Late Night With the Devil’s Bloody Ending, Explained
Late Night With The Devil's Ending Fails To Deliver
This blog section has been written by A.A. Dowd, who is a professional film critic and editor.
Picture: IFC Motion Pictures and Shudder
Do you want to know the similarities between horror movies and late-night talk shows? They both usually involve someone getting brutally killed, either by a weapon or a clever joke. However, what truly connects these two types of nighttime entertainment is the significance of building up tension and delivering a satisfying conclusion. Unfortunately, this is where Late Night With the Devil falls short. Despite its innovative concept and blend of B-movie thrills and vintage talk show antics, the film fails to stick the landing in a way that leaves a lasting impact.
If the setup were not so effective, the payoff would not appear as a vague disappointment. Cameron and Colin Cairnes, Australian filmmakers, communicate with the spirits of TV Land to create a convincing talk show from the Nixon-era and then proceed to unleash a demonic nightmare upon the host, crew, and guests. The movie's amusement lies in its lost broadcasting tactic - the brothers present their Hollywood horror tale as the raw, uncensored finale of that fictional show, including a cheesy opening monologue, back and forth with the band leader, and commercial breaks.
This section of the blog talks about a TV show called Night Owls, which is not like any other episode before. It follows the story of Jack Delroy, a man who works for a rival TV channel to Carson. The show aims to capture the excitement of live television and hopes to show something truly shocking to its viewers. The audience at home is invested in Jack's show, waiting for something supernatural to occur during a heated conversation between a fake psychic, reformed hypnotist, parapsychologist and supposedly possessed adolescent patient. The scene is reminiscent of the unsettling moments in Jordan Peele's recent film, Nope, where classic TV elements are suddenly turned upside down by violent occurrences.
After more than an hour of a lively and engaging discussion, with the audience participating in real-time, Late Night With the Devil finally met expectations as the suspenseful atmosphere turned into chaos. As it happens, the teenage girl mentioned earlier is actually possessed, and the evil entity embedded within her has come to fulfill the agreement Jack made with the forces of the underworld. In exchange for sacrificing his beloved wife to cancer, Jack was promised fame, and that's exactly what he got - but at an alarming cost. He became famous for staging a live-TV orgy of on-air carnage, which will never be forgotten as one of the most hellish events.
The climax of the movie seems exciting at first, but it falls short of expectations. The special effects are cool and have an old-fashioned Hollywood feel, much like the set design which is reminiscent of classic TV. When the teen girl, portrayed by Ingrid Torelli, becomes a conduit for evil energy and her body emits flashes of electricity, it brings to mind the movie Poltergeist. However, the violence with its throwback style is more playful than scary, making it seem like a parody. The film's portrayal of late-night 70s aesthetics, on the other hand, is convincing. It's ironic that the scene where Jack finally becomes aware of the danger is the film's weakest moment, looking more like a cheap trick than anything real.
However, what really disrupts the atmosphere is the events that follow. Once the demon dispatches the minor characters with ease, Jack stumbles through a bizarre alternative version of the Night Owls show, where his usual comedic skits and segments take on a more malevolent tone. This section of the film serves a dual purpose, providing both dramatic and expositional elements. The Cairnes brothers use this opportunity to showcase events that would be too disturbing for television. These include a disturbing forest ritual where Jack makes a deal with the devil and his final moments with his wife. Furthermore, this segment is also a fitting punishment for Jack's misdeeds, as he endures a psychodramatic reckoning beyond simple death.
In order to delve into Jack's thoughts, the filmmakers must alter the usual filming technique. The events are no longer staged through a '70s TV show shooting style, but instead filmed from a more subjective angle with exaggerated close-ups. The illusion of real-time is shattered with jump cuts that disrupt time and space. It could be argued that this is intentional and represents the demon corrupting the show's language, possessing its style. However, it seems more like a lack of creativity on the part of the Cairneses as though they couldn't find a way to end the movie without breaking the live-TV aspect.
There are only a few found-footage horror films that look like they could be real. The Blair Witch Project stands out as the only one that truly appears to be an actual home video with its rough editing and unpolished style. While other films in this genre may not be as convincing, the use of a mock-documentary format can still create a spooky atmosphere for viewers. Late Night With the Devil does a great job of immersing us in an old TV world filled with cursed transmissions from the past. Unfortunately, the filmmakers switch up the style at the end which leaves the audience feeling disappointed and questioning if they should switch to something else.
