The self-possessed horrors of Late Night with the Devil

Courtesy of IFC Films and Shudder

Horror films unrecorded and dice by their conceits. And sometimes, the champion mode to marque a movie scary is to spot it successful an situation that’s not scary astatine all.

Is determination thing further from spooky than a brightly lit TV studio? The surprise container bureau darling Late Night with the Devil, which deed fearfulness streamer Shudder this play (and mightiness beryllium much suited to location viewing), tries to marque 1 of the astir innocuous American broadcast traditions into a terror. David Dastmalchian, a quality histrion who you’ll admit from the margins of fractional a twelve Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve movies, gets a uncommon prima crook arsenic Jack Delroy, the big of late-night speech amusement Night Owls. But successful an epoch wherever Johnny Carson rules after-hours broadcast, Delroy’s second-place programme is connected the verge of getting canceled. The lone mode to prevention it, Delroy believes, is to aerial an bonzer Halloween occurrence astir the occult successful the mediate of sweeps season.

Courtesy of Adam White.

Aside from a spot of superfluous expository setup, the full movie is faux recovered footage of the episode, implicit with a unrecorded workplace assemblage and commercialized breaks. (Between advertisement gaps, determination are immoderate behind-the-scenes shots arsenic well.) If you similar a low-budget fearfulness movie that constricts its determination to a azygous house, you’ll excavation that Late Night restrains itself to a convincingly rendered ‘70s speech amusement set. As the guests’ paranormal features escalate, truthful bash the demons — idiosyncratic and literal — until reaching an inevitable, convulsive end.

Sometimes, a fearfulness movie tin beryllium satisfying capable conscionable by pursuing a beardown conceit and not embarrassing itself on the way. Still, things are played a spot harmless here. Without giving overmuch away, Late Night does consciousness a small by the numbers successful the last act. Most radical volition admit the beats — vomit, levitation, Satanic dependable — from immoderate movie astir demonic possession. (Though successful a knowing moment, 1 quality says, “‘Psychic infestation’ is the word we prefer.”)

Sure, thing present touches the superb novelty of past year’s Skinamarink, but the champion happening going for Late Night is its dedication to the conceit. The disparity betwixt the cheery TV format and the creeping dread sustains the hostility passim its little 93 minutes.

Mostly, Late Night with the Devil is charming and clever, and Dastmalchian and his sideburns marque the enactment look effortless. Like immoderate speech amusement big worthy their salt, it’s each astir committing to the bit.