Late Night with the Devil (Ltd. Ed. 4K) | A Unique Horror Experience

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

In the Australian-American co-production supernatural horror Late Night with the Devil from Cameron and Colin Cairnes (Scare Campaign), the filmmakers mix the found footage genre with cinéma verité, spinning the tale of a struggling late night talk show host in the 1970s, Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian, Oppenheimer) who plans a big Halloween night show that for sweeps week to rescue his slipping ratings.

Swirling around Delroy have long been rumors of his involvement with a secretive satanic cult whose membership includes many elites from Hollywood and the world of business and politics. There are rumors of wild rituals and sacrifices in the woods.

Delroy’s popular late night talk show has been slipping in the ratings for years, struggling to reach the pinnacle of toppling Johnny Carson. Delroy’s career and personal life takes an even bigger hit and downward when his beloved wife, famous actress Madeleine Piper (Georgina Haig, TV’s Once Upon a Time) is suddenly diagnosed with cancer and dies shortly thereafter.

The Halloween show kicks off with a spiritist named Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) who claims he can speak to the dead. His act gets off to a rocky start before ending with a shocking twist that is quickly debunked by guest and supernatural skeptic Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss). But when guest June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon, Undertow) author and guardian to young Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) claiming that Lilly is possessed by an ancient demon, that is when the show goes off the rails and evil is potentially unleashed on the world.

The setup of this film is unique. It reminds me of The King of Comedy, but with a horror twist akin to The Exorcist. The ‘70s vibe is strong through both the techniques employed and visual effects plus the production and sets. But the Cairnes also fold in some flashbacks, nonlinear storytelling, and psychedelic horror.

The film starts off a bit slowly, but it really gets rolling once the layers are revealed and the horror on the talk show set unfold. Dastmalchian is a solid anchoring point for this setting, giving off authentic ‘70s vibes and portraying an unsettling amount of uncertainty one moment and confidence another.

Purchase Late Night with the Devil (Limited Edition) 4K Ultra HD on Amazon UK

The Video

Late Night with the Devil comes to 4K Ultra HD in an HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement. This is a difficult film to judge from a picture quality standpoint given the artistic choices. Most of the film is shot as found footage style most of the time as “unaired raw footage” from the broadcast, then there is a documentary style element to the film, often in black and white. The film was originally shot on the Sony Venice digital camera, and when we do get glimpses of the image sans the video broadcast effects, the transfer looks crisp and free from noise. The back and white segments look filmic and dynamic as well. There are a few aspect ratios used as well – 2.35:1, 1.66:1, and 1.33:1.

The Audio

Late Night with the Devil comes with a lossless English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix on 4K Ultra HD. This is a balanced mix with a warm and medium decay reverberation for its ambience that gives a very realistic soundfield for the setting of the late-night talk show set. There is some movement of sound effects through the surrounds. There is a clarity and fullness in the dialogue and a natural dynamic range. Low-end extension is good, but it is not room shaking.

The Supplements

Second Sight does their usual thing and loads this limited edition up with lots of interviews, video essays, and collectibles like art cards and a gorgeous rigid slipcase with new artwork. There is a 120-page book with production stills and new essays on the film.

Limited Edition Contents:

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

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
• Bringing Their ‘A’ Game: An Interview with Directors Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes (1080p; 00:39)
• Mind of I Smoke?: An Interview with Actor Ian Bliss (1080p; 00:11:45)
• We’re Gonna Make a Horror Movie: An Interview with Actor Ingrid Torelli (1080p; 00:11:51)
• Extremely Lucky: An Interview with Actor Rhys Auteri (1080p; 00:14:46)
• Cult Hits: Zoë Rose Smith on Late Night with the Devil (1080p; 00:24:52)
• Behind the Scenes with the Devil (1080p; 00:21:36)
• The Making of the Night Owls Music (1080p; 00:08:06)
• South by Southwest 2023 Q&A with David Dastmalchian, Colin Cairnes, and Cameron Cairnes (1080p; 00:08:12)

The Final Assessment

This is an instant cult classic for horror fans. Rather than the usual slasher or haunted house or whatever, this talk show setting of a supernatural horror mixing the documentary and found footage gives it an unsettling and off-kilter feeling. Second Sight’s 4K limited edition is a satisfying presentation loaded with top-notch bonus features.

Late Night with the Devil (Limited Edition) is out in the UK October 28, 2024 from Second Sight Films.

Purchase Late Night with the Devil (Limited Edition) 4K Ultra HD on Amazon UK

• R (for violent content, some gore, and language including a sexual reference.)
• Studios & Distributors: Future Pictures | IFC Films | Shudder | Image Nation | VicScreen | AGC Studios | Good Fiend Films | Spooky Pictures | Second Sight Films
• Directors: Cameron Cairnes | Colin Cairnes
• Written By: Cameron Cairnes | Colin Cairnes
• Run Time: 93 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (talk show scenes) | 1.66:1 (documentary parts) | 2.35:1 |
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • Max. Luminance: 1000 nits
  • Min. Luminance: 0.0001 nits
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Street Date: 28 October 2024