up, and is held up only by the excellent acting, and a stellar production design. One more thing, I have now noticed the demon mentioned in this has been mentioned in a number of Hollywood horror films. Why this particular demon more than any other? It's not like mentioning the devil, whom most people have at least heard about, religious or not. This demon, I doubt 99.9% of people have ever heard about (especially outside of Hollywood films), yet he's used a number of times in films. I just find it peculiar that this particular demon pops up in many horror films from Hollywood. Anyway, I do not recommend seeing this on cinema, and only watch it at home if you have absolutely nothing else to do. I've seen this films compared to Rosemary's Baby, and other horror classics but this does not even come close to building their level of suspense, dread, and horror. What's most disappointing is the missed potential, all the elements were right there but unfortunately it didn't do much with them.
Gotta be kidding me with these high marks. Are idiots so afraid of any type of negativity that the truth just isn't allowed anymore?
Its basically the exorcist with a cult involved and 70s theme show attached. Theres nothing horror based about it, the excution is straight up bad.
The main actor obviously carries this movie but hes also been in a lot better movies than this.