Late Night With The Devil review: supernatural horror film gets the hairs on the back of the neck standing up

Don’t be fooled by the American setting and talk of Johnny Carson in Late Night With The Devil, because this supernatural horror film was inspired by a talk show much closer to home — The Don Lane Show. Yes, as improbable as it is, David Dastmalchian, aka Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad, is effectively playing Don Lane in this Aussie, found-footage horror gem. Made by the Cairnes Brothers, Colin and Cameron, who gave us the 2012 horror comedy, 100 Bloody Acres, Late Night With the Devil immediately joins the ranks of this country’s best scary flicks, along with fellow recent addition, Talk To Me. And the secret to the success of this movie (and Talk To Me) is far from rocket surgery — it combines a simple and concise premise with very solid writing, which allows a cast of mostly unknowns to shine. Framed as a documentary about 1970s television, a narrator in the prologue introduces us to Dastmalchian’s Jack Delroy, a successful variety show host of the program Night Owls, who has failed to fully reach his potential and usurp late-night king Johnny Carson. Following the death of his wife from cancer, Delroy makes a comeback to host a Halloween special of Night Owls during the all-important sweeps ratings week, and the “doco” consists of archival footage from this episode, as well as found footage shot behind the scenes during commercial breaks. Brilliantly depicting TV from the era, the Cairnes’ film gradually piles on the dread as this “episode” of Night Owls begins to unravel. A spirit medium guest begins to projectile vomit, and the crew have serious reservations around why Delroy and his producer booked a teenage victim of a cult, who claims to be in the throes of demonic possession. What makes the film work even better is the presence of a professional sceptic, another guest booked for the show, whose job it is to debunk any supernatural happenings. Fun fact: this character was surely based on former magician turned sceptic James Randi, a regular on Carson, who also made an appearance on Lane’s show Down Under. As with most found-footage movies, the conceit tends to unravel if examined too closely, and the BTS scenes are a little convenient to be believable. But if the goal is to have fun and get the hair standing up on the back of your neck, well, Late Night With The Devil certainly does that. 3.5 Stars Starring: David Dastmalchian, Fayssal Bazzi, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Ingrid Torelli Rating: MA15+ In cinemas: Now