Review: Late Night With The Devil

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Official synopsis: A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation's living rooms

Let's get the elephant out of the room right away. There is a lot of chatter online regarding the use of AI in this film. Per the filmmakers, the graphic design team experimented with AI to create three title card sequences. Though other comments online say there's more than that, but I haven't been able to find proof of it. Personally, I think we can all agree AI art sucks, but I don't think it's worth seeing an indie film bomb at the box office over it. Especially when the use of it is so small. I'm glad people speak against it, but let's not tank a film that already has tough competition at the box office.

Not to mention, the film is pretty great. David Dastmalchian is an actor I'm so familiar with in creepier or comedic supporting roles, so seeing him shine as a 70's TV talk show host was a welcomed change. He leads this film well. It's shot in a semi-found footage style, where we are seeing a copy of the broadcast, plus behind the scenes footage spliced in. I think it works, it doesn't fully commit to the found footage genre but I don't think it needed to. The way they told the story was fine.

When the main subject of the show, Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) comes on, things go off the rails in the best way. Every second of the 90 minute run time is used well. If I had one complaint, it's that I wish they had pushed the horror elements a little bit further. 

This film was a pleasant surprise. I saw next to no marketing for it ahead of time, and when I looked it up I only found the AI discussion. I went in blind and had a great time. You will to if you head to theaters to catch this.

Grade: B+

Comments

  1. Candice FrederickMarch 25, 2024 at 12:42 PM

    I'm definitely all for pushing the horror elements even further! Though, I too, thought this movie was pretty great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 25, 2024 at 4:25 PM

      Yeah, I NEVER see this guy leading a film either. He's always supporting. He did an amazing job here. Hope he gets more opportunities.

      Delete
  2. BirgitMarch 25, 2024 at 3:45 PM

    So, I don't think I'll see it any time soon. It sounds interesting and reminds me of this guy who would debunk all these people claiming they could do strange things

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 25, 2024 at 4:25 PM

      He's DEFINITELY that guy, to the point where even though I agree with him, I just want him to STFU so something crazy can happen.

      Delete
  3. thevoid99March 25, 2024 at 5:41 PM

    I'm not a fan of AI either but that's not going to stop me from seeing this as I'm intrigued by this. Plus I'm glad David Dastmalchian is getting some juicier roles as he's really an amazing actor. I missed him as Kurt in Quantumania though I didn't mind him as that gooey thing in the film. It's just that the film need him, Dave, and my boy Luis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMarch 27, 2024 at 7:55 AM

      They did! lol. I think you'll really like this too. I hope you get time to see it.

      Delete

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