What if The Exorcist got filtered through Rod Serling's Night Gallery, with a thread of Videodrome, Scanners and Network woven in? The result would be Late Night with the Devil, a 2023 experiment that takes place in 1977, fashioned by the writers/directors of The Mule, Cameron and Colin Cairnes. (The movie is now available via streaming.)
For this particular, "found footage" event (narrated by the resonant Michael Ironside and in thematic sync with the fabricated WUNF Halloween Special), we're introduced to Jack Delroy, a Johnny Carson rival who's cut from a Bill Boggs/Tom Snyder cloth, portrayed by David (The Suicide Squad/Oppenheimer/Count Crawley) Dastmalchian. We learn that Delroy is a relatable enough guy who rose fast from his radio roots to become the host of Night Owls, but has since sank in the late-night ratings war. His sad relegation may be partially due to his wife, Georgina Haig's Madeleine, who passed due to a mysterious cancer, but he's now set for a comeback on Halloween night, when the rating sweeps start. (Rhy's Ateri's concerned Guy McConnell acts as Delroy's Ed McMahon, and Josh Quong plays his high-strung, production manager, Leo Fiske.)
Delroy has enlisted a divergent roster to draw viewers. There's Fayssal Bassi's Christou, a Criswell/John Edwards/Kreskin sort, who claims to channel the dead; Ian Bliss' Carmichael Hunt, a magician who debunks occult-professed gurus, in the manner of Harry Houdini and James Randi; Laura Gordon's Dr. June Ross-Mitchell, a parapsychologist who's written a book about a possessed adolescent, Ingrid Torelli's Lilly. The youngster is positioned as the episode's centerpiece.
It appears that Lilly was held by a satanic cult, said to have bred female children for sacrifice, before the estate and its members went down in flames after a standoff with the law. The cult's leader was Steve Mouzakis' Szandor D'Abo (perhaps Lilly's father, if only per cultist association and credit attribution), who held a Jim Jones/David Koresh control over his subjects and before his demise, might have assisted celebrities secure and extend their popularity.
The Night Owl episode breaks down in layers, with Christou emerging first, followed by Hunt (the two sprawl some) and capped by Ross-Mitchell and Lilly. Weird signs seep through each segment, with Christou falling ill after his performance and continual, telecast malfunctions manifesting, much to the costumed audience's chagrin.
Hunt keeps a skeptical scowl throughout, making valid points regarding how most psychic phenomena can be staged and offering a huge chunk of change to anyone who proves otherwise. This challenge falls upon Ross-Mitchell and Lilly, who introduce themselves with avidity and caution, in particular Lilly, whose mannerisms are ingenuous but chilling.
A séance/possession demonstration occurs, followed by a Cronenberg-ish, hypnosis bit conducted by Hunt, but as the events deepen, it becomes harder to dismiss the phenomena, for their consequences are, to say the least, as stark as they're repugnant.
To the naïve, Late Night could pass for the genuine article, though there are points where it bumps its course with black-and-white, behind-the-scenes breaks and a surreal, fright-fest finale. (The latter cements the fictional gist, much like The Mercury Theatre on the Air, which implants segued, non-journalistic dialogue for War of the Worlds' ending). Though the climax feels a tinge jarring at first, it works to the fable's benefit, emphasizing Delroy's desperate state.
As far as Late Night's visuals go, its footage exudes a magnetizing succession, most elements never going too far over the top, but when things must get grotesque, no punches are pulled. The studio's ambiance also brackets the guests' interactions, giving a realistic, 1970s flavor to the budding terror.
Late Night is a fascinating, character-driven opus, which will no doubt improve on repeated viewings and is open for further exploration. I trust that the Cairnes will consider such, since their alternate-reality path holds a myriad of imaginative possibilities.
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